Reviews

John Adams is baaaack in his “fun chamber,” with a spirited, quasi-redux chamber symphony that pulsates with joy.

Despite some regrettable directorial and production choices, S.F. Opera’s Siegfried still delivers strong characters that are very well sung, backed by first-class playing from the orchestra pit.

The gorgeous music of legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane enchants an outdoor crowd at Yerba Buena Gardens.

In a stark production strong on violence and collapse, the San Francisco Opera delivers a powerful Siegfried distinguished by a superb Brünnhilde, Mime, and Forest Bird.

Julia Wolfe's latest CD Cruel Sister is yet another example of how spellbinding and consistently engaging the composer is, this time in works fueled by a powerful story.

A performance by the San Francisco Bach Choir of the B-minor Mass doesn't take advantage of a wealth of resources available in the talented group.

The Club Foot Orchestra seamlessly meshes music with film in a presentation of Fritz Lang's legendary silent movie Metropolis under a starry sky in Saratoga.

The S.F. Symphony did some marvelous multitasking over the weekend. Even as MTT and the orchestra were in Vienna, wowing audiences with Mahler’s music on the first leg of their three-week European tour, the S.F. Symphony Chorus stayed in town to perform a splendid concert.

What do Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (premiere 1689) and Manuel de Falla’s La Vida Breve (premiere 1913) have in common? West Bay Opera does not hesitate to mate such strange, albeit intimate operatic bedfellows.

The NCCO's premiere of featured composer Mark O'Connor's Elevations wasn't the concert highlight — the orchestra's rare ensemble unity made everything sound great.