Month: February 2008

My Valentine’s Day gift came a bit early courtesy of Los Angeles Opera. Of course, it is to be hoped that your own celebration has a happier outcome than that of opera’s most famous Love Couple, “Tristan und Isolde.”

Valentine’s Day may not quite be in the same major holiday league with the Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve, but you wouldn’t have known it from the fireworks emanating from the stage of Portland Opera, in the form of some dazzling Valentine’s night vocalizing in quite a fine production of Handel’s “Rodelinda.”

A sound designer? Isnít that merely a euphemistic upgrade of ìsound engineer?î

An air of anticipation filled the Four Seasons Centre as the announcer walked across the stage to say that soprano Ester S¸megi was ill and would not be performing.

To open its 2008 season, San Diego Opera restored the production of Richard Wagner’s Tannh‰user that G¸nther Schneider-Siemsson created for the Metropolitan Opera three decades ago.