We went to the opera yesterday for the introduction of new SF Opera general director David Gockley, who officially succeeded Pamela Rosenberg on January 1st. Pamela Rosenberg was the director for the last five years, commissioned Dr Atomic and generally tried to shake things up a bit, so we were curious to see were Gockley stands. Gone is the modern -- tacky, screamed the purists -- feel from the brochures and the web site:......

La Forza del Destino, the latest production of the SF Opera, opened yesterday in a wonderful new production. The Opera completely reinvented this classic, and came up with a fresh and polemic take which delighted us. And with the brilliant singing we enjoyed last night, no one will mind much of the liberties taken with the sets and costumes. Forza is a monumentous production. It lasts 3h40mn, with a huge cast, a large choir,......

SFist Ced graciously allowed us to take a small break from weekly-reading and political-junkie-ing for a lovely evening out at the Opera -- thanks, Ced! The few times we've gone to the opera previously, we've only been able to afford the seats that are so high up in the building that Jon Krakauer is writing a book about our trek up the stairs (contrary to the rumors, we were not short-roped) -- what a treat to be down on the main floor where the oxygen is so thick and water boils at the regular 212 degrees Fahrenheit! It's a totally different scene on the first floor -- the lines for the bathroom are shorter, women wear sparklier dresses, and -- who knew? -- there's a cafe in the basement! We looked for Sean Wilsey's stepmother in the audience but the program said that she usually sits in Box O on the second floor. Rodelinda is a Baroque-era opera written in 1725 by George Friederic Handel (you may remember him from such hits as The Hallelujah Chorus). Rodelinda is the queen of Naples, who has just been told that her husband, King Bertario, has been found dead. Bertario's rival, Duke Grimoaldo, will take the throne in his place. Turns out Grimoaldo's been in love with Rodelinda for years (despite being engaged to Bertario's sister Eduige) and threatens to kill Rodelinda's son Flavio if she doesn't agree to marry him. Tough breaks! Making things more complicated, Bertario's not actually dead, he's just escaped back into the kingdom. Will Rodelinda marry Grimoaldo to save her child? What about Bertario's kingdom? And why is the sinister bass singer named Garibaldo always lurking around? The Opera also made one of those "controversial" moves in the operatic community, and decided to shift the setting of Rodelinda from 18th century Italy to the 1940s, and designed the sets with a modernist, film noir-type feel instead. So instead of the usual (faux-)ermine robes and scepters you think of when you think of Baroque opera, the women wore snazzy vintage suits and the men wore bow ties and tuxes. And the "kingdom" consisted of city buildings and bridge underpasses, instead of the usual moats and turrets you'd expect. After the jump: a mezzo writhing on the floor, molls and gangsters, and -- was that booing we heard when the set designers took a bow? Picture from the SF Opera...