Handel Haters, in Berkeley?

At the Berkeley Public Library last night, Pamela Rosenberg spoke about the SF Opera's commission of Dr. Atomic, in a session moderated by my dear friend Andrea Lewis, the host of KPFA's current affairs Morning Show .

Proceedings were cordial and uneventful, until the post-talk Q&A session, when a hyperventilating old lady pounced on Pamela with the question, "Why do you hate Handel?" Visibly distressed, the unidentified questioner pressed-on, "I hated your Alcina -- why do you have to destroy Handel's beautiful music by having people trashing furniture and disrobing on stage? And after I read Joshua Kosman's review of Rodelinda, I immediately returned my tickets!"

(The accuser, of course, conveniently failed to register that Kosman actually considered Alcina one of the top ten classical music perfomances that season.)


Pamela Rosenberg, Handel hater

Always the classy one, the cornered Madame Rosenberg expressed regret that the questioner felt such way, but she actually thought the current production of Rodelinda was actually one of the most moving things she had shown during her tenure. And added credence to her statement by disclosing that David Daniels (who sings Bertarido in different productions of Rodelindas both at SFO and the MET this season) said in a panel discussion in New York that he much rather sing baroque opera in updated versions, as he feels closer to the character than in a production where he has to wear powdered wigs and breastplates. And Rosenberg further went on to defend the Stuttgart production of Alcina: "that production has become something of a cult in Europe," she said. Her company was invited to present it at Edinburgh Festival, where it was consistently praised by critics.


© 2005 C. Chang

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Atomic music -- noises from the wings

Word has from spies at rehearsals that John Adams' Dr. Atomic, premiering next month at the SF Opera, is a very musical score. The character of Oppenheimer (which will be sung by Gerald Finley) in particular has a beautiful lament set as a chaccone, not unlike Dido's "When I am laid in earth." This will also mark the Peter Sellars' return to the SF Opera; he's been absent from the War Memorial Opera House since the 1992 premiere of Adams' Death of Klinghoffer.

On a lighter side (or heavier, depending on how you look at it) rumor has it that Madame Borodina gained several pounds since she was first measured for her costumes in SFO's L'Italiana. Apparently, when she came in for the actual fitting she became very distressed when she realized the costumes didn't fit the way the were supposed to. Hopefully, SFO will have something figured out by opening night.


© 2005 C. Chang

Want to be notified of new Bay Buzz articles? Send an e-mail message with the subject "PLEASE NOTIFY ME" to this address. (Names and addresses kept strictly confidential.)

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