After two years of shutdowns and cancellations, the Bay Area’s classical music organizations rebounded with tremendous vitality in 2022. New works and revivals, debuting artists and milestone anniversaries made this a year to remember. Here are some of the highlights.
“Antony and Cleopatra”: San Francisco Opera opened its 100th anniversary season in September with the world premiere of John Adams’ opera. Based on Shakespeare and additional sources, this brilliant new work received a gorgeous production directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer and conducted by company music director Eun Sun Kim, with baritone Gerald Finley as Antony, soprano Amina Edris as Cleopatra, and tenor Paul Appleby as the ambitious Caesar.
A Stravinsky double bill: The San Francisco Symphony scored a triumph with a June double bill of Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex” and “Symphony of Psalms.” Staged by famed stage director Peter Sellars and conducted by music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, the superb cast featured tenor Sean Panikkar, mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, and bass-baritone Willard White; the San Francisco Symphony Chorus made mighty contributions.
Figaro in Bollywood: With the appointment of Shawna Lucey as general director, Opera San Jose has reached a new level of innovation, as demonstrated in September with the company’s season-opening production of Mozart’s beloved “The Marriage of Figaro.” Set in colonial India, Brad Dalton’s production brought classically trained kathak dancers onstage for a joyous Bollywood mashup.
MTT at Davies: Now Music Director Laureate, Michael Tilson Thomas is still much loved at the San Francisco Symphony — and still returning to conduct great programs with his collaborators. In January at Davies Hall, he conducted Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2, with Gautier Capuçon as soloist; last month, he led an all-Brahms program that featured the great Emanuel Ax in the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
“La Belle et la Bête”: With its July production of Philip Glass’s opera, Opera Parallele scored a jaw-dropping multimedia coup. Presented at the SFJAZZ Center with music director Nicole Paiement conducting a live ensemble, the opera brought singers onstage under a big screen, which simultaneously showed them in Brian Staufenbiel and David Murakami’s stunning remake of Jean Cocteau’s original black and white film. It all came together seamlessly – an ingenious tribute to Glass’s 80th birthday.
All About Orliński: The young star countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński made an indelible impression with two performances in the Bay Area this year: first in March, with a Cal Performances vocal recital that featured music from his native Poland, and, more recently, in his San Francisco Opera debut as Orpheus in Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice.” Matthew Ozawa’s moving production, conducted by Peter Whelan, showcased Orliński’s powerful vocalism — as well as his mastery in the art of break dancing.
“Illuminate” at California Symphony: Led by music director Donato Cabrera, the East Bay orchestra’s composer-in-residence program continues to reap rich rewards. in March, the conductor led the world premiere of “Illuminate,” a radiantly beautiful song cycle by Katherine Balch that left critics and audience members reaching for superlatives.
A rarity at West Edge: In its new venue at Oakland’s Scottish Rite Temple, the West Edge Opera company’s summer productions of “Julius Caesar” and “Coraline” earned strong reviews. But the season’s surprise hit was the seldom-staged “Ariane and Bluebeard.” Dukas’s 1907 opera yielded a spellbinding production, conducted with consummate mastery by music director Jonathan Khuner and starring the radiant mezzo-soprano Renée Rapier as Ariane.
Cabrillo marks a milestone: One of the Bay Area’s revered new music organizations, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music turned 60 this year. Led by music director Cristian Măcelaru, the South Bay summer event featured ink-still-wet works by a roster of composers including Gabriela Lena Frank, Stacy Garrop, Jake Heggie and Kevin Puts, with performances by mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, pianist Lara Downes, and the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth.
Eun Sun Kim amazes: Since her appointment in 2019, San Francisco Opera music director Eun Sun Kim has conducted a wide range of works which, this season alone, included “Antony and Cleopatra” and new productions of “Dialogues of the Carmelites” and “La Traviata.” Just as impressive was her conducting in the company’s all-Verdi concert in June. “Eun Sun Kim Conducts Verdi” was a thrilling showcase for the maestra, and an alluring promise for the company’s Verdi works to come in future seasons.
Contact Georgia Rowe at growe@pacbell.net.
Source: www.mercurynews.com