Word: yeargan
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Francisco Opera has done its best by Previn's first opera: Colin Graham's direction is crisp, Michael Yeargan's sets are suitably sleazy, and Renee Fleming pours heart and soul into the role of Blanche DuBois. But Previn's well-bred score barely hints at the dark crosscurrents of obsession and desperation that made Tennessee Williams' play so naggingly memorable. This slow-moving Streetcar is tonal but tuneless, sometimes violent but never sexy. Even the bluesy bits are oddly polite--an unexpected letdown from a composer-conductor who plays first-rate jazz piano on the side. Let's face...
From the opening storm to the final kiss, this Otello displays all the strengths of modern production technique. The previous version, by Franco Zeffirelli, had sets so detailed that they looked suitable for a CinemaScope film. With their marble pillars and faux Titians, Michael Yeargan's new designs are nearly as lavish, but they are more subdued, allowing director Elijah Moshinsky to personalize the drama. Otello clutches his head in pain after his triumphant conquest of the Turks in Act I, prefiguring his complete moral and physical collapse two acts later; Desdemona tenderly but gingerly strokes her husband's face...