Jake Heggie's Moby-Dick triumphs in San Francisco

By Jeffery S. McMillan, 17 October 2012

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Reviewed at War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco on 10 October 2012

Heggie, Moby Dick

San Francisco Opera

Patrick Summers, Conductor

Leonard Foglia, Director

Stephen Costello, Ishmael

Jay Hunter Morris, Captain Ahab

Morgan Smith, Starbuck

Jonathan Lemalu, Queequeg

Talise Trevigne, Pip

Matthew O'Neill, Flask

Robert Orth, Stubb

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Thomas May, 24th September

An excellent cast and smart, engaged direction make for an auspicious season launch in San Francisco Opera’s production of one of Verdi’s most sophisticated creations.

****1

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Lois Silverstein, 14th September

John Fulljames directs a new production of Poul Ruders' uncompromising operatic take on Margaret Atwood’s celebrated novel.

****1

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Mark Pullinger, 18th September

Great vocal performances from Amina Edris and Gerald Finley grace John Adams' new opera, which opens San Francisco Opera’s centennial season.

***11

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Edward Sava-Segal, 22nd June

Both vocally and instrumentally the performance was a high-class one

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Exquisite Handelian singing in San Francisco Opera's Orlando

Edward Sava-Segal, 21st June

The evening’s most revelatory performance came from the young countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen as Medoro.

****1

Heggie creates a new holiday tradition for the opera world

Donna Stoering, 20th November

A wonderfully realized production at San Francisco Opera of Jake Heggie's operatic version of a holiday classic.

*****

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Jeffery S. McMillan

Jeffery holds an MA in Jazz History and Research from Rutgers University and spent ten years as an archivist for the Metropolitan Opera, where he helped develop the MetOpera Database. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and writes about opera and jazz for publications including Opera News and Musical America.