Fidelio in San Francisco

 

Conductor Eun Sun Kim 
Director Matthew Ozawa

Leonore: Elza van den Heever 
Florestan: Russell Thomas 
Don Pizarro: Greer Grimsley 
Rocco: James Creswell 
Don Fernando: Soloman Howard 
Marzelline, Rocco's daughter: Anne-Marie MacIntosh * 
Jaquino:  Christopher Oglesby

Last night I attended the premier of a new production of Beethoven's Fidelio at the San Francisco Opera.  I'm going to work my way slowly through the production before going on to the music.

The single set is shown above.  It can be rotated, and the other side shows different spaces.  In Act II it looks different from Act I.  In Act I the back of the side presenting to us is covered with mirrors.  The director always sits in the middle of the orchestra to view his creation, but from my seat in the balcony circle the lights from the pit reflect in the mirrors to create a tremendous distraction.  The screens which drop down in the balcony are back, and they are shot from a lower angle which doesn't show the reflection.  I watched the screens.  [More about the screens later.]  No director ever seems to think of walking around the house to see what it looks like from other places.

Much of the drama of this production is created through costumes.  It's regie of course.  The last person in the upper left above might be Leonora dressed as a prison guard.

This will give you a better idea.  Left is Leonora, then Marzelline, then Rocco and last Jaquino.  It's probably the canon quartet.  Each of these people has a different role to play.  Leonora is in her guard's uniform.  Jaquino is wearing a business suit and Marzelline is wearing upscale office attire.  They seem to work in an office section of the prison.  Rocco who is supposed to be the boss is dressed no better than the prisoners without a uniform.  Jaquino is someone I have always seen as a flunky, so why is he in a business suit?  And why does Rocco look like a janitor?  I'm very confused.  This production does not give any clues about why Marzelline would prefer Fidelio.  The yellow outfits above are prisoners.

The one thing that makes Fidelio hard to stage is that in Act II while appearing to be still in the dungeon where Florestan has been hidden, there suddenly appears a fair sized mixed chorus to celebrate Leonora's rescue of Florestan [which she here accomplishes with a gun].  Until that point Leonora and Marzelline are the only women in the opera.  In this production the women are in the prison with their men and appear at the end when their men are released.  This sort of makes sense.

Enough about the production.  This was my first experience of our new conductor Eun Sun Kim.  She kept good tempos and maintained a suitable balance between the singers and the orchestra, things that make or break a performance.  The chorus was its usual spectacular self.

Russell Thomas sang a magnificent Florestan.  Greer Grimsley makes a good villain.  The make or break character is, of course, Leonora/Fidelio, here sung by Elza van den Heever.  She cried in the applause which was warm.  Everyone is so emotional about being back.  Elza, I hope you enjoyed your performance.

Which brings us back to the screens.  The San Francisco Opera is now offering live streams of its performances.  Streams require cameras, undoubtedly the same cameras that brought us the pictures on the screens that hang down in the balcony.  In addition streams bring money.  This makes me happy.  If you are unfamiliar with the San Francisco Opera, it provides a quality product.

Lucrezia Borgia

Conductor - Riccardo Frizza

Director and Production Designer - John Pascoe

Michael Fabiano - Gennaro

Renée Fleming - Lucrezia Borgia

Vitalij Kowaljow* - Duke Alfonso

Daniel Montenegro* - Rustighello

Ryan Kuster* - Astolfo

Blanche Hampton* - Princess Negroni

Elizabeth DeShong - Maffio Orsini

The most fun part of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia from the San Francisco Opera is Michael Fabiano in a wild blond wig.  We are used to him bald, but with hair he is completely gorgeous.  Sigh. 

I was present at the original performance series in 2011.  Hearing it again, I am most impressed with the ensembles.  Musically it is a joy, and with a film acoustic and balance problems are fixed. 

