By 1816, opera buffa had about a century under its belt.  Composer Gioachino Rossini had something new in mind, to lift the comic level of the action from the subtle to raucous.  His vehicle was The Barber of Seville, based on French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais’ play of the same name, and in effect, a prequel to Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro.  These two works not only remain in the repertory after more than two centuries, but both are perennially in the top ten of operas performed worldwide.

Along with other music, Rossini produced 39 operas and retired wealthy at the age of 37.   A highly gifted composer who made an art form of reprising and stitching together bits of scores from previous use, he hit his zenith at 24-years-of-age with The Barber of Seville.  Its music, written in a mere 13 days, is bright and melodic and its characters well drawn and memorable.  And for those who appreciate bel canto, it offers every element of expression of beautiful singing.

Unsurprisingly given its popularity, in the 101 years since San Francisco Opera first performed The Barber of Seville, the current offering is its 29th production.  And what a production!  The one versatile “building” in Llorenç Corbella’s set rests on a slanted ramp and takes on various looks with changes in enhancements and lighting.  The ramp even serves as a comic mouth when a passel of military men crawl out from underneath it or when a bodyless long arm extends a guitar to Figaro.  And the closing is spectacular with accentuated colors added to the neutral look preceding and with the addition of projections and even a stunning 1971 Morgan Plus 8 Convertible as a conveyance for the wedded couple.

Of course, the magic begins with the music and the comedy, which integrate wonderfully.  Highlights from the score start early on when explosive music introduces Figaro in the person of baritone Joshua Hopkins who delivers a fine rapid-patter rendering of “Largo al factotum,” (“Make way for the handyman”), Figaro’s signature aria that even watchers of cartoons know.  Unlike most title characters, however, Figaro becomes a facilitator, who nonetheless takes credit for all of the good that happens.  The remaining showcases are for other performers or shared with them.

The central plot issue is that Dr. Bartolo is guardian to Rosina, whom he wishes to marry – but quick.  Rosina falls for Count Almaviva, who wants her love to be genuine and not based on his position.  Thus, he engages in the disguise of a student, Lindoro, to attract her affection.  Mezzo-soprano Maria Kataeva is Rosina, and her showstopper is “Una voce poco fa” (“A voice from the past”), both beautiful and bombastic, in which she at once claims to be docile but gives allegiance to Lindoro and vows to be a viper if impeded.  Kataeva embraces the highly challenging coloratura aria with flourishes, replete with dramatic shifts in dynamics and thrilling runs.

Levy Sekgapane portrays Count Almaviva and his various guises.  His roles demand tremendous coloratura skills, and the high tenor with glimmering timbre answers the bell with the same breadth and precision of trills and ornamentation as provided by the distaff part.

Almaviva does face treachery in his quest however. Bartolo’s accomplice Don Basilio suggests that a little slander will go a long way to discredit Almaviva in his mock-serious “La colunnia” (“Slander”).  Riccardo Fassi delivers the ominous but humorous message with precision, but the effect would be stronger if the voice were more powerful.  The final aria of the opera, Almaviva’s “Cessa di più resistere” (“Stop resisting”), is pure embellishment for overachievers with a soaring tessitura, but Sekgapane conquers it with grace.

The other key player, is Dr. Bartolo, played by veteran Renato Girolami who sets the standard of comic brilliance in the production, with matching warm vocal quality in his mid-and-upper ranges.  Perhaps opening was an off night for him, but he lost considerable volume in the bottom of his range and in some of the rapid patter.

Of course, a lot happens between individual highlights, and the opera is full of ensemble moments, especially the multi-staged Act 1 conclusion.  Generous use of chorus and dancers creates a lively atmosphere, and the snippets of flamenco, so strongly associated with Seville, are welcomed.

One criticism is that like so many operas from previous eras, a lot of filler seems designed to make for a longer evening that patrons particularly appreciated back then.  That would apply to Almaviva’s last aria as well as Berta, the housekeeper’s.  Notwithstanding, a couple of comments on Berta.  Local legend Catherine Cook will perform the role going forward, meaning that she has played it for every SF Opera production since 1996.  Her illness at opening allowed Adler Fellow Mary Hoskins to stand in and display her considerable talent.

In all, the Emilio Sagi directed production hits all the right notes and makes for a rewarding evening.

The Barber of Seville, composed by Gioachino Rossini with libretto by Cesare Sterbini and based on Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais’ play of the same name, is produced by San Francisco Opera and plays at War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA through June 21, 2026.

Note

For selective readers, this commentary is divided into independent sections – a primer on Crossings, the Japanese ports called on in northeastern Japan, Tokyo as a destination, the six-sea-days crossing, Alaska visits, and Vancouver.

A Primer on Crossings

Initially, transoceanic voyages were functional and point to point.  Early on, passengers sailed to immigrate.  Then, before air transport was an option, business trips and extended overseas vacations motivated these journeys.  Now, more transoceanic crossings are repositioning, seasonally moving a cruise fleet from one region to another, most commonly between the two most popular cruise domains, the Caribbean and the Med.  But other repositionings occur, including the Northern Pacific from Asia to North America in the spring and the reverse in the fall.  Crossings are among the most attractively priced cruises, because they have few ports relative to the number of sailing days, which means fewer port fees and other costs to the cruise line.  Because passengers usually seek destinations, crossings attract less demand.

This spring, among the offerings departing from Tokyo was a very affordable super-luxury crossing on Silversea and an even cheaper one on luxury line Azamara, albeit offering much smaller staterooms.  We actually have friends who were on super-luxury Seabourn’s crossing, a couple of days ahead of us.  But the best option for length and itinerary was super-luxury Regent’s 17-day Tokyo to Vancouver voyage embarking May 3, 2026.  Besides having appealing end points, it provided five stops in northeast Japan plus four more spanning sub-Arctic Alaska, from the Aleutians to the Inside Passage, that make it almost like a full two region cruise.

We opted for Regent because it is top drawer – all-inclusive with basic excursions, specialty restaurants, wi-fi, alcoholic beverages throughout the day, laundry, and dry cleaning included.  We had a wonderful experience.  Our ship, the Regent Explorer, is in what I call the 700 class, and if you’ve cruised, you will appreciate the ease of getting around a ship that size yet having the facilities that adults desire.  However, if you’re looking for Las Vegas styled shows, zip lines, rock walls, pool slides, or activities for kids, go for the larger ships, what my wife Karin calls the Obesities of the Seas.  They are more accessible financially, a fraction of the cost of the best lines, but many add-ons are at additional cost.  Importantly, when you hit a port with 700 passengers rather than 3,000 to 5,000, the logistics are immeasurably cleaner, and you don’t overwhelm the destination, many of which larger, mass market ships can’t even access.

The Departure – Japan

Our departure point was Tokyo International Cruise Terminal in the Tokyo Bay area which looks more like Miami than the bulk of Tokyo. With 14 million people in the city proper, Tokyo will be discussed after the cruise destinations in Japan.  The five Regent stops in Japan span the northeast of the country.  Three are on Honshu, the major island, and they are Hitachinaka, Miyako, and Aomori.  Two are on Hokkaido, the sparsely populated northern island, and they are Hakodate and Kushiro.

