October 26, 2016
A.C.T. presents Tom Stoppard’s “The Hard Problem”
Navigating the moral universe.
There is something oddly resonant about the title of Tom Stoppard’s new play, which opened at A.C.T.’s Geary Theater last week.
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October 2016
October 22, 2016
“Marriage of Figaro” at West Bay Opera
An enchanting romp in the South Bay.
Palo Alto’s West Bay Opera opened its new season last week with The Marriage of Figaro, a perennial treat and one of Mozart’s most popular operas. This beguiling comedy, strongly conducted by José Luis Moscovich, played to a full house in the Lucie Stern Theater, with plot turns that had the audience as confused as the characters between laughter and tears.
Mozart worked with writer/poet Lorenzo...
October 21, 2016
“The Last Tiger in Haiti” at Berkeley Rep
Playwright Jeff Augustin’s compelling play on the lives of restavek children, The Last Tiger in Haiti, opened at the Peets Theater in the Berkeley Rep Theater complex this past weekend. Restavek, from...
October 14, 2016
The metaphysical longings of “The Makropulos Case”
Emilia Marty must be the only opera heroine to die of extreme old age. Many of them, especially coming out of the 19th century, suffer an early demise from consumption or madness....
October 10, 2016
Jean Ferrandis with Santa Rosa Symphony
Storms of the upper air…
Bruno Ferrandis opened his final year with the Santa Rosa Symphony this past weekend in an ambitious program. The last ten years under his baton have been exhilarating, and his flamboyant conducting will be missed. But a search for his replacement as Artistic Director has already begun, and next year should be a lot of fun as five different conductors do their best to wow the savvy North Bay audience.
Monday evening’s...
October 9, 2016
California Bach Society at Hertz Hall
Lamentations and angels…
Celebrating ten years as the artistic director of California Bach Society (CBS), Paul Flight led a significant concert last Sunday, Oct. 9, at Hertz Hall on the...