San Francisco Opera presents “Carmen”

  With its often frenzied rhythms, gripping dynamics, haunting minor key and exotic melodies, Carmen offers operatic moments that are undeniably musically compelling. That despite the fact that many of us grew up with cartoon versions...

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Peter Pan flies again at Berkeley Rep

This past weekend Berkeley Rep opened For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday, a play written by frequent collaborators, playwright Sarah Ruhl and director Les Waters. The play examines the world of five siblings, three of whom are named John, Michael and Wendy, as they are...

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Madama Butterfly in Palo Alto

An opera gem, cut and polished… At West Bay Opera’s production of Madama Butterfly, a large cast squeezed huge drama onto a small stage. And that shoehorning of high passions and choice vocals is often the case for this opera company that dreams big in Palo Alto’s intimate Lucie Stern Theater. Conductor and General Director José Luis Moscovich stepped onto the stage to greet us, and particularly those new to opera....

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Voci sings at the Piedmont Center for the Arts

  This past Sunday at the Piedmont Center for the Arts, Voci unveiled the first work in their New Works Project. The project, which is a daring and ambitious idea for a independent chorus, is a commission through which a woman composer is supported to work with the...

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