None of these individually are compelling like the great tourist destinations of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima.  But collectively, they offer a different look at Japan – of life in small cities and towns away from the bustle and notoriety of the magnets, although much of what you see depends on the particular excursions you select.  The good news is that with five ports, each offering a number of excursions, you can select your own palette. 

Overall, the character of the northeast is driven by its relationship with the sea, and fine seafood is a calling card throughout the region.  One option that will appear in all of these destinations is going to a fish market.  While there are differences among them, visiting one or two is probably enough.

Japan is 70% mountainous and heavily forested, so most of the countryside is quite beautiful.  In much of this region, mountains come to the sea with striking outcrops along the shorelines.  The less common flats accommodate towns and agriculture, mostly rice paddies.  Hot springs are common throughout the country, and onsens, or public baths, are available throughout these locations.  Going to one is both an inexpensive physical pleasure and participation in the local culture, which is quite different from American practice.  Among artisan activities, pottery is probably the most prevalent, and there are opportunities to visit pottery making centers.

The eastern coast of Honshu is also home to major earthquake belts.  March 11, 2011 experienced a 9.0 earthquake resulting in a tsunami with 50 foot waves, the cause of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.  That event will always loom large in the region’s psyche and planning.  Miyako’s mayor had previously insisted on investing in a vast tsunami protection wall that was considered his folly until it proved itself during the disaster.

The general social character of the people is similar to all Japanese – homogeneous, orderly, proper, and constant. While a majority practice a blend of Shinto and Buddhism, this is to conform with social ideals rather than support religious principles, and only 3% of Japanese believe in God.  One curiosity is the fascination with animation, as suggested by the popularity of anime and manga in print and screen.  And popular figures such as Hello Kitty, Satoru Gojo, and even the historic Godzilla are ubiquitous.  And if you think they are limited to the likes of back packs and key rings, you’ll see them even in postal boxes.

Of our five stops, three of the port cities themselves are modest – Hitachinaka, Miyako, and Kushiro, and in fact many of the excursion activities are some distance from the towns.  Hitachinaka serves mostly as a launch point for the more interesting Kasama, which does offer a shrine of some note.  Miyako is a mostly scenic stop, famous for Jodogahama beach and Ryusendo caves.  Kushiro is home to a nondescript wetlands, which however was the vital home to the believed extinct red-crested crane, a national treasure.  There is a nearby reserve that maintains a dozen or so of these large and beautiful birds that have been saved from oblivion.  The town is also a launch point to the center of the island and the small remaining indigenous Ainu people.

The most unique stop is Hakodate, the southernmost Hokkaido city, which should have benefited most from the 30-mile-long bullet train tunnel under the Tsugaru Strait that separates the northernmost Japanese island from Honshu.  However, because of brutal winter weather and the call of larger cities with greater opportunity, the population has actually slid several percent to 125,000.

Notwithstanding, Hakodate is an appealing smaller city for tourism.  The morning market, comprised of a main building and a number of individual fish and souvenir shops, is only a couple of blocks from the pier.  Motomachi, a very distinctive section of town, derives from its being among the very first ports open to the west as a result of U.S. Commodore Perry’s demands in 1854.  Its 19^th century remains include consulates, Russian and British churches, houses and other buildings both in pure European style as well as a unique Japanese style first floor and European second floor.  The reason was that the area is on a hill, and the second floors could be seen from the harbor, indicating how cosmopolitan the city was.  There is also a “ropeway” or cable car with a single gondola that leads to a hill with commanding views of the city.

To my thinking, the second interesting city on the itinerary is Aomori, the northernmost city on Honshu and across the strait from Hakodate.  Not only is it home to the Fuji apple, but 60% of the apples grown in the country are from this region.  A triangular A-shaped building, the Aomori Prefecture Tourist and Product Center; a maritime museum; and the A-Factory, a largely-apple-related products building are a short walk from the pier.  So is Neputa Museum, which is dedicated to parade floats with heroic scenes in animated form, made from painted rice paper and lit internally.  The three best floats from the most recent annual festival are on display, and visitors get to bang drums and cymbals in the fashion of the music in the parade.  Like Hakadote, Aomori also has a cable car to a mountain vista.

The other powerful major attractions are outside the city.  Takayama Inari Shrine is a Shinto facility with an astounding 1,000 red torii, or gates, that wind through the countryside and can be walked through.  The other notable site is Seiryu-ji, a Buddhist temple, also in the restful and beautiful countryside.  Built under the sponsorship of one wealthy individual, Ryukou Oda starting in the 1980s, it consists of several traditional shrine structures spread over the park.  But the highlight at the height of 70 feet is the tallest seated Buddha in Japan.

Tokyo as a Prime Tourist Destination and Another Comment on Japanese Behavior

I don’t intend to write a travelog on what to see and do in Tokyo.  Rather, I will speak to those who hesitate to visit this great destination perhaps because it seems like it would be too difficult to navigate because of written and spoken language; because it seems to be so large as to be unruly; or that it seems too different.  My response is “You can do this.”  What’s more, you should, and following is some support for the argument.

It shouldn’t be hard to convince readers that Tokyo is a world class destination.  Like most of the great cities of the world, there are many different focuses that a tourist can have.  It is rich with monuments to history, religion, and culture; museums of all ilks; cuisine both local and foreign, from peasant to fine (as validated by having more Michelin-starred restaurants than any city in the world); performances reflecting Japanese traditional culture including noh and kabuki theater, sumo wrestling, and baseball(!); retailers with lighting that creates a garish kaleidoscope of color at night; and more.  While Tokyo is not a beautiful city like the elegant Paris or the classic Rome, it possesses buildings with clean lines on exceptionally clean streets and does have an abundance of appealing modern architectural highlights.

Many people fear that access to all the city has to offer will be very difficult.  Here are some factors that make it easy, starting with a great number of information booths.  Public transport takes you anywhere you want to go and is well marked in English.  The subway even goes into the international terminal right outside of the baggage carousels at Haneda Airport, and you can swipe your credit card to pay and take the train into the heart of the city.  It couldn’t be cheaper and easier.

Food is the other most important area where you want to understand what you’re doing.  Most  eating spots have pictures of their meals with prices outside and English language menus.  Whatever mistakes you will make in organizing food will be minimal.  A surprising anomaly is that despite high cost of living here, there are accessible, inexpensive restaurants everywhere as Japanese seem to eat out frequently without relying on fast food chains.

Other facilitators – the use of English in signage extends to just about everything remotely touristy, and English is widely understood if not always well spoken.  Another past impediment is that Tokyo, which was slow to adopt credit cards, now uses electronic payment mechanisms routinely.  Finally, Japanese people are uncommonly helpful when asked.  When we were looking for an elevator in a train station as we had our luggage with us, not only did a man show us to the elevator, but he insisted on leading us to our hotel, which was over ¼ of a mile walk.  When Karin fell along with carry-ons on an escalator, two men were very helpful in getting her righted.

One particular I will mention was our hotel, the Mercure, which is well-located in Hibiya/Shinbashi, close to the Ginza and walkable to Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace.  Its amenities are excellent, including pajamas that are changed nightly if you use them, and a free, but limited, non-alcoholic mini-bar.  Similar to other better Accor brands, like Sofitels and Pullmans we have stayed in, it has a lounge that is stocked with complimentary beverages, alcoholic included, and snacks.

