The Best SF Bay Area Classical Music Concerts of 2018 SUBSCRIBE NOW TRENDING

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TRISTAM KENTON/PHOTO Cal Performances hosted the Circa company’s production of “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria.” By Georgia Rowe | Correspondent, Bay Area News Group PUBLISHED: January 3, 2019 at 10:00 am | UPDATED: January 3, 2019 at 10:04 am

The Bay Area affirmed its reputation as a prime location for classical music once again this year. 2018 brought a wide variety of premieres, well-chosen revivals, local debuts and top artists for exciting, often unforgettable performances. Here are some of the great ones. “Candide,” Jan. 18, San Francisco Symphony: In another of the large-scale productions Michael Tilson Thomas has presented during his tenure as music director, the conductor led the orchestra, chorus and a fine singing cast through Leonard Bernstein’s witty, quixotic score.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/01/03/the-best-sf-bay-area-classical-music-concerts-of-2018/[1/8/2019 11:57:27 AM] The best SF Bay Area classical music concerts of 2018

“Playlist,” Jan. 19, Oakland Symphony: Always the innovator, music director Michael Morgan inaugurated his latest project, which brings guest artists onstage with the orchestra to share their favorite works. The first installment featured East Bay writer and comic W. Kamau Bell. “Il Ritorno,” Feb. 3, Cal Performances: In a beautiful marriage of movement and music, the Australian troupe Circa gave a jaw-droppingly acrobatic performance of Monteverdi’s 17th-century opera, “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria.” “The Flying Dutchman,” Feb. 10, Opera San Jose: With American baritone Noel Bouley making his Bay Area debut in the title role, Opera San Jose revived Wagner’s opera about a mythical sea captain doomed to sail the seas in search of the ideal woman. Michael Schade, Feb. 25, Chamber Music San Francisco: German-Canadian tenor Schade, appearing in recital at the Lesher Center for the Arts, gave a lustrous performance featuring Romantic works made famous in the 1920s by Irish tenor John McCormack and violinist Fritz Kreisler. Seattle Symphony, April 7-8, Cal Performances: In two programs performed in Zellerbach Hall, music director Ludovic Morlot made two works by John Luther Adams – “Become Ocean” and the California premiere of “Become Desert” – the mesmerizing highlights of the orchestra’s appearance. California Symphony, May 6: Music director Donato Cabrera continues to energize the Walnut Creek- based orchestra with new works and dynamic guest artists. This program in the Lesher Center featured the world premiere of “like a broken clock” by composer-in-residence Katherine Balch, along with Sibelius’ Third Symphony and a gorgeous performance of the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, with Haochen Zhang as soloist.

Greer Grimsley starred in San Francisco Opera’s production of Wagner’s “Ring” Cycle. CORY WEAVER/S.F. OPERA “The Ring,” June 12-July 1, San Francisco Opera: In the year’s greatest musical achievement, San Francisco Opera presented Wagner’s complete four-opera cycle, with an all-star cast headed by Swedish soprano Iréne Theorin and American bass-baritone Greer Grimsley in Francesca Zambello’s American- themed production. Donald Runnicles returned to conduct, making this a “Ring” for all seasons. Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Aug. 3: Under music director Cristian Măcelaru, the revered new music festival opened its 56th season in Santa Cruz with an engaging program featured music by Huang

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/01/03/the-best-sf-bay-area-classical-music-concerts-of-2018/[1/8/2019 11:57:27 AM] The best SF Bay Area classical music concerts of 2018

Rao, Zosha Di Castri, Pande Shahov and Dan Dediu. “Quartett,” Aug. 11, West Edge Opera: Director Mark Streshinsky continues to astonish with West Edge Opera’s new works and rare revivals. Luca Francesconi’s opera, presented in Richmond’s Craneway Pavilion, featured bravura performances by Heather Buck and Hadleigh Adams and was the thrilling highlight of the company’s summer season. “Roberto Devereux,” Sept. 8, San Francisco Opera: Nearly 40 years after its last company production, San Francisco Opera returned to Donizetti’s Tudor drama with a triumphant Sondra Radvanovsky in the role of Elizabeth I. Audiences who witnessed her performance should count themselves fortunate: Following the run, Radvanovsky announced that she was retiring the role.

Yo-Yo Ma, Sept. 30, Cal Performances: The superstar cellist offered a transcendent program of Bach’s complete solo suites for his instrument under the stars at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre. This is music Ma’s been immersed in since childhood; there’s no better interpreter before the public today. “Mozart Magnified,” Oct. 3, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra: Performing in Stanford’s Bing Hall with an outstanding team of vocal soloists – soprano Camille Ortiz, mezzo-soprano Meg Bragle, tenor James Reese and bass-baritone Dashon Burton, music director Nicholas McGegan led the Bay Area’s premier early music ensemble in Mozart, works including the composer’s grand “Coronation Mass” and the happy-making ‘Exultate jubilate.” Placido Domingo in Concert, Oct. 21, San Francisco Opera: Talk about star power – the legendary tenor returned to the War Memorial Opera House to celebrate his long career and close association with San Francisco Opera. Joined by soprano Ana María Martinez and tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz, Domingo started with selections from the baritone roles he’s taken on in recent years and finished with songs and zarzuela excerpts, leaving the capacity crowd in a state of unmitigated bliss. Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Tamara Stefanovich, Nov. 1, Cal Performances: The piano duo, partners off- stage as well as on, gave a thrilling recital in Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall that introduced Harrison Birtwistle’s “Keyboard Engine” and demonstrated why Olivier Messiaen’s “Visions de l’Amen” is one of the great 20th- century works for two pianos. “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Nov. 17, San Francisco Opera: Jake Heggie’s tuneful, heart-warming opera, based on the beloved Frank Capra film and the short story that inspired it, charmed audiences in its Bay Area premiere. With the excellent tenor William Burden in the role of George Bailey, the opera joined the canon as an instant holiday classic. Contact Georgia Rowe at [email protected].

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