When the final curtain came down on San Francisco Opera’s newly rolled out Ring Cycle, a great sigh (or shall we say “heave”) of relief came from all corners of the Opera House:  From the Administrative Office Suites, across to the Media Studio, through the Public Relations wing, right down to the Rehearsal Department, and […]

It’s Final Siegfried Eve here in San Francisco, and as I gaze out at the clear blue sky (a true rarity these past few months) from my temporary condo at the Opera Plaza complex, I am thinking back on just how quickly the time has passed.  Even though the past three months have been saturated with […]

As a result of the dizzying success of San Francisco Opera’s new Ring Cycle, and for me, Siegfried in particular; I have come so close to being ‘outed’, that I might just as well cop to it right now on my own terms.  If I do not, then I am at risk of photos that […]

I write this blog posting as I wait to perform Das Rheingold, the first installment of Richard Wagner’s epic Ring of the Nibelungen, on this, the first of our ‘Cycle’ presentations.  We will perform all four operas this week, and repeat this task to complete 3 full cycles by the July 4th Holiday weekend.  As […]

The roof of San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House almost blew off of it’s trusses last Sunday evening (May 29) at approximately 5:55 p.m. local time–and I am not kidding!!!  Don’t just take my word for it; ask anyone who was there!!  Read on, and you will understand some of what may have contributed to […]

When all the “i’s” are dotted, all the “t’s” are crossed, and the final page is turned; one may look back at the Siegfried sitzprobe of May 17 & 18, 2011 and correctly identify it as the tipping point where one could now actualize–not just envision–the success of the upcoming Ring Cycle here in San […]

As the month of May continues to whiz by, so do our rehearsals for San Francisco Opera’s current challenge–namely, the staging of the entire Ring of the Nibelungen.  With the first installment (a stand alone performance of Siegfried) due to grace the stage over Memorial Day weekend, time is getting tight.  So tight, in fact, […]

The late, great Johnny Cash utilized a unique trumpet fanfare as the musical introduction to his 1963 single, “Ring of Fire”.  The use of mariachi brass throughout, set this song apart–at least as far as country music was concerned–and resulted in a blaze of glory (pardon the pun) as the song became an instant hit, […]

One of the more delightful aspects of coming to Dallas the past few years has been carving out the time to visit some old friends from college (undergraduate school) who have settled in the area for their livelihood.  My best friend in college, and among the first persons I had met when I moved onto […]

As I attended a performance of Rigoletto on April 2, 2011 (one day after opening night of Boris Godunov) with my girlfriend Tracy, I must admit that I was thrilled to have been approached by several audience members who had already seen Boris at either our final dress rehearsal, or our actual opening night performance […]