Across the street, elevated train lines run above a brick support structure with frequent archways that originally allowed movement of people and traffic under the tracks throughout the length of the elevation.  That structure has been enclosed except allowing for strategic thoroughfares.  Arches on the side across from the hotel have been converted to entrances of a multitude of restaurants underneath the rails.  So the options for eating, especially in this area, are unbelievable and particularly popular with young people.

A brief comment on Japanese society.  They say that “Clothes make the man,” and if dress influences behavior, note that we saw virtually no women wearing kimonos, with its associated demure behavior like obsequious bowing or frequent covering laughter with the hand.  Not only was it Spring season, but it was Golden Week, the biggest vacation week of the year.  Yet, overwhelmingly, the view of the sunny and warm walkways was a sea of people wearing informal clothes of muted solid colors from black to tan, suggesting that not wanting to stick out is still in practice.

Time, Motion, and Six Days Without Land

We’ve been on a number of cruises that have canceled stops because of dangerous conditions.  Fortunately, Regent Explorer is of recent enough vintage with stabilizers that control the rock and roll, so that even with the frequent gale force winds, you could feel the buffeting, but it didn’t cause motion sickness except in the most sensitive.  We were able to make all of our destinations, but because of heavy seas on the customary route, we charted a more northerly course on the six sea days between Japan and Alaska.

Most everyone should know of the International Date Line, which runs primarily along the 180^th longitude.  When crossing it east to west, you lose one hour, as with any time zone change, but gain a day, so that you relive that date – in our case May 11.  For those who are susceptible to jet lag (and who isn’t), with this crossing, you travel from Japan to the West Coast of North America with eight days having one-hour time changes, so you never have to deal with the big time change.

We used to avoid itineraries with many sea days but now welcome them on a top-quality cruise line like Regent.  With fine cuisine, lectures, entertainment, competitions, many other on-board activities, and the prospect of reading or other quiet time, sea days can offer a welcomed retreat and a greater opportunity to make friends.  Duplicate bridge plus lessons for beginners and intermediates also fill the day.  And being in a larger stateroom which you get on better cruise lines makes a difference.

Alaska

As an overarching comment about visiting Alaska, overwhelmingly, visitors cruise the coast and go to small towns of fairly narrow tourist interest.  However, the time spent in each is a few hours at most, so relatively, they are interesting, each with their own stories to tell.  And they are all accessible to the grandeur of nature, breathtaking snow-covered mountains, waterfalls tumbling from rocky crags, and fjords and islands covered with lush green conifers.  Few places in the world offer such majesty.

Kodiak

Kodiak is a city/island of 12,000, near the base of the Aleutian Islands.  Let’s start by looking at its superlatives.  It was the first western settlement in Alaska with the arrival of a Russian community in 1784, and fittingly, the B&B is the oldest tavern in the state.  Economically, the city is the second largest fishing port in the country.  1,800 native Aleuts live here out of only 6,000 anywhere, and 1/3 of the population is Filipino, attracted by work in the canneries.  The Kodiak bear is the largest of all bears in the world, and all five Alaskan salmon species plus the closely related and also anadromous (living in both sweet and salty water during their lives) steelhead trout thrive here. 

Cold water fishing is the lifeblood of Kodiak, with crabbing being the top of the pyramid.  While fishing is a highly dangerous occupation, nothing compares to the horrific risks of laying pots for King Crabs in the Bering Sea.  The Fisherman’s Memorial, with over 200 plaques honoring the deceased from the Kodiak fleet, is full of harrowing stories.  While the payoff for crabbing crew for a short season can easily reach six figures, it’s boom or bust, and a fisherman can actually be in the red for a failed outing because of paying his share of groceries and fuel.

The highs of good catches with good prices create huge energy and a goldrush atmosphere, while the lows result in doldrums.  The current low, when canners offer as low as 5 cents for a salmon, is evident from the almost empty streets, but the locals are very welcoming.  Only around 30 ships visit Kodiak per year, and they are all under 1,200 passengers.

The defining moment for Kodiak was the devastating 9.2 earthquake in 1964 that destroyed the town and its economy when it had been on a roll.  Visible evidence from earthquake and tsunamis is spare, but like with the Japanese quake of 2011, it lives in the psyches, even of those who were not there.

Guides on walking tours usually have experience with fishing in the fleet and are outstanding raconteurs.  On Regent, that tour was included, but those that seek wildlife are $399 and above.  The town has an excellent Visitors Center with knowledgeable staff, a large commercial marina, an Alutiiq (Aleut) museum, and a Russian church in a very walkable town.  Kodiak was a surprise for its rich history and what the place has to offer for a short visit.

Anchorage

In a state whose rare population centers are mostly small towns, this city is the largest in Alaska by multiples.  Its mostly cruise-driven tourist trade has been traditionally served by the port of Seward, but more recently, and for smaller ships like Regent’s Explorer, Whittier is preferred for its being closer and more modern.  Anchorage is decent, all considered, but lacks the dramatic history of other stops on the state’s coastline and has little to offer the visitor in the city proper.  The exception is Anchorage Museum, a striking facility that hosts a well-targeted and beautiful collection of artifacts from the various native peoples that live in the state as well as exemplary pieces from modern local artists.

Of course, Anchorage can be the launch point for any number of adventures in the wild.  A great thing is that the drive in from Whittier is stunning and considered by some to be a top 10 scenic drive in the U.S.  The Seward highway runs smoothly in the flats along the Turnagain Arm to Cook Inlet at Anchorage.  Though the region with the body of water is as flat as a pancake, stunning, snow-covered mountain ranges grace either side of the valley.

The Arm, which has some significant physical characteristics, grows wider on the way to Anchorage.  It has extremely large shallows, which result in huge, rich mudflats at low tide.  Also, because a finger of the Arm funnels into a narrow gorge at one diversion, it contains the second highest tide in North America, commonly at over 30 feet.  The effect of tide ebb clashing with tide flow also creates bore waves, which are a number of parallel waves several feet high that are surfed by enthusiasts (we saw some).  They run at over 10 miles per hour for a distance of over 40 miles!

On the west side of the highway is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center full of rescued animals, while across the road is the Coastal Wildlife Refuge, a large marsh with abundant bird life.  Also, scattered along the highway are the pallid and skeletal “ghost forests” of dead trees from the 1964 earthquake, killed by salt water intrusion that also preserved the wood.

Whittier is not touristy and is most noted for its secret naval base in WW II.  The site was selected by the U.S. Navy because Whittier is almost always overcast, making detection from the air difficult.

Sitka and Ketchikan

In contrast to the isolated Kodiak, the more temperate Sitka and Ketchikan are two of the prime stops on the Inside Passage cruises, among the most popular in the world for their captivating beauty and spirited culture.  The similarity is that like most of the Alaskan coastline, both offer some of the most beautiful vistas imaginable.  Both S & K are on islands, inaccessible by car except by ferry.  Both are small spots on the edge of the Tongass National Forest, the largest temperate climate protected forest in the world, like most of the coast, lush green with Sitka spruce, red and yellow cedar, hemlock, and more. They are also home to rescue centers for local wildlife.

