Opera: Coming of Age in San Francisco

The merest fault darkens his day. Rehearsing with Joan Sutherland, he could notice nothing but the graceless clumber of La Stupendas feet. The curtain bothered him when the orchestra was at its best; the lights annoyed him when the set was perfect; poor acting upset him when the singing was glorious. With a board of directors that applauds him with rubber-stamp approval, an audience that regularly fills every seat, and a local gentry that promises in advance to make up the final deficit in his budget, San Francisco Opera Director Kurt Herbert...

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