We enjoyed two performances at SF Opera, the 2nd cast of Il Trovatore in the last performance of that run, and Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio, which continues for three more performances.

The Abduction from the Seraglio felt like a light palate cleanser after the earlier, headier productions. It's a comedic endeavor, full of Mozart's sparkling grace. The current production at the SF Opera made things even more palatable by translating the spoken text in English, keeping the sung bits in the original German.

Yet, we felt a step down from the bar set thus far this season, both musically and theatrically. Conducting, Cornelius Meister was out of sync with his singers for the performance we attended early in the run. His strings sounded slippery in the overture, as if taken too fast. Some singers, Peter Rose in particular, just could not just find his beat. Both have excuses, since Cornelius, born in 1980, is among the youngest conductors to lead the SF Opera ever, and we knew Rose would later miss a performance due to personal reason. Cornelius will assert himself more as he grows up, we're sure.