San Diego Uptown News news and information about the heart of San Diego

Satirizing a satire can be risky business, especially when the original is about social mores largely abandoned and long faded from general consciousness. But with the right combination of campy fun and fidelity to the send-ups intended – not to mention a fine cast – the result is a delightful crowd-pleaser

By Jeff Britton — SDUN Opera Critic

If art imitates life, why can’t life imitate art? That seems to be the case in San Diego Opera’s upcoming production of Charles Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet,” when real-life couple Stephen Costello and Ailyn Perez portray the world’s most famous star-crossed lovers

By Jeff Britton

About a week before each opera opens, San Diego Opera offers a nifty way to prime the pump for enjoying what will soon take place on stage.

“The Artists Roundtable” allows singers, the director and the conductor to share their take on each character, the musical challenges and the overall context of the opera. At last week’s discussion of “Nabucco,” Verdi’s first hit opera, participants touched on a variety of subjects, including how the opera and its famous Hebrew chorus, “Va, Pensiero,” became a hymn to Italian nationalism. The 55-minute impromptu chat was moderated by Nick Reveles, the company’s personable and articulate education director

By Charlene Baldridge

SDUN Opera Critic

These days two- or three-character musicals are the norm, so it is rare to witness something full-blown. Usually revivals of those that were originally full-blown are mounted with diminished numbers of artists, both on stage and in the orchestra pit

SDUN Music Critic

Along with “Carmen” and “Aida,” “La Boheme” is one of the most popular and frequently staged operas. The story is so compelling that there have been numerous modern adaptations, including the Broadway musicals “Rent” and Baz Luhrmann’s outrageous 1950’s version with actors strutting around in leather jackets and T-shirts.