The day after our stop in Sitka with only 600 visitors on our vessel, three ships with 8,000 passengers were slated to arrive, equaling the population of the town.  The less-traveled Kodiak hosts around 25,000 cruise tourists per year, but Ketchikan, one of the largest cruise ports in the country, receives 1,600,000 in a season that runs only half the year.  But for all of the overtourism in the towns, the main draw of Alaska cruises is nature.  Nonetheless, the inundation of these towns with day visitors is another reason to go with a small capacity luxury line, as they have fewer passengers by multiples and are more likely to avoid hitting ports at prime time.  While Regent’s complimentary excursions are limited in some destinations, it had a dozen each in S & K, so the big decisions are what to choose, as there is much more to see and do.  Shuttles are offered into the center of town in most ports for those who wish to  nose around on their own in addition to or instead of excursions.

Sitka’s history is rich with Russian colonization and wars with the indigenous Tlingit peoples.  Sheldon Jackson, a Presbyterian minister and missionary in the late 1800s, looms large in Sitka.  Jackson advocated for English language and Christian education for the tribes, establishing many schools for Native Americans.  Several harmonious buildings from his main campus in Sitka still exist.  But in ironic contradiction, he suppressed local culture and language to the extreme, yet collected over 5,000 Tlingit artifacts, because he feared the loss of their culture.  These pieces form the basis for the impressive Sheldon Jackson Museum, beautifully housed in the first concrete building in Alaska, an octagonal shaped structure with one massive central atrium that holds the museums displays.

This is a region of potlatch culture, in which large ceremonies are hosted by individuals to depict their wealth and share with the community.  It is also the land of totem poles that document the history of families and clans.  The Sitka Visitors Center, along with other attractions, has a one-mile trail in the forest adorned with 30 impressive totem poles.

Although Sitka seems like the small town that it is, Ketchikan buzzes with tourist activities, mainly shopping of all ilks, restaurants, bars, and tour options for local flavor and for nature exploration.  But beware, for most tours and products, Alaska is very expensive, even including processed salmon, which may be produced outside of the state.  In contrast to Sitka’s significant religious history, Ketchikan is more noted for its brothels on Creek Street, active until 1954.  They are memorialized at the most famous of them all, Dolly’s House, which survives as a museum acknowledging the ladies of the night.  At the same time, Ketchikan also claims to have the greatest number of totem poles anywhere.

In addition to the history of adventure found in both towns, Ketchikan has noteworthy infrastructure.  Much of its downtown, including the main thoroughfare, is built over water on stilts.  It is home to a number of stair streets for pedestrians only, that otherwise have all of the entitlements of regular streets.  And it has a short car tunnel in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most ways of traversing its route – through, over, around, and even going under it in a boat.

Vancouver, Canada

Our cruise terminated in Vancouver, a sparkling city that shares much of the character of its American West Coast brethren, Seattle and San Francisco, regrettably including prominent homelessness.  I’ll leave it to the reader to explore this comfortable yet interesting destination except for a few general comments.

Vancouver deserves a special mention in my list of cities with the most beautiful junctures of cityscape, mountains, and sea, especially noting the charm of sea plane activity.  Its greenery including fine parks is quaffed by rains similar to Seattle.  The percentage of Asian population is the largest outside of Asia at over 40%, even exceeding the Bay Area.  Its Chinatown ranks third largest in North America, replete with several museums and the exquisite gem, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens, the likes of which I’ve seen in no other Chinatown.  Granville Island is the place for arts and crafts shops, while the city offers much in the way of eating and drinking.  Skiing can be found 15 minutes from downtown, while 1.5 hours away is Whistler Blackcomb with world class slopes and facilities.  In all, it is an appealing location with much to offer.

Conclusion

My opinions should be clear.  ‘nuff said.

Indian civilization, including present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh, has spawned one of the very few seminal cultures in the world.  Its contributions within its own boundaries and influence outside them has been profound.

No other culture has birthed two of the world’s major religions (Buddhism and Hinduism), much less nursed the world’s largest population of a third, Islam.  Historically, “India” has been in the vanguard in music and dance; textiles and garments; literature and philosophy; meditation and exercise; painting, sculpture, and architecture.  In modern times, Bollywood produces more movies than any other source anywhere and its contemporary music and dance are celebrated worldwide.  Finally, India’s influential cuisine is one of the most diverse, setting the standard for the generous use of healthful and flavorful spices.  Yet, for all of these accomplishments, the protagonists in The Lunchbox will fantasize about another society – Bhutan, with its government measure of Gross National Happiness.

Many Americans probably think of DoorDash, Grubhub, and their ilk as innovative.  Fact is that in Bombay (now Mumbai), hot lunches have been delivered since 1890.  The differences are that the dabbawallahs, loosely meaning the ones with the lunch boxes, often deliver food to workers made at the workers’ own homes, and they return the reusable tiffins to the meal’s maker after it is eaten.  Tiffins are usually comprised of a stack of cylindrical metal containers, each holding a separate meal course.

In Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, a mix-up occurs, and two people receive the wrong lunches – though in real life, the dabbawalla system received a Six Sigma Designation for suffering fewer than 3.4 errors per one million deliveries!  But this plotline is fiction!  The highly acclaimed and decorated movie of the same name appeared in 2013, and now, Berkeley Rep offers a warm and affirming world premiere theatrical musical based on the same story.  Like its predecessor, the musical offers a quiet charm, but with the punctuation of dance and of bouncy music from The Lazours, whose Lebanese-American background suits the fusion of many influences.

The odd couple of the wrong delivery are Ila (a luminous Kuhoo Verma), a young mother in an unhappy marriage, and Fernandes (a wistful Manu Narayan), a widower about to retire early from a government office job.  Once the delivery mistake is made, they allow misdeliveries to continue, nourished by notes that they write one another and leave in the tiffins.  Some may find the slow burn of the first half of the play to drag a bit.  However, a blind relationship built on short notes (“The chili was fiery, and it took two bananas to cool my mouth.”) takes time, and ultimately, a number of issues arise and resolve, even those of the main characters’ foils, who provide most of the comic relief.

The charming Ila’s almost cloister-like isolation is depicted in Mimi Lien’s appealing multi-level set.  Ila never leaves her second-floor apartment for the first hour of the play.  Besides her daughter, Yashvi, her main contact with the outside world is her older upstairs neighbor Mrs. Deshpande (a mischievous Anisha Nagarajan), whom in Indian fashion Ila calls Auntie.

Their main form of communication is yelling to each other out the windows, and the cheerful busybody Auntie often offers addendums to Ila’s cooking by lowering ingredients from above in a plastic basin on a rope.  They also share a funny duet with Auntie telling Ila what the younger woman needs in life (what else would it be?!).

Fernandes is also a pleasant loner but in an office.  Morose, and seemingly without enthusiasm for life, he is charged with training his replacement, the eager and unctuous Shaikh (a buoyant Aathaven Tharmarajah).  Fernandes initially has little time for Shaikh but begins to sympathize as some of the latter’s secrets unfold.

Indian society is very much in evidence, with stock characterizations from stultifying office practices to social manners.  Nods are made to India’s two enduring cultural problems, but without introducing conflict.  Shaikh refers to his being dark, code for lower caste, and that it has been an issue in his life, especially with the family of the girl he hopes to marry.  It is clear that Ila is Hindu, Fernandes is Christian, and Shaikh is Muslim, but religion is not addressed explicitly, and they never clash on the basis of faith.