The production and singing are enjoyable, but it is clear that Lucrezia creates her own tragedy.  She has searched for Gennaro and has finally found him in Venice.  He shows her a letter from his mother.  No matter how dire the circumstances, she never tells anyone that she is his mother.  Not even him.  She's willing to risk killing him but not this.  She would not risk her own status.  It's ok for men to have illegitimate children, but not women.  So everyone dies.  One does not identify with this story.

Orlando in San Francisco

Conductor: Christopher Moulds*
Director: Harry Fehr*
Production Designer: Yannis Thavoris*

Zoroastro, doctor: Christian Van Horn (bass)
Orlando, hero: Sasha Cooke (originally alto castrato, here mezzo)
Dorinda, nurse: Christina Gansch* (soprano)
Angelica, rich American: Heidi Stober  (soprano)
Medoro, patient: Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen* (originally contralto, here countertenor)

Our production of Orlando, an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel seen at the San Francisco Opera, has leapt into the latest craze in opera regietheater:  opera as psychotherapy.  We have seen this recently in:

• Bizet's Carmen from Aix-en-Provence 7/9/17.  Don Jose is being treated for marital difficulties.
• Weber's Oberon, or The Elf King's Oath live streamed from the Bayerische Staatsoper 7/30/17.  Psychiatrists experiment on random members of the audience.  Gods and fairies are delusions.
• Berlioz' Les Troyens 2/28/19.  After the Trojan War, the survivors are institutionalized in a mental hospital with PTSD.

So our hero is showing signs of mental illness after fighting for Britain at the beginning of WWII .  In an early scene photographs of Edward VIII before and after his abdication are shown, including one where he and Wallace are friendly with Hitler.  This sets the context.  Hitler is probably still easy to identify, but I might wonder about Edward VIII.

Orlando is having hallucinations which are projected on the set as seen above.  We see handwriting, a large engagement ring, lights, a woman's eyes, etc. 

Act I

Orlando is in a hospital bed.  He is shown rescuing a woman in a wheelchair.  Both Dorinda and Angelica fall in love with Medoro, who has injured his leg.  Orlando has given Angelica an engagement ring.  Characters are introduced in rooms of the hospital.

Act II

Dorinda lets Angelica have Medoro, and Angelica gives Dorinda Orlando's ring.  Orlando is furious over this turn events and threatens everyone.  At the end of the act we hear bombs exploding

Act III

Orlando is completely bonkers by this time and is locked up.  Spoiler alert:  he is treated with not too shocking shock treatments, and is cured.  Angelica and Medoro are allowed to go in peace.  Orlando puts his uniform back on and retreats.

I felt that this modernization was very successful.  It fit the story surprisingly well.  However, sometimes plot points went by in a way that allowed you to completely miss them.

In Handel's time Orlando was a male castrato and Medoro was a woman.  We have the long ago example of Marilyn Horne to reverse this.  Our countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen is nice looking and has a beautiful voice.  My favorite singing was by Christian Van Horn, a bass who sings coloratura.  Who ever heard of such a thing.

Among the women Christina Gansch received the most applause for her act III aria.  She is someone to look out for.  Our stalwarts Sasha Cooke and Heidi Stober were both excellent actresses and good in their roles.  Their voices didn't always precisely fit the music they were singing.  Orlando in particular is quite low.

One becomes impatient with endless da capo arias, but all in all it was very enjoyable.  The orchestra included recorders, a small organ but no harpsichord, and a theorbo.

The screens in the balcony are coming down.  This is sad.  I can't read the titles from where I sit without using binoculars, while the ones on the screens are very clear.  This has to do with money.  I'm not happy about it.

Carmen in San Francisco

👍🏻
Conductor: James Gaffigan *
Production: Francesca Zambello

Carmen J'Nai Bridges
Don José Matthew Polenzani
Micaëla Anita Hartig *
Escamillo Kyle Ketelsen
Zuniga David Leigh *

After a production of Bizet's Carmen where people raced cars, Francesca Zambello's production was a welcome change.  At least there were no psychiatrists (see other Carmen).   This production is new to us, but I think it started out in London.  It was visually plain but clarified the plot in an excellent manner.  I especially liked the orange tree in Act I.  We heard the opera comique version which comes with spoken dialog.  It goes by pretty fast.

