Victor Cordell
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Recent Articles:
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The Coronation of Poppea Front Page
West Edge Opera Right Sizes a Classic
By: - Jul 24th, 2023The narrative is historical only in the broadest sense. While the plot points actually occurred from AD 58 to AD 65, not only are they condensed into one day, but their order is shifted! Further, the librettist fancifully changes the character of characters, making some good who were actually bad and vice versa. Who would have thought of the barbaric and narcissistic Nero as also having room for love and magnanimity? So, for those who lambaste Hollywood for being fast and loose with the facts, let it be known that it had models to draw on
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The Rape of Lucretia Front Page
The Act That Gave Rise to the Republic of Rome
By: - Jul 14th, 2023Roman officers, including Prince Tarquinius, who are in a military camp wager whether their wives have remained constant. Investigations prove that the wives of all of the men in the discussion have had indiscretions, with one exception. Lucretia has remained faithful. Tarquinius is determined to corrupt her morals. Returning to Rome, his amorous advances toward Lucretia are repelled, and he forces himself on her. Although not dealt with in the opera, this incident was the crowning blow to the king’s reign, and his overthrow led to the period of the Republic of Rome.
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Les Misérables Front Page
A Powerful Indictment of Justice in an Unjust Society
By: - Jul 08th, 2023Jean Valjean spends his adult life paying for having stolen a morsel of bread for his sister. Even after a long prison sentence, he finds himself needing to hide and lie to avoid the relentless Inspector Javert, who obsesses over making Valjean pay endlessly for his petty crime.
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A Chorus Line Front Page
Character Laid Bare in the Pursuit of Dreams.
By: - Jul 06th, 2023On Broadway and in Hollywood, the backstage genre endures and endears like few others. In the history of American entertainment, no backstage montage has proven more heart wrenching and more diverse in its themes explored and its characters examined than “A Chorus Line.”
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The Dignity Circle Front Page
The Grift Is On
By: - Jul 05th, 2023Opening with the alluring pitch “How would you like to receive $40,000 with no strings attached?” Angela lures her prey into her seductive scheme. But one of the devices of the Circle is wearing masks, which suggests that there is indeed something hidden beneath the surface.
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San Francisco Opera 100th Anniversary Concert Front Page
America's Third Oldest Opera Company Celebrates Its First Century
By: - Jun 18th, 2023San Francisco Opera celebrated its centenary at War Memorial Opera House with a grand concert of 21 operatic pieces, performed by 15 principals and the company’s orchestra and chorus. Artistic Director Eun Sun Kim, past Artistic Director Donald Runnicles, and past Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Summers shared the baton. Matthew Shilvock, only the seventh General Director of the company, hosted the glorious event.
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El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego Front Page
Two Modern Artists Fictionalized in an Opera with an Orpheus-like Story.
By: - Jun 15th, 2023Composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s special compassion for Frida Kahlo may derive from their shared experience. Cuban-born, Pulitzer Prize winning (“Anna in the Tropics”) playwright Nilo Cruz provides the literate libretto. Wishing to integrate aspects of Mexican culture into the story in a magical realism fashion, he builds the narrative around the culturally significant Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and Aztec mythology.
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Die Frau ohne Schatten Front Page
Richard Strauss's Lush Music, Captivating Fairy Tale Story, and Pop Art Scenery.
By: - Jun 12th, 2023The Empress faces Sophie’s choice. Either decision - to accept or reject the shadow - could leave blood on her hands. High drama occurs with real or perceived betrayals and threats of killing, but since nobody dies, some would characterize “Die Frau” as a comedy!
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The Wizard of Oz Front Page
A Fanciful Stage Adaptation of an American Movie Classic
By: - Jun 09th, 2023L. Frank Baum’s beloved “The Wizard of Oz” has become an American touchstone and introduced a bevy of memes and tropes that define our narrative. While it is easy to sit back and enjoy it as an entertaining pastime, in its richness, it is also a fable of the American spirit. Dorothy, despite being young and female, represents the prototypical hero on an odyssey, a quest to find her way home after defeating the odds, aided by trusty sidekicks she has met along the way. Together, using brains and hearts and courage, they conquer fears and earn their way to becoming what they had aspired to be.