Under Rachel Chavkin’s incisive direction, The Lunchbox has the look and feel of a Broadway-bound production.  The story engages, and while the stakes are small to begin with, each of the four main characters confronts at least one life-changing decision by the end.  One structural weakness is that except for an office confrontation among Fernandes, Shaikh, and their boss, all substantive interactions involve only two people, diminishing the dramatic dynamism. However, characters are empathy-inducing; acting is flawless; staging is compelling; and song and dance lift the spirits.

The Lunchbox, with book and co-lyrics by Ritesh Batra and music and co-lyrics by The Lazours, is a world premiere musical based on the movie of the same name, produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre and playing on its stage at 2025 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA through June 28, 2026.

Giacomo Puccini is renowned for soaring lyricism and accessibility in his operas.  What many aficionados do not realize is that with the exception of his failed first full-length opera, Edgar, the title character of each of his seven three-act operas is female – a testament to his love for the female voice.  While most of his heroines – Mimi, Cio-Cio San, Manon, and Magda – are designed for lighter voices, Tosca is the most demanding of his female roles and one of the challenges in all of opera.  It is long and mostly dramatic, with shrieking and demanding range, yet requiring lyric beauty.

Although some find Tosca dark and overwrought, its libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa offers the proper complement of characters with a protagonist, a love interest, and a venal antagonist.  One might question whether Tosca is the protagonist and Cavaradossi the love interest or vice versa, but undoubtedly, Scarpia is among the most craven villains in opera.

The highly dramatic plotline also embraces complexity with conflict, betrayal, retribution, misdirection, and the deaths of all major principals by different means.  The music meets the demands of the libretto at every turn, including some of Puccini’s most memorable arias as well as the powerful and ominous Scarpia leitmotif.

For those not familiar, singer Floria Tosca is in love with painter Mario Cavaradossi who, having hidden an escaped political prisoner, crosses swords with Chief of Police Scarpia.  The lascivious Scarpia promises that if Tosca submits to him sexually, he will save Cavaradossi from execution.  Any opera lover knows that a bloodbath driven by bad faith, relentless pursuit, and broken promises ensues.

West Bay Opera offers a traditional staging of Tosca to fine effect with a trio of strong-voiced principals to lead the way.  Julia Behbudov returns to West Bay having starred as Desdemona in Otello last year.  Although adept in spinto roles, her dramatic vocal skills are very much in evidence in this eponymous part.  Indeed, Tosca’s signature aria “Vissi d’arte,” provides a broad swath for interpretation as she pleas with Scarpia that she “lives for art” and doesn’t indulge in political intrigue.  While it can be caressed and the dynamics varied considerably, Behbudov goes from forte to fortissimo in a high energy delivery.  What is remarkable is that she has the voice to sing the aria after the demandingly harsh prelude of her confrontations with Scarpia earlier in Act 2.

Xavier Prado is Cavaradossi, and corresponding to Behbudov, he possesses a high range that is generally lyrical but with the additional asset of capacity for big sound.  Happily, the voices of the two lovers are very compatible in their high-volume duets.  Cavaradossi is twice blessed in the firmament of most loved arias.  In the beautiful Act 1 “Recondita armonia,” (“Hidden harmony”), he caresses the sounds of reconciling his appreciation of the beauty of another woman yet thinking only of Tosca.

His highlights are bookended with his passionate and ominous “E lucevan le stelle” (“And the stars were shining”), in which he regrets losing the love of his life as he anticipates death, even though he’s been told that the execution will be a sham.  The stunningly romantic aria is introduced by a mourning clarinet solo, and instrumentally-led melody.  Perhaps if it weren’t for Pavarotti’s popularizing Puccini’s “Nessun dorma,” (“Nobody is sleeping”), it might be opera’s most popular tenor crossover hit.

Robust baritone Robert Balonek portrays the evil Scarpia, most fitting as he played opera’s other most famous villain, Iago, in WBO’s production of Otello last year.  Balonek’s always deep and powerful voice suits the seething, hypocritical Scarpia.  His teeth-bearing rendition of the compelling “Tosca/Te Deum,” chills.  While the choir sings praises of the Lord, Scarpia overlays the religious rapture with his lust for Tosca and how he will have Cavaradossi executed and delusionally, how he will win Tosca for his own.

Tosca will always be one of opera’s most thrilling pieces.  Even if some smaller character parts and orchestra performance is a bit uneven, as was the case here, the production offers more than should be expected, and there is much to love.  Congrats to General Director Jose Luis Moscovich and West Bay Opera.

Tosca composed by Giacomo Puccini with libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa is produced by West Bay Opera and plays at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA through May 31, 2026.

Only two months before his assassination by Spain’s newly installed right-wing government in 1936, famed Federico Garcia Lorca completed his final play, The House of Bernarda Alba.  Loathed by fascists for his unrepentant socialism, homosexuality, and rejection of stultifying paternalism, the play stood as a symbol of defiance of conservative norms.  The always innovative Oakland Theater Project now presents the Chay Yew adapted English-language version of the masterpiece.

The action takes place in a small town in Spain’s Andalusia province.  Bernarda’s husband has just died, and the tyrannical widow consigns her five grown daughters to eight years of mourning.  The hitch is that the eldest, Augustias, whose father differed from that of the others, has not only received a meaningful inheritance, but she is set to marry Pepe, a rare eligible man in the town.  Thus, she has two modes of escape, while the four younger have none, especially as Bernarda “protects” them from having any contact with other men in town as she considers them all below the Alba family station.

The title figure, Bernarda, is performed as severe and uncompromising by an effectively grim Lisa Ramirez.  She scowls and thumps her cane as if grinding underlings.  Her prime antagonist is Adela, the youngest daughter, portrayed as overwrought and defiant by an also excellent Antonella Scogna who stomps and wriggles her arms furiously as if unable to free herself from invisible shackles.  Family dynamics are further complicated as Adela is secretly seeing Pepe who acts as her window to the world, giving her a glimpse of freedom.  The other sisters are also enamored with him, yet another cause for family friction.

The plot deals with very real issues in a passionate manner.  By reflection it reminds of how much change, both ebb and flow, we’ve seen in social mores and behaviors in our time.  One criticism of the text is that despite its being short for its era, it is still highly repetitious, and could have been trimmed further or added other issues.  Another consideration is that the women (and the characters on stage are all women) are one dimensional, though perhaps that is true of many real people.

So apart from the historic significance and sheer drama of the piece, why should it resonate with a contemporary American audience?  Because in many ways it mirrors our own political environment with an autocratic leader who is totally self-serving, cruel, and immune to reason.  Bernarda even repeats that she is respected and worshipped by her daughters, despite massive evidence to the contrary.  Sound familiar?  Like our president, she knowingly inflicts pain on those outside her defined circle, but she is also insensitive or oblivious to the pain she inflicts on those close to her and chokes off any attempts at freedom of action or thinking.

To accommodate a larger staging and audience than at its home playhouse, OTP took a black box space at Oakland’s Omni Commons and transformed it miraculously.  Special recognition goes to Lighting Designer Ashley Munday who not only created an extensive light grid from scratch but then executed a noteworthy design to boldly highlight features in the production.

