Berkeley Opera's 'MANON' Sparkles

...the most luminous of the gems in Berkeley’s ‘Manon’ were the music itself and the stage direction by Yefim Maizel. ...His sophistication was amply demonstrated on Saturday. ...He integrated the...chorus...beautifully into the opera’s plot. Each of its members was allowed important bits of individuality within a carefully composed framework of broader stage action. By achieving a naturalness not often seen in choral choreography, his staging was more akin to the seamless spontaneity of a Broadway show than to the usual plant-and-sing rigidity of opera choruses.
—Sheryl North - The Argus, The Review, The Tribune, The Herald, The Times Star