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Madame Butterfly Front Page
At War Memorial Opera House San Francisco
By: - Jun 08th, 2023“Madame Butterfly” integrates the best of the earlier "La Boheme" and "Tosca" and overlays pentatonic scale Japanese folk melodies to add a whole new dimension to the score. The popularity of this beautiful and exotic wonder should be no surprise. San Francisco Opera’s wonderous creative and visually striking production is led by four powerful singers - Karah Son, Michael Fabiano, Hyona Kim, and Lucas Meachem.
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A Soldier's Play Front Page
Murder, Mystery, and Racism on the Home Front During World War II
By: - Jun 05th, 2023In 1944, African-American military units were always commanded by white officers, with black non-coms, and enlisted men, reflecting the plantation structure that preceded it by a century and more. This organization represents the natural order to Captain Charles Taylor, a West Point grad, who happily manages and cajoles a platoon comprised of talented black baseball players who will get to play the Yankees if they continue to win all of their games. To this day, a common condition persists, that racists like Taylor often carve out exceptions to allow minority peoples to reflect glory on their white overlords.
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The Shining - an Opera Front Page
Horror is Added to the Traditional Operatic Themes of Love, Conflict, and Death
By: - Jun 03rd, 2023Jack Torrance, an unstable recovering alcoholic and unsuccessful writer, hires on as caretaker of the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies during its off-season. He hopes that the seclusion will not only give him undistracted time for writing but also allow him to rebuild his relationships with his wife, Wendy, and son, Danny. What the parents don’t realize is that Danny possesses “the shining,” which is the psychic ability of clairvoyance. This attribute will allow the boy to see the hotel’s sordid past and set the stage for the horrors to come.
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Der fliegende Holländer Front Page
Robert Balonek's Vocal Power As The Dutchman Astounds.
By: - May 28th, 2023Blessed with soaring romance-style music and a dramatic source from Heinrich Heine’s take on Celtic mythology (influenced in turn by stories of the Wandering Jew), Wagner produced his first operatic masterpiece. However, he shifted the venue to a Nordic locale more compatible with his desired social iconography. The composer was particularly empathetic toward the title character as he identified with the isolation and persecution suffered, creating a highly engaging opera centered on this desolate soul.
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Let The Right One In Front Page
Intelligent Vampire Story With Interesting Twists But Inconsistent Tone.
By: - May 26th, 2023Rather than a simple blood-sucking horror, the play focuses largely on the relationship between Oskar, a bullied teenage boy from a broken home with a drunken mother and a largely neglectful father, and Eli, a new neighbor - who possesses an androgynous look; acts mostly like a girl; but insists that she’s not a girl, with no further explanation.
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Feria de Sevilla (Seville April Fair) Front Page
A Most Spectacular Festival You've Never Heard Of
By: - May 07th, 2023When booking our trip, we didn't know of Feria, a one-week celebration of community and Seville's history with livestock markets and flamenco that began in 1846. But when our new friend Carlos invited us to join him in going to the fair, we jumped on it. Feria takes place one week in April each year on 25 urban blocks that lie mostly barren except for preparation and celebration of Feria. Imagine the value of the property designated for this one event!
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Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Front Page
Abbreviated "War and Peace" at a Breakneck Pace with Song
By: - Apr 25th, 2023The simple storyline centers on Natasha, betrothed to Prince Andrey, who has been sent to fight against Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. But when she visits Moscow, Natasha is taken with womanizer Anatole, and decides to abandon Andrey for the more glamorous option. Things don’t go as planned. The end.
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Tosca Front Page
Love, Intrigue, Betrayal, Death. It's Opera.
By: - Apr 17th, 2023Tosca has been one of the most performed operas in the world for over a century. There is a good reason for that. Beautiful music delights from curtain rise to fall, starting with the resounding orchestral chords of the Scarpia theme, and punctuated by memorable arias and powerful ensembles. Opera San José offers a beautifully staged and performed rendering that sears with passion.
