The program notes for Massenet's Werther, which opened Wednesday night at the SF Opera, mention a 1894 critic who wrote: "Werther despairs in Act I, continues in despair in Acts II and III and becomes desperate in Act IV." Last night performance was faithful to this description: claustrophobic, oppressive, cloistered. In a sealed, hermetic stage, the characters are all mostly unhappy, and only dreams, or death, can provide an escape. 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 ›