The look of the staging is absolutely stunning, starting with Sam Fehr’s imaginative set.  With audience on three sides, glass walls surround the stage, accentuating the Alba women’s separation from society while witnessing their lives in a figurative glass house.  A white cross spans the boundaries of the floor within the space, signifying the conservative restrictiveness of religion, and the dirt covering the remainder of the floor is life suppressed.  Isadora Duskin Feinberg’s predominately black costumery also adds to the sense of stark and suffocating social restrictions.  Director Michael Socrates Moran pulls all the stops to make the material lively and relevant.

The one major criticism of the production, and it is a big one, is that the sound is inadequate.  I have verified with five other patrons who all had difficulty hearing and therefore understanding all of the dialog.  Fortunately, the overarching plotline is clear and the powerful staging and acting are not diminished.  And while I hate to ignore all of the other fine performances, I also particularly liked Angelina Fiodellisi as Maria Josefa, Bernarda’s ditsy mother. But it is not possible to give a detailed or fair accounting for this work at a granular level with so many gaps.

The House of Bernarda Alba, written by Federico Garcia Lorca and adapted by Chay Yew, is produced by Oakland Theater Project and plays at Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, CA through June 7, 2026.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises to be the most disruptive force that civilization has seen.  Unlike other earth-shattering innovations, it has arrived like a storm.  Yesterday, online searches of specific words or terms delivered lists of relevant citations.  Today, lengthy search questions deliver customized compilations and analyses in response.  While robots have slowly displaced many repetitive labor jobs, AI is scooping up thinking tasks and the jobs that go along with them.

Lauded playwright Lauren Gunderson was on the leading edge of the curve with her 2023 play anthropology, in which a 30ish computer programmer, Merril, has lost her decade-younger half-sister, Angie, presumed dead, under mysterious circumstances. The older sister feels guilt though it is unclear how she could have prevented the tragedy.   In part to help her grieving and in part to replace the empty spot in her life, Merril writes an AI program to create a video image of Angie that she can interact with.  Studded with all of the information about her sister before her loss, AI Angie can think and even act within the electronic world.

But along the lines of the old saw “Be careful what you ask for,” this program is an algorithm that acts within defined parameters.  In this case, AI Angie was designed to comfort Merril.  As innocuous as that may seem, it opens the door to actions and inactions that carry consequences.

Gunderson’s concept is brilliant; the overarching plotline and subplots are compelling; and the line-by-line dialog and action is well developed and logically consistent.  Although the product is definitely interesting, it still seems that there is room for more as the incidents and climaxes, whether build-ups or surprises, don’t produce as much dramatic impact as expected.

Maria Marquis is Merril, and she has left her mark on many Bay Area productions with consistently fine acting, including this one.  But through the first 30 minutes of the play, she is the one person on stage, which strains dramatic limits, though she is supported by a video head shot of AI Angie with whom she interacts.  Interestingly, in the sound balance, AI Angie is louder than Merril, which can be interpreted as AI taking dominance over real life.  On the other hand, it diminishes the perception of the live performance.

A note on AI Angie, played by Tiffany Cartagena – the first question in the mind of audience members is whether the video of her was pre-recorded or live.  A surprise to many is that it is live.  Cartagena was flawless in delivery as if taped in multiple takes – her head immobile with eyes wide open and blinking rarely and slowly with intention.  Otherwise, only her mouth moved with speaking and smiling, as if a “real” computer image.

The central issue is that Angie was presumed abducted and killed, and the police case is cold, but Merril wants to look at it again.  In a nod to AI’s comprehensiveness beyond human patience or capacity, AI Angie suggests that some evidence, like texts from her cell phone, and evidence from after the disappearance were not properly reviewed.  Subplots involve Merril’s relationship with her ex (Alycia Adame) and her mother (Doll Piccotto), a chronic druggie and suspicious character.

With all-female characters, anthropology is cast as a sisterhood story, but it could just as easily be an all-male or mixed gender story.  What it does remind us of is that life takes on yet another new dimension with the advent of even more powerful computer tools, but in the end, we are still people who long for the warm touch of other human beings and that we must be adaptable. At the same time, it broaches the scary conflict that arises when AI seems to be so human that we treat electrical pulses as flesh and blood.  At some point, the lines may become so blurred that inability to distinguish between life and AI will become a medical pathology.  Finally, the story is cleverly a mystery that unfolds through the AI model of the victim herself.

City Lights production values always exceed standards for a company of its type, and this is no exception.  Ron Gasparinetti’s set is limited but works with the material.  A special recognition goes to Maxwell Bowman for his extensive and outstanding video and projection work.  Executive Artistic Director Lisa Mallette as director brings it all together.

anthropology, written by Lauren Gunderson, is produced by City Lights Theater Company and plays on its stage at 529 South Second Street, San Jose, CA through June 7, 2026.

A Greek Classics instructor at a university, the disturbed Daphne desperately calls for help from the Greek Gods.  Lo and behold, who should appear?  – Dionysus, the God of wine, and Thalia, the Goddess of Comedy.  Needless to say, Daphne is shocked that her invocation produces results.  Perhaps it draws on the power of the talisman an appreciative souvenir vendor gave her in Naxos.

So what can these goofy among the Gods do for her?  What she really needs is an investigator.  But at least the good news is that Ovid’s Metamorphoses suggests that the Gods can transform into other personas, so maybe they can help after all.  Not to mention, these divinities who Zeus allows to intervene in these human affairs are charged to ensure a happy ending.

So, what’s the problem?  Daphne’s department chair Ralph has found a hitherto unknown manuscript of the ancient master Euripides’ lost play Andromeda.  Ralph will become famed in his field.  Entrusting the work to Daphne while he runs errands, Ralph later finds that the invaluable manuscript has disappeared, and the fault lies with Daphne who was not supposed to let it leave her little hands.

Such is the set up to The Gods of Comedy, from the unquestioned master of modern American farce, Ken Ludwig, who created Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo, and Crazy for You, among many others.  While not as lauded as his most distinguished work, this one is full of idiosyncratic characters in quirky situations.  And it happily romps through tropes of academe, romance, and Greek theater.

Director Ronnie Anderson has attracted a fine cast that appear to enjoy the silliness and pratfalls and do a fine job in extracting the humor from the material.  The Masquers Playhouse staging, notably sets and sound but also costumes and lighting, exceeds expectations, particularly given that it is a small-house community theater.

From the outset, Anna Wesner’s Daphne is a timid and bookish soul, but she animates with hysteria, determination, and amor as the plot thickens.  Her relationship with Ralph, a sometimes stuttering and daft Paul Bisesi, is conflicted by their respective professional standing and by their attraction.  It becomes more conflicted when Daphne, made invisible by the Gods, hears Ralph refer to her as his assistant.  The shoe is on the other foot when she thinks she is still invisible and admits in front of Ralph that she lost the irreplaceable book.

The comic center of the play, however, are the deities.  Jeffrey Biddle is Dionysus, who is happy-go-lucky and into current human culture, but he also has an obsession with working sex and cringeworthy jokes into every discussion.  Ironically, though, when given opportunities with Daphne, he turns chaste.  Somehow, he is aware of many idioms in English, like “pulling your leg,” which make no sense literally, that he frequently has to explain to Thalia.  Yet, as much as he loves cheeseburgers, he is taken to calling them cheeseburglers!  Biddle’s quick laugh and gregarious personality make him easy to watch.

