Musings on ballet, classical music, the violin, and life
In 2004, San Francisco Ballet’s then-Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson took a creative leap with a new production of the perennially popular Nutcracker. Stakes were high; the San Francisco Ballet was, after all, the first U.S. company to stage and produce a full-length version (based on the Ivanov/Petipa 1892 original), which premiered on Christmas Eve, 1944, there … Read more
Exciting news just announced by San Francisco Ballet: encore performance of Swan Lake with thrilling guest artists. Details below! I know some of you, my dear readers, are classical music fans but not ballet fans. Likewise, some among you are just as happy—maybe you even prefer—to see contemporary ballet works set to jazz, soul, even electronica. … Read more
Okay, so I’ve reviewed San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker before. Like, well, five times. It’s a little humbling when you pen a shiny new review, only to discover that you’ve unwittingly used much of the exact same wording in past reviews. Actually, it’s embarrassing, or would have been, if I hadn’t caught myself before submitting THIS … Read more
Breaking news on May 23, 2016: Promotions announced! See addendum (and my own personal promotion wish list) below! How quickly the time flies, over at the San Francisco Ballet, at least when you’re sitting in the audience, savoring the programs as they roll onto the War Memorial Opera House stage, entertain, enlighten, and roll right … Read more
San Francisco Ballet patrons love their story ballets, and the most beloved is surely Swan Lake. Whether it’s because of, or in spite of the 2010 film, Black Swan, seeing this ballet at least once seems to be on everyone’s bucket list. Next to Nutcracker, this is what draws the non-ballet-goer to the ballet. Artistic … Read more