Georgia Rowe

Georgia Rowe is a Bay Area arts writer. Her work has appeared in Opera News, Gramophone, The San Jose Mercury News, The Oakland Tribune, The San Francisco Examiner, and The Contra Costa Times.

Articles by this Author

Into the Soul of Camille Claudel - Review
February 6, 2012

DiDonato and Alexander String QuartetCamille Claudel may be an ideal subject for operatic treatment. The French artist (1864–1943) spanned two centuries, created a significant body of work, loved passionately, and died tragically. Not since Floria Tosca has a woman seemed so ripe for dramatization.

Christopher Maltman's Journey Through Beauty - Review
January 20, 2012

Christopher MaltmanUnder the best circumstances, a vocal recital can take the listener on a vast journey within the confines of an intimate space. Christopher Maltman’s performance Thursday at Herbst Theatre was an arresting case in point — a remarkable traversal by an artist who inhabits the recital stage as if to the manor born.

Herbert Blomstedt: Homecoming - Celebrity Q&A
January 17, 2012

Herbert BlomstedtFrom his first San Francisco Symphony assignment, in 1984, Herbert Blomstedt became a podium favorite with audiences and critics alike. Today the award-winning conductor, who was the Symphony’s music director from 1985 to 1995, remains one of the Bay Area’s most beloved musical figures. Born in Massachusetts, raised in Sweden, Blomstedt led orchestras in Oslo, Stockholm, and Dresden before coming to San Francisco.

Eric Owens: A Voice for All Reasons - Celebrity Q&A
November 11, 2011

Eric OwensOver the last decade, bass-baritone Eric Owens has sung an astonishingly wide range of repertoire.

Calling La Voix humaine: Opera San José - Preview
November 6, 2011

La voix humaine

The Soldiers Tale: A True Triple Threat - Article
October 28, 2011

The Soldier's TaleWhen Igor Stravinsky composed The Soldier’s Tale, his instructions were explicit: The 1918 work was meant “to be read, played, and danced.” This month at the Aurora Theatre, a stellar group of artists is coming together to do just that.

Dudamel Whips Up the L.A. Philharmonic - Review
October 24, 2011

Gustavo DudamelBay Area audiences don’t have to leave town to hear the great American orchestras this season, since many of those orchestras will be coming to us, as part of the San Francisco Symphony’s new American Orchestra series. Between now and June, the Symphony will host appearances by the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York Philharmonic, and Philadelphia orchestras.

Mezzo-Soprano Stephanie Blythe: One in a Million - Review
October 14, 2011

Stephanie BlytheMusic lovers expecting the ordinary at Stephanie Blythe’s vocal recital Thursday evening at Herbst Theatre received several splendid surprises. Presented by San Francisco Performances, the great mezzo-soprano defied expectations at every turn, and the results were nothing short of brilliant.

S.F. Symphony Reaches For the Stars With Adès Polaris - Review
September 30, 2011

Thomas Adès continues to astonish. Sixteen years after the premiere of his audacious opera, Powder Her Face, the British composer remains a musical force to be reckoned with. Adès returned to Davies Symphony Hall on Thursday evening to unveil his latest work: with the first San Francisco Symphony performance of Polaris, contemporary music aficionados, once again, could only be dazzled by this remarkable musician’s bracingly distinctive compositional voice.

Tom Bachtell: Drawing on Music, Cartoon Networker - Celebrity Q&A
September 27, 2011

To Honor the Fallen: A New Heroic Opera Takes Shape in San Francisco - Article
August 28, 2011

It’s been 10 years since the horrific events of September 11, 2001. But composer Chris Theofanidis remembers them in vivid detail. He was in New York, headed for Penn Station to catch a train down to Baltimore for his teaching job at the Peabody Conservatory, when he heard the first report.

“They were saying the subways on the West Side were shut down, that a commuter plane had flown into one of the towers,” he recalls.

Merola Artists Go the Distance - Article
August 2, 2011

San Francisco loves a long-distance race, whether it’s Bay to Breakers or the Giants’ quest for the pennant. This month, though, another endurance event is taking place in the city — one that involves a different kind of performing elite. For young opera artists, the Merola Program offers the kind of intensive, high-powered training that might leave even seasoned athletes in the dust.

The Light-Refracting Brilliance of Brahms at Music@Menlo - Review
July 28, 2011

For chamber music aficionados, Music@Menlo remains one of the more attractive events on the summer music calendar. The annual festival and institute in the Silicon Valley takes a rare approach to programming: Where other presenters are wont to gather repertoire under no particular organizing principle, Menlo founders and Co-Artistic Directors David Finckel and Wu Han structure their programs around a single composer, with an eye (and ear) to connections past, present, and future.

Berkeley West Edge Opera Dreams of Caliban - Article
July 12, 2011
While the Cat's Away, the Chorus Will Play - Review
May 23, 2011

The San Francisco Symphony did some marvelous multitasking over the weekend. Even as Michael Tilson Thomas and the orchestra were in Vienna, wowing audiences with Mahler’s music on the first leg of their three-week European tour, the San Francisco Symphony Chorus under Ragnar Bohlin stayed in town to perform a splendid concert Sunday afternoon in Davies Symphony Hall.

Trimpin and The Gurs Zyklus - Article
May 3, 2011

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All Hail the Baroque Tenor - Review
May 2, 2011

Castrati voices played such a significant role in Baroque opera, it’s tempting to think that 18th-century composers didn’t care much for tenors. In their excellent program Sunday afternoon for Cal Performances, Ian Bostridge and Les Violons du Roy quickly put that supposition to rest, offering a bracing reminder of the beauty and variety of Baroque tenor roles — and a tribute to three of the tenors who sang them.

Recipe for Seduction at the S.F. Symphony - Review
April 29, 2011

As any chef will tell you, the best recipes are simple ones. Here’s a Bay Area recipe that seems to work every time: Bring forth the San Francisco Symphony and engage Peter Oundjian as guest conductor. Mix and serve.

Jessica Rivera's Fire Angels - Review
April 4, 2011

In recent years, soprano Jessica Rivera has emerged as a singer of remarkable vocal abilities; the Southern California native is also a committed advocate for contemporary composers. She impressed on both counts in a wide-ranging recital Sunday afternoon on the UC Berkeley campus.

Maazel to Youth: Building Castleton - Article
March 15, 2011

When Lorin Maazel stepped down as music director of the New York Philharmonic, he could have done what most retirees do — travel, play a little golf, take it easy. Instead, he started an opera company. And he decided to house it in his own backyard.