A fabulous night On the Town

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 26 May 2016

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco on 25 May 2016

Bernstein, On the Town (Semi-staged)

Michael Tilson Thomas, Conductor

Jay Armstrong Johnson, Chip

Clyde Alves, Ozzie

Tony Yazbeck, Gabey

Isabel Leonard, Claire

Alysha Umphress, Hildy

Megan Fairchild, Ivy Smith

San Francisco Symphony

San Francisco Symphony Chorus

Peabody Southwell, Mezzo-soprano

Joshua Bergasse, Choreography

Shuler Hensley, Vocals

Sheri Greenwald, Vocals

At half mast: Simon Boccanegra revived in Vienna

Orsolya Gyárfás, 19th April

Marco Armiliato's conducting thrills and Federica Lombardi's radiant Amelia stands out in the Wiener Staatsoper's latest revival of Simon Boccanegra.

***11

Anna Netrebko shines in Vienna’s timeless Tosca

Laura Servidei, 18th April

In a world where opera productions often stray into the abstract, the Wiener Staatsoper’s Tosca offers a refreshing return to tradition – and Anna Netrebko delivers a splendid performance.

****1

Weinberg’s The Passenger at Dutch National Opera

Clare Varney, 17th April

Tobias Kratzer's 2024 Munich production makes its way to Amsterdam, proving that Weinberg's opera has the power to transfix.

****1

Frauenliebe und -sterben: Kratzer’s triple bill at Staatsoper Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 15th April

Director Tobias Kratzer engineers a haunting pasticcio of Schumann, Bartók and Zemlinsky, tracing the domestic sphere’s shift from romantic surrender to the blood-soaked secrets of a century-spanning house.

****1

Diamonds and steel: Anna Pirozzi rules in La Scala’s Turandot revival

Laura Servidei, 12th April

Visually enchanting and meticulously staged, this centenary revival confirms Livermore's production as a modern classic.

****1

Art imitates art in ETO’s bracing new Pagliacci

Dominic Lowe, 10th April

Divorced from Cavalleria rusticana, English Touring Opera’s contemporary take on Leoncavallo’s masterpiece ticks all the boxes.

****1

More reviews...

Ilana Walder-Biesanz

Ilana Walder-Biesanz is a product manager for Yahoo, a theatre and opera critic, and a classically trained mezzo-soprano. She explored theater and opera stagings as a Gates Scholar at Cambridge and as a Fulbright Scholar in Germany. She currently writes for Bachtrack, San Francisco Classical Voice, and Stark Insider. Twitter: @ilana_wb.

A fabulous night On the Town with the San Francisco Symphony