Jason Victor Serinus

Jason Victor Serinus writes about music for Opera News, Opera Now, American Record Guide, Stereophile, San Francisco Magazine, Muso, Carnegie Hall Playbill, East Bay Express, East Bay Monthly, San Francisco Examiner, Bay Area Reporter, hometheaterhifi.com, and other publications.

Articles by this Author

The Great Gatsby: Ensemble Parallèle - Preview
January 19, 2012

John HarbisonThe world premiere of Jacques Desjardins’ chamber orchestration of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby gives us a taste of the late 20th century operatic premiere the Metropolitan Opera considered important enough to include in its multi-CD tribute to James Levine’s 40th year on the podium.

Jake Heggie: To Compose a Triumph - Celebrity Q&A
January 18, 2012

Jake HeggieAs one of the world’s most produced living opera composers, San Francisco’s Jake Heggie (Dead Man Walking, Three Decembers, Moby-Dick) always has multiple irons in the fire.

The Dallas Opera Announces a Major New Opera - Article
January 17, 2012

Jake Heggie and Terrence McNallyAt 6:30 p.m. Central Time on Jan. 17, The Dallas Opera (TDO) announced a major opera commission to open the company’s 2015–2016 season.

Susan Graham: Second That Emotion - Review
January 15, 2012

Malcolm Martineau and Susan GrahamYou’d never know from the freshness of Susan Graham’s mezzo-soprano that she graduated from the Merola Opera Program almost 25 years ago.

Heard This? Best Opera and Vocal of 2011 - Article
January 11, 2012

The subject is daunting, even over the space of one year. These lists usually rely on the collective determination of a group of critics. In this case, however, Jason Serinus solo shall attempt to get by with more than a little help from his friends. I have surveyed the lists of other respected publications, but this one comes from my own distinctly idiosyncratic inner voice. Any one of these is a pleasure, and all have been nearly universally acclaimed.

The Callas Effect: Rebooted - Review
January 3, 2012

The Callas EffectSo great is the Callas mythology, and so important her artistic legacy, that 37 years after her death, her many studio and live recordings remain the biggest sellers in EMI’s catalogue.

Winter Warblers: Top Opera and Vocal Picks for 2012 - Article
January 2, 2012

Opera lovers will find plentiful pickings between now and June. Before San Francisco Opera launches its three June productions, one from West Edge Opera in El Cerrito, another from Ensemble Parallèle in El Cerrito, two from West Bay Opera in Palo Alto, two others from Opera San José, and four from Donald Pippin’s Pocket Opera in San Francisco and Berkeley vie for your attention with the Metropolitan Opera in HD broadcasts in movie theaters.

The Enduring Legacy of Maria Callas - Article
January 2, 2012

Maria CallasMaria Callas: The very name conjures up a voice and a reputation of near-mythic proportions. After launching her career as an unattractive, overweight soprano with a sensational voice, she transformed herself into a slim and glamorous diva whose mesmerizing stage presence and increasingly scandalous behavior earned her a frequent place on the covers of international magazines.

Matt & Chris at Yoshi's: Shuffle. Play. Listen. - Preview
December 21, 2011

Christopher O'Riley and Matt HaimovitzWell-attuned to the listening habits of the iPod-and-beyond generation, cellist Matt Haimovitz has teamed with pianist Christopher O’Riley on a project that further bridges the fabled divide between the so-called camps of classical and pop music.

Damrau and Deutsch Do Liszt Full Justice - Review
December 16, 2011

Diana Damrau: Liszt LiederThis is a wonderful album. Arriving just two months after soprano Diana Damrau’s disc of orchestral lieder (songs) by Richard Strauss received the German Phono Akademie’s Echo-Klassik award for “Lieder Recording of the Year,” this fresh collaboration, with pianist Helmut Deutsch, yields 19 treasurable performances of Liszt lieder.

The Future Glows in Adler Fellows - Review
December 2, 2011

Maya LahyaniThe title, “The Future Is Now,” may well prove prophetic for San Francisco Opera Center’s annual Adler Fellows Gala Concert. If the stars are aligned as they should be, no fewer than four of the artists who took to Herbst Theatre’s stage will soon shine brightly as leading artists at premier houses throughout the world.

Karita Mattila, Soprano, San Francisco Performances - Preview
November 27, 2011

The opportunity to hear two great pros, the divinely voiced Karita Mattila in partnership with master accompanist Martin Katz, is irresistible. Whether or not Mattila’s program — Poulenc’s five Banalités, Debussy’s Cinq Poèmes de Baudelaire, Aulus Sallinen’s Four Dream Songs, and five songs by Joseph Marx — capitalizes on her astounding theatrical acumen, it’s sure to bring out her gift for the sensuous.

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg: Cause for Celebration - Celebrity Q&A
November 21, 2011

Nadja Salerno-SonnenbergNaumburg Award–winning violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg not only is a fine artist, but she also gives great interview. In this “on your mark, get set, go” conversation, she discusses her upcoming anniversary leading the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and her feelings about her ensemble.

Dark Sisters This Way Come - Review
November 14, 2011

Dark Sisters at Gotham Chamber OperaTrue to its title, Dark Sisters opens with five women, dressed in floor-length white dresses, in tableau against a clouded, thunder-laden dark sky. With emotions churned by a lunar eclipse, the “sisters” (read: wives) in a polygamous compound in the American Southwest bemoan the feds’ seizure of their numerous children.

Eric Owens, Bass-Baritone, Cal Performances - Preview
November 10, 2011

Eric OwensDespite having sung in the Bay Area numerous times since his 1999 debut — especially compelling were his roles in John Adams’ A Flowering Tree and Doctor Atomic, the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, and Handel’s Ariodante — Eric Owens’ powers as a recitalist are relatively unknown here.

Peter Sellars Vision: Arts as Poetic Solution - Celebrity Q&A
November 4, 2011

Peter SellarsAfter directing at least nine productions for San Francisco Opera, Cal Performances, and San Francisco Symphony, including several world premieres, Peter Sellars, now 54, remains a controversial figure. As he explains in this interview, provocation is at the heart of his conception of theater.

Samuel Barber: Joy and Refrain - Review
November 1, 2011

Despite and Still: Melissa Fogarty Sings Samuel BarberHow wonderful it is to again make Samuel Barber’s acquaintance.

The Bay Area Celebrates Frederica von Stade - Preview
October 31, 2011

Frederica von StadeAfter 41 years onstage, Frederica von Stade is winding down her career. To celebrate the many glorious performances she has given here over the years, as well as her extraordinary generosity of spirit, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Performances, Cal Performances, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music are staging a one-night tribute to her at Herbst Theatre on Dec. 3.

Xerxes: Birds and Bees Befuddled - Review
October 31, 2011

Xerxes Act 1This seems to be San Francisco Opera’s season for premiering major operas of earlier centuries that it has heretofore overlooked. On the heels of its first mounting of Donizetti’s 1834 opera, Lucrezia Borgia, comes the first production of Handel’s 1738 Opera Xerxes.

Simon Keenlyside: The Handsome Character - Review
October 29, 2011

Simon KeenlysideAs baritone Simon Keenlyside’s adoring audience quickly discovered at his Oct. 27 evening recital with Malcolm Martineau at Herbst Theatre, he is more than a handsome man with an exceptionally handsome voice. His is also a most appealing and irrepressibly quirky stage presence.