Mozart at the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera

Our conductor for this all Mozart program was Michael Christie.  In our all Mozart program at the
Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera I didn't notice that he used a baton.  He has won a Grammy.  This concert took place in Fremont Presbyterian and was split into two concerts. 

The program began with Mozart's Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter."  The program did not list the movements, as I believe is still traditional.  I admit that Mozart's symphonies are more standardized than other composers, but I still like seeing the movements.  This was good but not thrilling.  Mr. Christie's tempos are a bit fast IMHO.

We were treated to semi-staged opera scenes from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro.   These were remarkably well coordinated since neither the conductor nor the singers could see one another.  The following cast listings are made up by me, since nothing in the program lists these.

Ellie Dehn, soprano -- Despina in Cosi, Susanna in Nozze.
Jana McIntyre, soprano -- Fiordili in Cosi, Marcellina in Nozze.
Julie Miller, mezzo-soprano -- Dorabella, in Cosi, Countess in Nozze.
Michael Day, tenor -- Ferrando in Cosi, Basilio in Nozze.
Benjamin Taylor, baritone -- Guglielmo in Cosi, Count Almaviva in Nozze.
James Hayden, bass-baritone --     ,  Figaro in Nozze.
Scott Levin, bass-baritone -- Don Alfonso in Cosi, Gardener in Nozze.

The singers all wore standard concert attire except Doctor Despina.

Act I Finale to Cosi fan tutte begins when the two lovers in their disguises pretend to take poison.  Robitussin is Doctor Despina's cure.  The supertitles were loosely translated for laughs. 

Act II Finale to Le nozze di Figaro begins just before Susanna steps out of the Countess's wardrobe instead of the expected Cherubino.  This is an excellent place to begin since you cannot have a Cherubino without a costume of some kind.

These are two of Mozart's magnificent ensemble scenes in opera.  He comes in an era when most opera consisted of a series of arias with perhaps a duet here or there.  Amazing ensembles are a treat, and these were beautifully sung with a real sense of ensemble.  The two sisters in Cosi were especially beautiful together.

Arabella in San Francisco

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Conductor Marc Albrecht *
Director Tim Albery *
Production Designer Tobias Hoheisel

Waldner family:
Arabella, elder daughter of the Waldners: Ellie Dehn (soprano) ‡
Zdenko/Zdenka, Arabella's sister: Heidi Stober 
Countess Adelaide Waldner, their mother: Michaela Martens ‡
Count Theodor Waldner, a retired cavalry officer, their father: Richard Paul Fink ‡

Arabella's suitors:
Mandryka, A Croatian landowner Brian Mulligan ‡
Matteo, a young officer Daniel Johansson * ‡
Count Elemer, one of Arabella's suitors Scott Quinn ‡
Count Dominik, one o f Arabella's suitors Andrew Manea † ‡
Count Lamoral, one of Arabella's suitors Christian Pursell † ‡

A Fortune - Teller to Countess Waldner: Jill Grove ‡
The Fiakermilli, a cabaret singer Hye Jung Lee ‡

* San Francisco Opera debut † Current Adler Fellow ‡ Role debut

A new production of Strauss's Arabella is currently running at the San Francisco Opera.  This opera is very nice, has lovely music and a perfect ending, as long as you remember that everyone in it is an idiot.  The Waldners have two daughters and no money because papa gambles it all away.  They are trying very hard to find a wealthy and suitable husband for their elder daughter Arabella.  Father remembers his old army buddy Mandryka and sends him a picture of his daughter.

Manon at the San Francisco Opera

👍🏻
Conductor: Patrick Fournillier
Director: Vincent Boussard

Manon Lescaut: Ellie Dehn
Chevalier des Grieux: Michael Fabiano
Lescaut: David Pershall
Comte des Grieux: James Creswell
Guillot de Morfontaine:  Robert Brubaker
De Brétigny:  Timothy Mix
Poussette:  Monica Dewey *
Javotte:  Laura Krumm
Rosette:  Renée Rapier

Last night was the fourth performance of Massenet's Manon at the San Francisco Opera.

I find it helpful to contrast the plot of this opera with Puccini's Manon Lescaut.  To begin Massenet's heroine arrives in town on the "coach" on her way to the convent.  In our production she looks like Eliza Doolittle.  Puccini is similar.  In Puccini Lescaut is Manon's brother while in Massenet he is her cousin.  In both versions there are rich old men who want Manon.  In our production virtually all the characters are introduced in the first act but no effort was made to clarify who they were and how they relate to the story.  There was just a lot of meaningless milling around until Manon and des Grieux arrive.

