San Francisco Opera Season Ends With Two Great Productions

Soprano Lianna Haroutounian was last seen on the stage at the San Francisco Opera War Memorial Opera House two years ago when she dazzled the audience with her performance as “Tosca.”

Welcome back, baby.

She gives an inspired performance as another doomed femme fatale in “Madama Butterfly, ” this time as a teenage girl old beyond her years.

Next performances on

11.14, 11.17., 11.20, 11.23. 11.27, 11.30. 12.03. 12.06.

Kudos, too, to conductor Yves Abel who returns after an  20-year absence to lead the orchestra.

One note of perplexity, though: why does the audience applaud at the most inconvenient pauses? The singers often seem confused or irritated by the random clapping and shout outs of “brava” and “bravo.”

As geopolitics become more complicated these days, the new production of “Aida” might seem a especially appropriate in depicting a hyper-militarized society.

Director Nicola Luisotti conducted with aplomb as usual, and soprano Leah Crocetto continues to astonish with her instrument…especially in her Act 1 solo “Ritorna vincitor.”