San Francisco Opera: The First Seventy-Five Years

Rating:
Summary: Good Idea, Poor Realization
Review: This oversized coffee table book was prepared and published as part of the 75th anniversary celebration of the San Francisco Opera in the fall of 1997. It contains page after page of beautiful photographs with descriptions of performances by the likes of Lawrence Tibbett, Lauritz Melchior, Kirsten Flagstad, Beniamino Gigli, Leonard Warren, Leonie Rysanek, John Vickers, Ezio Pinza, Birgit Nilsson, and many many others. The San Francisco Opera is indisputably one of the important opera companies of North America. Operas by 20th century composers such as Britten, Hanze, Orff, Poulenc, Ravel, Shostakovich, Tippett and Walton as well as operas by earlier composers such as Cherubini and Rossini were given their United States premieres on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House. For all of this book's strengths, it has some decided faults. It does contain a listing of all performance from 1923 through the end of the 1996-97 season with dates and casts. While it is interesting to browse through the listings, its usefulness as a research tool is seriously undermined by the lack of an index. If you want to find out how many times Lily Pons sang the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, or if she ever sang that role in San Francisco, you have to read through the listings for every year. With an index you could simply look up the information by the name of the singer or opera. Likewise, there is no single list of all of the operas performed by the SF Opera. Also, the organization of the book lends itself to browsing, not to finding specific facts. The text of the book does not form a chronological history of the company. Rather, the chapters are devoted to specific topics. Four chapters are devoted to the general directors that have led the company. Interspersed between those four chapters are chapters on leading men, leading women, physical productions, and the orchestra/chorus/ballet. So, if you wanted to read about the 1967-68 season, you might find mention of that season in several different chapters.

Rating:
Summary: Good Idea, Poor Realization
Review: This oversized coffee table book was prepared and published as part of the 75th anniversary celebration of the San Francisco Opera in the fall of 1997. It contains page after page of beautiful photographs with descriptions of performances by the likes of Lawrence Tibbett, Lauritz Melchior, Kirsten Flagstad, Beniamino Gigli, Leonard Warren, Leonie Rysanek, John Vickers, Ezio Pinza, Birgit Nilsson, and many many others. The San Francisco Opera is indisputably one of the important opera companies of North America. Operas by 20th century composers such as Britten, Hanze, Orff, Poulenc, Ravel, Shostakovich, Tippett and Walton as well as operas by earlier composers such as Cherubini and Rossini were given their United States premieres on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House. For all of this book's strengths, it has some decided faults. It does contain a listing of all performance from 1923 through the end of the 1996-97 season with dates and casts. While it is interesting to browse through the listings, its usefulness as a research tool is seriously undermined by the lack of an index. If you want to find out how many times Lily Pons sang the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, or if she ever sang that role in San Francisco, you have to read through the listings for every year. With an index you could simply look up the information by the name of the singer or opera. Likewise, there is no single list of all of the operas performed by the SF Opera. Also, the organization of the book lends itself to browsing, not to finding specific facts. The text of the book does not form a chronological history of the company. Rather, the chapters are devoted to specific topics. Four chapters are devoted to the general directors that have led the company. Interspersed between those four chapters are chapters on leading men, leading women, physical productions, and the orchestra/chorus/ballet. So, if you wanted to read about the 1967-68 season, you might find mention of that season in several different chapters.