In Massenet we see des Grieux and Manon living together and see that their separation was caused by the elder des Grieux kidnapping of his son.  In Puccini we go immediately to Manon living with one of the two old men as the result of her brother's dealings.  And when she attempts to escape her keeper, he has her arrested and shipped to America.

Massenet focuses on the relationship between des Grieux and Manon, a much more romantic and appealing approach.  After des Grieux's departure, Manon takes up with one of the old men.  The staging of Manon's gavotte is the highlight of the production.  She is seen high above the stage holding a large bunch of balloons and then floats down to the floor.  Fun.  I was worried she would have to sing from the flies, an acoustic dead spot.

When des Grieux is kidnapped by his father, he goes into the religious life and orates on the meaning of life.  This allows for the sexiest scene in all of opera:  the scene at Saint-Sulpice.  Manon has not forgotten des Grieux and goes to the church to seduce him away from his religious calling.  She succeeds.  "Isn't this my hand?"

The couple get involved in gambling and are arrested for cheating.  They have created their own fate, far less depressing than Puccini where they both die in Louisiana.

This performance was saved by music.  Our lovely French conductor kept the action moving and supported our romantic pair.  Ellie Dehn handled well all the changes of style of her role and sounded lovely.  Michael was intense and exciting as always.  His voice fills our house with ease.  Together they made a very romantic couple and brought the audience to applause over and over.  I loved it.

La Bohème from San Francisco

Picture by Cory Weaver

Conductor: Carlo Montanaro
Production Designer: David Farley

Marcello: Audun Iversen
Rodolfo: Arturo Chacón-Cruz
Colline: Scott Conner
Schaunard: Brad Walker
Benoit: Dale Travis
Mimì: Erika Grimaldi
Musetta: Ellie Dehn

La Bohème by Puccini is ever green.  The enthusiasm of youth always burns in our hearts.   No opera by Puccini or any other composer is so beautifully romantic from beginning to end.  We were blessed with an Italian conductor who only occasionally let the orchestra play too loud.

I enjoyed Ellie Dehn and Erika Grimaldi, but my favorite was Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Rodolfo who has a gorgeous, bright sound.  The acting was excellent across the board.  This is an opera that works on every level.

Carmen

Conductor: Carlo Montanaro
Production: Calixto Bieito

Lillas Pastia (speaking): Yusef Lambert
Moralès: Edward Nelson †
Micaëla: Ellie Dehn
Zuniga: Brad Walker † *
Manuelita: Jamielyn Duggan
Carmen: Irene Roberts
Don José: Brian Jagde
Escamillo: Zachary Nelson *
Frasquita: Amina Edris † *
Mercédès: Renée Rapier
† Adler

The bare bones production of Carmen currently playing at the San Francisco Opera seems to be placed in the present.  When Micaela and Don Jose meet in the first act they take a selfie together.  Now a selfie requires a digital camera where the display screen points in the same direction as the camera lens.  You can only do that with a phone, I think.

At the very beginning of the opera a man dressed in a white suit, Lillas Pastia we decided, comes out and says "Love is like Death."  This means we are doing the original version of the opera with spoken dialog.  There is a lot of silly business in this production.  Micaela says Don Jose's mother tells her to deliver a kiss from her.  She then plants a serious one on him.  He follows this kiss with staring into the distance and reminiscing about his mother.  Micaela knows that she is toast.

When the other girls come out together from the cigarette factory smoking cigarettes (no smell of tobacco), no one can find Carmen.  She is in the phone booth making a call.  So why doesn't she have a mobile phone like every other modern girl?  The phone booth is the only scenery besides a flag pole and flag.

A half naked, and possibly also completely naked, man (sorry, forgot binoculars) appears for no discernible reason.  I thought as a message to gay pride celebrators outside, "hey, I bet we have more naked men in here than you do out there."

Cars.  Five of them in one scene.   A line marking machine appeared and drew a circle. 

The music was very lively, fast paced and fun.   I enjoyed this for no reason that I could explain.  Brian Jagde is far sexier than our Escamillo, so we are confused about why Carmen doesn't prefer him.  Ellie Dehn was a lovely Micaela, and I enjoyed Irene Roberts as Carmen.