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Poor Yella Rednecks - Vietgone 2 Front Page
A Vietnamese Family in Arkansas - Strangers in a Strange Land
By: - Apr 15th, 2023With his highly successful “Vietgone,” playwright Qui Nguyen, told the beginning of his family’s immigrant story, following the fall of Saigon in the Vietnam War. His equally thoughtful and humorous sequel, “Poor Yella Rednecks,” continues the family’s saga. Amusingly, he writes himself in as a character in the play and facetiously disavows to the audience that its characters are real.
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Grand Horizons Front Page
A New Look on Life Late in Life
By: - Apr 11th, 2023Bill and Nancy have been married for 50 years, and on the surface, they have been happy, or at least content. But when they dispassionately announce their decision to divorce to their visiting adult sons, Brian and Ben, the boys are flabbergasted. As expected, they have questions like “What happened?” but worse, they have answers, like “We can fix this,” as if the breakup could be within their control. And when they finally realize that it could actually happen, it’s “Why couldn’t you get divorced when we finished school, like normal people?”
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A Distinct Society Front Page
Cruel Consequences of Misguided Regulations
By: - Apr 10th, 2023Haskell Free Library and Opera House straddles the border between the U.S. and Quebec Province in Canada as a result of a surveying error that occurred before the library was built. A line on the floor designates the border. The playwright has deftly used this real-life anomaly as the crucible for the play’s conflicts. After the Muslim Travel Ban of 2017, a kerfuffle arises as a result of a social media posting which suggests that the library is a good crossborder meeting place. The message is not lost on Muslims, particularly families with members on both sides of the divide.
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English Front Page
Adult Iranians Struggle with Unexpected Social and Cultural Issues Involved in Learning English
By: - Apr 08th, 2023Born to immigrant parents, Iranian-American playwright Sanaz Toossi looks at a part of a global industry that has derived from the ubiquitous nature of English – teaching English to non-native speakers. Calling upon her own heritage to generate a narrative, her incisive dramedy “English” won both the Lucille Lortel and Obie awards for best new play in 2022.
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Prospero's Island Front Page
A Compelling Operatic Update of Shakespeare's "The Tempest"
By: - Apr 05th, 2023Composer Allen Shearer and librettist Claudia Stevens's “Prospero’s Island” borrows from the “The Tempest.” But they have moved it a significant measure from the source material. In addition to lyrics in modern American-English vernacular interspersed with poetic accents, a plot update and revision gives the material more contemporary relevance while altering the moral profile of the main character. The result is a riveting chronicle of moral corruption followed by a quest for redemption that is accompanied by equally compelling music, calling on diverse idioms. Although the narrative arc is clearly dramatic, the creators frequently punctuate the proceedings with humorous interludes.
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Blithe Spirit Front Page
Fun With Farce And Fantasy
By: - Apr 03rd, 2023The flamboyant bon vivant Noël Coward excelled in many aspects of the performing arts, but he is best remembered today as a playwright who exposed the foibles of English society in several between-the-wars, comedy-of-manners plays. The last of these was “Blithe Spirit.” Many of us, having seen the movie and perhaps productions of the play as well, may wish to pass on seeing this war horse once again. That would be a mistake. City Lights has produced a sparkling rendition that hits the mark on every measure.
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Merrily We Roll Along Front Page
Sondheim's Checkered Musical Rises Again
By: - Mar 28th, 2023Those familiar with 42nd Street Moon will see how this offering fits the company’s modus operandi. Obviously, it is a musical, and one that calls for a large ensemble, but with limited orchestration and minimal staging, all of which suit the company. But for that, you get Sondheim – witty, and sometimes searing lyrics, creative rhythms, often delivered in patter style, and great music. The music, however, is a little off the composer’s beaten path – a bit more conventional Broadway and a bit less dissonance.
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Ruthless! The Musical Front Page
A Delightful Spoof of Mame, Gypsy, and The Bad Seed
By: - Mar 27th, 2023Send-ups can be tricky, since pastiche, and particularly farce, can wear thin. But “Ruthless! The Musical” pushes all the right buttons, offering a bright script and bouncy music with clever and provocative lyrics. Altarena Playhouse gives it a rousing rendition that is enjoyable from start to finish. The casting and acting are superb, and the creative elements sparkle.
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