The SF Opera production of La Fille du Regiment definitively put to rest the notion that opera is not the proper format for comedy: who needs agonizing arias when you can get a wild, fun party. We do not recall have laughed that much in an opera house, ever. more ›

If you ever needed a cheer-me-up, we heartily recommend a sip of Donizetti's Elixir of Love, the effervescent show at the SF Opera. Or, two sips of it, since there's a family version which packs some of the same good-hearted fun and the same sweet romance into a crisp, condensed two hours. more ›

A huge creamy moon hovers over most of the sets of Lucia di Lammermoor, a production designed by Graham Vick, which had it's premiere last night at the SF Opera; it's a big round placid disk, which moves slowly above the singers. It appears at the entrance of Lucia, on a barren plain with low purple-ish bushes and a single, wind-bent tree which makes a silouhette trying to reach for the moon. Oooh, symbolism! At this point, we know the moon will be back for The Mad Scene, the high point of Lucia. See? The full moon as the cause for temporary insanity, you know, dogs howling at the moon, girls getting cranky. The world lunatic derives from luna, moon in latin. We were warned that it's a common trope amongst Lucia set designers. What we did not expect: that we'd find a full moon again over the roofs of San Francisco, as we were going home on Valencia street. We're pretty sure it winked at us. more ›