La Bohèmes I have Known

Conductor: Giuseppe Finzi
Director: John Caird *
Production Designer:  David Farley

Mimì, seamstress:  Leah Crocetto (soprano)
Rodolfo, poet:  Giorgio Berrugi *
Musetta, singer:  Ellie Dehn
Marcello, painter:  Brian Mulligan
Colline, philosopher: Christian Van Horn
Schaunard, musician: Hadleigh Adams
Benoit, Alcindoro: Dale Travis

I certainly don't mind seeing Puccini's La Bohème, seen last night at the San Francisco Opera, over and over, but I don't have anything new to say about it.  Leah Crocetto has a bigger voice than the average Mimi, and as a result I heard her in the Cafe Momus scene.  I don't think I even noticed Mimi there before.

I liked the production, especially the fast scene changes.  If you've ever been to Paris in the winter, you know that it's rather dark and drab.  The drabness improved the atmosphere of this piece about intense poverty.

Opinions about the conducting were all over the place.  It was ok, but I've heard better, though not from most of the list below.  I don't suppose Beecham will come back.  I would prefer that conductors took this piece more seriously and raised their expectations.

The singing was very nice indeed.

Since I began blogging, I have reviewed versions of Puccini's La Bohème listed below.  Only the Zeffirelli production is a repeat.  None of these were my first La Bohème which may possibly have been Pavarotti and Freni in San Francisco.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005La Bohème -- the glorious recording with Björling and de los Angeles.

Saturday, March 24, 2007Opera SW

Saturday, April 05, 2008Surprise in HD with Gheorghiu and Vargas in the Zeffirelli production.

Sunday, October 04, 2009La Bohème the Movie with Netrebko and Villazon.

Wednesday, August 03, 2011La Bohème at Santa Fe.

Thursday, May 24, 2012La Bohème in Los Angeles.

Saturday, April 05, 2014La Bohème in HD Zeffirelli again.

Thursday, November 20, 2014 La Bohème at the San Francisco Opera last night.

Cosi fan tutte

Doctor Despina

Fiordiligi:  Ellie Dehn
Dorabella:  Christel Lötzsch *
Despina:  Susannah Biller
Ferrando:  Francesco Demuro
Guglielmo:  Philippe Sly *
Don Alfonso:  Marco Vinco

Conductor:  Nicola Luisotti
Production:  John Cox

Oh how we wish they were all like that.  We are speaking of the San Francisco Opera's current production of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.  Things we wish were always this good:

1.  The maestro.  Nicola Luisotti may be my favorite by now.  Such wonderful musical ensemble for a Mozart opera can only trace back to the maestro.  Phrasing that just wouldn't quit.  Ensemble singing.  Ensemble playing.  More, please.

2.  Theorbo.  Just kidding.  We don't always need to see a theorbo in Mozart.  For my son--the continuo was 2 harpsichords, cello and theorbo.  Dr. Gossett once informed me that figured bass continued into his period, something I had not known.  In Rossini, and maybe possibly Mozart, it should really be a piano.

3.  The very flashy Despina of Susannah Biller.  This is my fourth encounter with Ms Biller, including her very professional outing as Daisy in The Great Gatsby and her Nanetta in Falstaff in Portland.  She showed very dynamic singing and looked adorable as the notary.

4.  Guys who actually looked like they were sufficiently in disguise not to be recognized.  This was a first.

5.  Guys who were still cute in and out of their disguises.

6.  Sisters who harmonized like they really were sisters.

7.  Gorgeous sets and costumes.

There must be something I didn't like.  There was one gorgeous number after another--the only real excuse for presenting this opera.  But in the end the guys choose war over love.

As we left the theater, the War Memorial and City Hall were lit up in rainbow colors to celebrate the Supreme Court decisions.

Another Figaro

The current The Marriage of Figaro at the San Francisco Opera was excellent, but I don't know if I have anything much to say.

I liked the staging. In the second scene in the Countess' bedroom, Figaro enters the room and immediately begins dressing the Countess' hair. I thought, of course. He is the barber of Seville, after all. Why have I never seen this business before?

All the roles were well cast, and the singing was lovely. Opera fanatics are required to see the same operas over and over, but this one grows in your heart.

Nicola Luisotti, the new maestro, conducted from the harpsichord. His harpsichord playing was very sweet. Lovely.

Conductor: Nicola Luisotti
Director: John Copley

Figaro: Luca Pisaroni (bass)
Susanna: Danielle de Niese (soprano)
Dr. Bartolo: John Del Carlo (bass)
Marcellina: Catherine Cook (soprano)
Cherubino: Michèle Losier (soprano)
Count Almaviva: Lucas Meachem (bass)
Don Basilio: Greg Fedderly (tenor)
Countess Almaviva: Ellie Dehn (soprano)