Features

For some, summer vacation means sun, sand, and relaxation. For music lovers in the Bay Area, summer vacation means opera under the stars, symphonies by the beach, immersion in the works of a favorite composer, or listening to and trying out the latest new music and musical instruments.

Summer, they say, is the time to unwind and relax. Whether you choose to do so at the beach, in your garden hammock, or at the top of Yosemite’s Half Dome, you’ll certainly welcome music to carry you one step farther toward infinite bliss. Here, then, is a Critic’s Choice classical potpourri specially tailored for the summer season.

J.S.

Has Porgy and Bess finally arrived? Despite its troubled history, George Gershwin’s 1935 opera may be coming into its own at last. As the San Francisco Opera prepares three full productions and a concert running May 29 – July 5 at the War Memorial Opera House, Porgy seems poised to emerge as the jewel in the summer season crown.

His life and musicmaking were inextricably entwined with the Viennese milieu of his time, in both its artistic richness and its provincialism.

When it comes to classical music and opera, we enlightened ones are supposed to be color-blind. Regardless of our race, the racial characteristics of singers and musicians are not supposed to matter … some of the time.