Unexpectedly Pleasant -or- Carol F. Removes the "Maschera"

We loved this performance! The Sunday Un ballo in maschera performance of Opera San Jose was Italian tragedy at its most luscious! The three sopranos were fabulous and could be singing on any stage anywhere. Amelia (Lori Decter) and Oscar (Sandra Rubalcava) both soared into the stratosphere with power and a sweetness that often left one with goose bumps. Joseph Wright made a powerful Count Anckarstroem. The tenor, Adam Flowers, sang intelligently, but lacked the power to match up to his fellow cast members.

For $85 one can sit in the grand tier of the small, recently refurbished, California Theater in downtown San Jose and enjoy opera in a much more intimate setting than the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, where the same seat will cost more than twice that. (It reminds me of the summer when the War Memorial was being renovated and the operas were produced in the much smaller and more intimate Orpheum Theater.) We enjoyed this performance every bit as much as the San Francisco Opera production of La Forza del Destino which we saw last week. There was no need to make an 'artistic statement' with sets and costumes set in the period for which it was written. This performance was truly a treat and perhaps second only to the fabulous production of Simon Boccanegra which we saw in San Diego in January. Keep your eyes out for these sopranos, they won't be in San Jose long.