But he is totally matched by Melody Payne Alonzo who imbues Thalia with charm, panache, enthusiasm, and humor fitting her comic designation as a muse, that make her an appealing character.  She bounces around chaotically, doing everything from playing a cheerleader with pom-poms to doing the splits.  She is not the sharpest tool in the shed, waxing on about a nectar called Dr. Pepper and enthusing over heavenly French fries.  Thalia tends to complicate matters rather than resolve them.  But Alonzo makes her irresistible.

Some of the characters are really one-dimensional, but metamorphosis allows the actors to break out.  One example is Lisa Wang who plays Dean Thicket simplistically with humorous pomposity and a put-on British affect.  However, when Thalia is transformed to portray the Dean, it is Wang with a completely different characterization that demonstrates the breadth of her acting skills.

The Gods of Comedy holds the attention, and even those who aren’t crazy about farce will find it full of humor and gentle jabs at institutions and practices that we love.

The Gods of Comedy is written by Ken Ludwig, produced by Masquers Playhouse, and plays on its stage at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, CA through May 17, 2026.

So pre-eminent is William Shakespeare as the world’s greatest ever playwright that the Bay Area alone possesses upwards of a dozen theater companies and festivals with the Bard referenced in the name. And his aura extends to other literary works that draw from his cachet. There are spin-offs from his plays like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead drawn from Hamlet, and fantasies such as the fictional love affair that became Shakespeare in Love.

Finally come the biographies with broad-brush truths but whimsical details like Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet which became the basis for the play and movie of the same name. Both adaptations are drawing favorable attention from critics and audiences alike, and The Royal Shakespeare Company is touring with a version that strikes the right notes at American Conservatory Theater.

First things first.  Yes, the name Hamlet was largely used interchangeably with Hamnet in Elizabethan times.  The latter was the name of Shakespeare’s only son who died at age 11, and the title character of the Shakespeare play was considered an homage to the playwright’s long deceased son.  Though that death is a central event in this play, it is not really a defining one as he was far from being a main character, and his death was just another rut in the road.

Presumably, like most others, I had heard of Shakespeare’s wife as Anne Hathaway, a designation that alters her given name and fails to recognize her married surname, despite her espousal and three children by William. One of O’Farrell’s motivations for her reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s wife and marriage was that this virtually unknown woman Agnes was scorned by centuries of possibly sexist male historians whose unsupported inferences about her were universally negative and often indefensible.

Determined by many writers to be an unappealing krone at the time of her marriage, she was only 26 years old, which was near average for the time. Though she was pregnant by the 19-year-old Will when they married, so were 40% of brides during that time. She was from a more comfortable financial background than the groom, so perhaps she wasn’t such a bad catch.

Given the small role that the title character in this play has, the title Hamnet is a bit of a misrepresentation, with its intent being to make the connection with perhaps Shakespeare’s greatest play. Nor does much of the play deal with Will’s playwrighting. For the greater part, the story could otherwise be about any fictional playwright. And a more appropriate title would be Agnes, as it is really about rehabilitating her reputation as possibly a woman of character with agency.

With the exception of the final scenes that largely concern Will’s time in London as an increasingly successful playwright and actor, the narrative is mostly a domestic drama, a slice of late 16^th century life. We are reminded how brutal and benighted life was as Will’s father and Agnes’s stepmother, her only surviving “parent,” are physically and mentally cruel. Women are treated as chattel, even in Agnes and Will’s wedding vows. Also representative of the low value accorded women, Will’s mother refers to herself as “only being a woman.”

Sorcery was a common social concern, with Will’s mother even suspecting Agnes of being a witch. And while her use of herbs from a medical garden could be cast as naturalistic medicine, it really reflects the medical alchemy of the day which was based on folklore that was also suggestive of witchcraft.

Agnes is performed by Kemi-Bo Jacobs who provides an intense and riveting interpretation of the woman mostly through her first two decades as a wife and mother. Often buoyant and expansive, she also trembles with fear and anger toward her interfering and disagreeable elders. She also quarrels with Will, portrayed aptly as an engaging but self-absorbed intellectual by Rory Alexander. An absentee husband for many years, Will feels the need to be in London for his work while Agnes feels the need to stay in Warwickshire for the health of the children.

Acting is strong but tends to play a bit much to the back rows. Nigel Barrett stands out as both Will’s harsh ear twisting father and as effusive actor Will Kempe. However, he constantly seems to almost burst from his skin with zeal. The same can be said of Nicki Hobday as Agnes’s stepmother. Conversely, Penny Layden as Will’s mother Mary is suitably naturalistic and nuanced.

The action plays on a rudimentary but effective stage comprised mostly of framing beams that are used to depict everything from the small house annex that was the Shakespeare home for many years in Stratford to the Globe Theatre in London.  Erica Whyman directs and intersperses a moody mysticism of otherworldliness with more literal reality.  Some disembodied verbiage at the opening however is too muddled to understand.

The out-of-sequence opening scene that one later learns is of the couple’s twins, including Hamnet, causes a little confusion, and the first act is generally a bit slow.  But the play is ultimately redeemed as an entertainment of supposition that speculates on filling in the mystery of William and Agnes Shakespeare.

Hamnet, based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel as adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti, is produced by Royal Shakespeare Company and Neal Street Productions, presented by American Conservatory Theater, and plays at Toni Rembe Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA through May 24, 2026.

One wonders how many words have been written about Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata since its premiere in 1853.  A disaster at its opening, it quickly became one of the most appreciated masterpieces in the canon and the anchor to the composer’s rich middle period along with Il Travatore and Rigoletto.  In many years it has been the most performed opera worldwide, and why not?  With end-to-end luscious music, gaiety, romance, drama, exoticism, dance, and tragedy, all in a believable (fictionalized) storyline, what’s not to like?  And remarkably, this stunningly beautiful opera was written in record time.

What made the source material, the roman à clef La Dame aux Camélias, au courant and what set salon society atwitter was that with little concealed, it tells of the recent sad existence of Parisian courtesan Marie Duplessis and her relationship with none other than the novel’s author, Alexandre Dumas fils.

The opera appeared shortly after the novel with the basic facts intact, wherein Alfredo Germont falls in love with Violetta.  Unbeknownst to Alfredo, his father Georgio successfully implores her to abandon her love for the sake of Alfredo’s sister and the family honor – notwithstanding that Violetta is dying of consumption and is now without means of support.  An atoned father and son come separately to Violetta’s tattered lodgings and deathbed just before she expires.  The real-life Marie was 23 years old.

There is a reason that the plot of this opera is important to summarize.  Francesco Maria Piave’s libretto offers social commentary, noting that the Germonts were in the highly prosperous merchant class where social mores were quite strict. The nobility that Violetta normally hung with could give a damn about the propriety of the masses.

