Humperdinck Opera Sparkles, Soothes in Fanciful Creation by Pamela Feinsilber Impeachment hearings, random shootings, widespread fires, long power outages—no wonder we crave a gentle respite. Who would think it would be “Hansel & Gretel,” from a Grimm Brothers tale about lost, abused children and a flesh-loving witch? Yet this clever, engaging version of Englebert…
Benjamin Britten & E.M. Forster Explore Evil vs. Innocence by Pamela Feinsilber Watching the opera “Billy Budd,” set on a violent, claustrophobic British man-of-war during the French Revolution, is like immersing yourself in an enthralling novel. Indeed, few operas are as literary as this one, based on a novella by Herman Melville, with the…
Dvořák’s Masterwork Opera Gets a Masterful Production by Pamela Feinsilber A beautiful water nymph yearning for the love of a human; a prince with his own dreams of escape; an enchanted forest, a magical lake, a scruffy water goblin and cold-hearted witch. Add gorgeous music and glorious singing, and what more could you ask…
Handel’s Baroque Romance Enlivened by Exciting New Star by Pamela Feinsilber It’s good to see “Orlando,” one of the most famous of Handel’s 40-plus operas, in San Francisco again, especially since the vague Arcadian setting has been cleverly reimagined and updated. The plot of this 1733 “trouser opera,” in which a woman sings the…