The Takács Quartet visited the UC Berkeley campus and played an intimate, collaborative performance, even in oversized, acoustically challenged Zellerbach Hall.
With all due respect to the fine orchestra and lauded guest soloists, it was the voices of the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale that made their “Joyous Christmas” concert an evening to remember.
Symphony Silicon Valley, fortified with guest soloist Mayuko Kamio and visiting maestro Tatsuya Shimono, break new ground with Bruckner, Mozart and a surprise encore.
The young singers who have been through the Operaʼs training program are already shining in mainstage productions. With the spotlight focused on them, they showed great poise and maturity.
A stellar return from Finnish guest conductor Susanna Mälkki, an admirable performance by Jeremy Denk, and a climactic 30 seconds of ecstasy in a seven-minute “aperitif” not heard here since the Loma Prieta earthquake.
In many ways a trailblazer, Florencia en el Amazonas was the first Spanish-language opera to be commissioned by a major opera company north of the Rio Grande. Its prodigal return to the Chandler Pavilion was problematic.