Also, it would be difficult to find many operas in which three main characters reveal such poignant evolution in three acts.  As a courtesan of the highest order, Violetta should be totally amoral, yet she falls in love with a commoner, and her caring for Alfredo and his family lead to her isolation, impoverishment, and death.  Alfredo goes from being an ardent puppy dog to a petulant spurned paramour to a regretful true lover.  Giorgio was driven only by the needs of his family to maintain its social position. This blinded him to the goodness of Violetta and the love that she and Alfredo shared. Too late he realizes how complete her sacrifice has been, and he becomes racked with earnest grief and guilt.  This is real tear-jerking stuff.

Opera San Jose takes on this war horse once more, insightfully directed by Tara Branham who has an interesting backstage history with the opera.  She takes a more literal and expressive approach than many productions, while introducing some new twists that work well, like kathak (Indian) dancing in the party scene and an amusing gender transformation.  Further, Alfredo is portrayed very much as an outsider lacking the largesse of the noble class. The outcome is all you could ask for from the company, equally comfortable with the grand party scenes that fix in the memory and the intimate chamber scenes that better reveal character traits.  The staging and singing are thoughtful and beautiful throughout.

Overture themes signal the wonderful music to come, and its somber opening motif foretells and bookends the closing sadness.  The remainder of Act 1 contains a wealth of memorable arias and ensembles that few other operas can claim.  The whole work resonates with instrumental music delivered by Conductor Johannes Löhner’s well-honed orchestra.

Violetta is regarded as a great challenge for any soprano, demanding vocal and acting versatility, reflecting the character’s many shifts in mood and physical strength.  Mikayla Sager in a role debut delivers the receipts, as her dark spinto voice suits the part of a doleful and dying heroine.  She commands the coloratura runs and flourishes with ease along with the emotional rollercoaster that the character suffers from the bright “Sempre libera” (“Always free”) to the gut-wrenching finale “Gran Dio!…morir sì giovane” (“Great God!…to die so young”).

Her counterpart, WooYoung Yoon as Alfredo exhibits a strong, clarion tenor voice that rings clear to the very end.  It did seem that he needed a warmup at opening.  Perhaps it’s unfair to have a highlight such as the lively brindisi “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” (“Let’s drink from the joyful cups”) almost out of the gate before the singer hits stride.  In a couple of places in that toasting song, Yoon seemed to get caught between major and minor intervals, but beyond that, he was on pitch and powerful.

The third major player is Giorgio Germont, performed by bass Kidon Choi who produces a big, round, warm sound backed with emotion.  A fitting Giorgio, his voice, however, is a bit cloaked, and he does have a tendency to drag to dirge speed, as noted in his signature aria “Di Provenza il mar” (“Who erased the sea and the land of Provence from your heart?”

Even for those who feel they’ve seen enough of La Traviata (my tenth), this one is a joy.

La Traviata, with music by Giuseppe Verdi and libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the novel La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils, is produced by Opera San José and plays at California Theatre, 345 South First Street, San Jose, CA through May 3, 2026.

As the world’s most noted playwright, it should be no surprise that William Shakespeare’s works have provided the basis for some of opera’s most enduring classics.  Giuseppe Verdi was a particular admirer and sourced Otello, Falstaff, and Macbeth from the Bard’s work.  Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet and Thomas’s Hamlet are other examples.  But though Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears condensed the beloved A Midsummer Night’s Dream (AMND), unlike other adaptations from Shakespeare, they preserved his language in an eloquent if archaic libretto.

Pocket Opera offers a spectacular rendering of Britten’s music in a world premiere chamber orchestra adaptation of the instrumental music by its orchestrator Liam Daly, authorized by the Britten-Pears Estate.  The score feels absolutely perfect in the chamber form as well executed under the leadership of Music Director and Conductor David Drummond.

As Shakespeare’s foremost comedy, AMND possesses all of the trappings of the genre – non-human fairies, supernatural intervention, sleeping potions, crossed lovers, mistaken identities, a play-within-a-play, the human Bottom in a pun-worthy act turned into an ass (the animal, that is), and general frivolity throughout.  All of this plays to the most lilting, delightful music in Britten’s canon.

For the greater part, the orchestral music seems almost detached from the sung, but each appeals, and somehow they work together.  Leitmotifs abound, and the score is bouncy, often with lush, quavering strings supported by a raft of pizzicato elements from plucks to clinks coming from virtually all of the instruments.  There are discrete if unmemorable arias in the score, while the most distinctive true ensemble is the interesting high wire screaming quartet by the young Athenian lovers in Act 2.

The score is generally in the post-Romantic, modernist idiom, with the exception of the rustic actors’ performance of the play-within-a-play.  In this case, the orchestra very much complements the singing, and the idiom is a melodic throwback to the likes of Puccini and Verdi.  To top it off, bits include humorous parodies of Romeo and Juliet’s death scene as well as Lucia’s mad scene.

Bringing off this somewhat overstuffed narrative that may be hard for the uninitiated to follow, is an absolutely marvelous, well-selected cast.  With twentyish named principal roles, filling the parts would seem a monumental challenge, but each voice is remarkably skilled and suited to the role.  In a sense, it’s unfair to highlight some and not others, but we all have our favorites.

As the mischief-making protagonist Oberon, the King of the Fairies, Kyle Tingson displays a rare, honey-like, easy-sounding countertenor voice that sets the standard and tone for the other artists.  Another standout is tenor Kevin Gino as Lysander who not only displays a wide vocal range but best exemplifies the other compelling aspect of all of the performances, and that is fine acting.  Gino visually and emotionally expresses with the fine detail expected from a straight actor.

The other male voice of note is a local favorite with a strong North American resumé, and that is bass Kirk Eichelberger as Bottom.  His powerful, mellifluous voice is a house filler under normal circumstances, but in the intimate surroundings of this production, there’s no challenge.  This intimacy, performed on a front-row-level thrust stage and only several rows of seats on each side offers an immediacy that makes for a very involving personal experience.

While male voices dominate AMND, female voices in the production are equally strong, but only one major principal female part stands out, the role of Tytania, Queen of the Fairies.  With the originally-cast Tytania falling sick early in the week, cover Ash Hurtado filled the role without missing a beat.  Hurtado’s heavily tremoloed coloratura soprano soars to the heights with arpeggios and leaps, both in terms of range and volume, standing out above a chorus of others.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is full of humorous possibilities that rely on interpretation and fulfillment.  Here we must shed light on multi-talented factotum (borrowing from Figaro) Nicolas Garcia, the general director of the company. He stage directs this production, extracting wonderfully expressive and nuanced performances from the cast and guiding the complex movement.  He also designed the lively costumes from the pastel jump-suit-like outfits of the soprano-driven fairy chorus to the gaudy plaid suits of the rustic actors.

Because of Pocket Opera’s unique operational mode, offering one performance of a production in three different venues, staging must be easily portable.  Though Daniel Yelen’s set and props are fairly rudimentary, they work beautifully in this compact arena and with the other elements of the production.

Similar to other Pocket Opera productions that I’ve reviewed, I have not been favorably disposed going in.  However, they’ve proven once again how professionally they produce and how entertaining their productions are.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a world-premiere orchestration by Liam Daly, is composed by Benjamin Britten with libretto by the composer and Peter Pears, based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, and was performed at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts with remaining performances on April 19 at Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley, CA, and on April 26 at Legion of Honor, 100 34^th Avenue, San Francisco, CA.