Author: Admin

With the passing of André Previn in February this year, the world lost an illustrious and wonderfully versatile conductor, composer, arranger, orchestrator and virtuoso pianist. Equally comfortable in both the classical and jazz arenas, Previn was working on what turned out to be his last composition when he died – a musical portrayal of Penelope,…

In the heart of France’s Rhône Valley, just north of the Provençal city of Avignon, is an open-air theatre which is regarded as one of the finest remnants of the Roman Empire. Included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Théâtre Antique is the best preserved theatre in Europe, and it’s here, every year, that…

In the final performance of the 2018-19 Season, the San Francisco Symphony presents a program of music by French composers – Debussy, Fauré and Ravel – the highlight of the concert being a semi-staged production of Ravel’s enchanting lyric fantasy, L’enfant et les Sortilèges (The Child and the Magic Spells). Led by British conductor Martyn…

San Francisco Opera wraps up its Summer Season with a work which is recognized as Antonin Dvořák’s most successful creation for stage – Rusalka.  In a production by David McVicar, with stage designs by John Macfarlane, the title role is sung by Rachel Willis-Sørensen, with Brandon Jovanovich as the Prince, Jamie Barton as Ježibaba, Kristinn…

The SFJAZZ Festival opens tomorrow! A highlight of the San Francisco entertainment calendar, the Festival showcases 41 performances, over 13 days, in the city’s Hayes Valley district. Following the traditional free, open-air Block Party this evening, the Festival gets underway in earnest on Wednesday in the Miner Auditorium, with vocalist Jazzmeia Horn whose 2017 debut…

Glamorous and stylish, the Principality of Monaco is the focus of the international television industry this month, as it hosts the 59th Monte-Carlo Television Festival. This annual event brings together celebrities, producers, directors, writers and studio heads, to showcase the finest in television programming, and to compete for the Golden Nymph Awards. Established by Prince…

San Francisco Opera opens its 2019 Summer Season at the War Memorial Opera House this evening with the work regarded as the most popular opera in the repertoire – Georges Bizet’s Carmen. Staged by American director Francesca Zambello, this production of Carmen – new to San Francisco Opera – celebrates a number of debut performances.…

Famed for its magnificent in-the-round productions at the Royal Albert Hall, English National Ballet is about to dazzle British audiences once again, with Christopher Wheeldon’s spectacular production of Cinderella, set to Sergei Prokofiev’s glorious score. Wheeldon, creator of numerous and highly acclaimed choreographic works for some of the world’s finest ballet companies, is regarded as…

Popular Slovak conductor Juraj Valčuha returns to Davies Symphony Hall this week, leading the San Francisco Symphony and Alexander Barantschik in a program which features the work of two very different composers. Concertmaster Barantschik plays J S Bach’s Violin Concerto No 2, and the Shostakovich work is his Symphony No 8 – regarded by the…

Lovers of ballet in San Francisco have enjoyed an interesting and exciting season from San Francisco Ballet this year, with works as diverse as Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, world premieres of ballets by Liam Scarlett and Yuri Possokhov, and a selection of some of the works so successfully premiered in the…