Dream Research into the SF Opera's Sleepy Past, Before the Age of
the Dramaturg

"The Opera Battle is Joined: Concept vs. Artistry" - on the new
edition of www.sfcv.org.

BTW, I am getting fed up with the collective loss of memory about
the work of the three previous general directors. They all created
miracles in a small town, in a country without measurable government
support for the arts.

Adler and McEwen need no apologia. Writing off Lotfi because of his
many mediocre or poor productions (no one attacked them more heatedly
than I) is grossly unfair. He got rid of the company's deficit, managed a
difficult, expensive and ultimately brilliantly successful reconstruction
of the War Memorial, boosted attendance in the interim by using
difficult-to-impossible venues, created a "Broadway Boheme" infinitely
superior to that amplified three-ring circus that's all the rage, continued
the "Ring" even at a time of financial problems, helped the Opera Center,
etc., etc.

If *management* of the company by the new administration matches Lotfi's
record, we'll be very lucky.

Janos Gereben/SF
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