KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Opera Review: A Review of Three Productions from the 1969 San Francisco Opera Season
Analog Audio
Event Type
InterviewsOrigin
Shere/KPFAIdentifier
C.1969.09.25Program Series
Opera ReviewProgram Length
29 minDates
1969-09-25 | broadcast| 1969-09-22 | created
Description
In a program first broadcast on September 25, 1969, music critics Charles Shere and John Rockwell review three 1969 productions by the San Francisco Opera, “La Bohème,” “Ariadne auf Naxos,” and “La Traviata.” The two gentlemen have at times conflicting opinions on the performances of such well known singers as Jeannette Pilou, Ingvar Wixell, Luciano Pavarotti, Dorothy Kirsten, Franco Bonisolli, and others. This program is fascinating not only for its illuminating discussion of the minutiae of the operatic endeavors, but also for the different perspective that each critic brings to the various performers, conductors, and productions. Rockwell tends to be the more disparaging of the two, often projecting a sense of bored endurance of mediocrity that is somewhat reminiscent of Oscar Wilde, while Shere, who tends to be less hard edged, is no less forgiving of a wrong note or a clumsy choice in production. Thus, despite the fact that by both accounts none of these operas was a spectacular success, the erudite and witty repartee between Shere and Rockwell makes one wish that one could have been there so as to compare notes with these two remarkable critics.Genres
OperasSubjects
OperaMusical criticism
Related places
Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)
Related Entities
Shere, Charles, 1935-2020Rockwell, John, 1940-