We all liked best our Micaëla, Anita Hartig, who has appeared on the Met HD series as Liu in Turandot with Nina Stemme and Micaëla in Carmen with Anita Rachvelishvili. She is seasoned in her role and has a beautiful voice.

Our two main characters Carmen and Don José were both making their role debuts.  This is a situation where one should attend at the end of the run when everyone has settled into their character.  Carmen is especially difficult here.  She dominates every scene with arias (sung lying down sometimes, a modern fad.  We blame Anna Netrebko), dancing, flirting, castanets, anger, love, just about anything you can imagine.  It is necessary to be careful not to get hurt.  By the end of the run she would be able to focus more on her singing.

I couldn't decide about Matthew.  Does the part not sit right for his voice?  He is a tenor I like very much, but something sounded rough in his voice.  He played Don José more out of control than anyone I have ever seen.  She knows she will die, it was in the cards, and does not care.

I enjoyed it.  It's a beautiful opera.

San Francisco Opera Season 2019-2020

The San Francisco Opera has announced its next season.   The first important thing to notice is that there are only 8 operas.

Gounod's Romeo and Juliet

Romeo: Pene Pati (cast change),  Juliet: Nadine Sierra.  This pair should be able to generate some heat, the key to a successful Romeo and Juliet.  Yves Abel will conduct.
1 September 6–October 1, 2019

Britten's Billy Budd

Captain Vere William Burden, Billy Budd John Chest *, John Claggart Christian Van Horn, Mr. Redburn Philip Horst, Mr. Flint Wayne Tigges with staging by Tony Award-winning director Michael Grandage.  Lawrence Renes will conduct.
September 7–September 22, 2019

Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro

Figaro Michael Sumuel, Susanna Jeanine De Bique *, Count Almaviva Levente Molnár *, Countess Almaviva Jennifer Davis *, Cherubino Serena Malfi *.  I am not familiar with these singers.  This is part of a multi-season trilogy of all three Mozart/da Ponte operas with a narrative linking their stories.  Henrik Nánási will conduct.
October 11–November 1, 2019

Puccini's Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut Lianna Haroutounian [Nedda this season], Chevalier des Grieux Brian Jagde [Mario Cavaradossi this season], conducted by Nicola Luisotti.
November 8–26, 2019

Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel

Hansel Sasha Cooke [Orlando this season], Gretel Heidi Stober [Zdenka this season], The Witch Robert Brubaker.  Christopher Franklin will conduct.  This is not the food fight production but comes from London.
November 15–December 7, 2019

Verdi's Ernani

Ernani Russell Thomas, Elvira Michelle Bradley *, Don Carlo Simone Piazzola *, Don Ruy Gomez de Silva Christian Van Horn.  James Gaffigan will conduct.
June 7–July 2, 2020

Handel's Partenope

Partenope Louise Alder *, Rosmira Daniela Mack, Arsace Franco Fagioli *, Armindo Jakub Józef Orliński *, Emilio Alek Shrader, Ormonte Hadleigh Adams.  This is a repeat from 5 years ago with some of the same cast.  Our Arsace this time will be the fabulous countertenor Franco Fagioli.  Christopher Moulds will conduct.
June 12–June 27, 2020

Mason Bates' The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs Edward Parks *, Laurene Powell Jobs Sasha Cooke, Steve Wozniak Garrett Sorenson, Kōbun Chino Otogawa Wei Wu *.  This is co-produced with the Santa Fe Opera where it has already played.  Our cast is the same.  Quote from Wikipedia:  "The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs was the most popular new opera in Santa Fe Opera’s history and one of the top-selling operas in the company's history."  Michael Christie will conduct.
June 16–July 3, 2020

Budget Cuts at the San Francisco Opera

Budget cuts were announced today by cutting administrative staff at the San Francisco Opera.  Read here.

News -- New Maestro for Philharmonia Baroque

British conductor Richard Egarr has been named to succeed Nicholas McGegan as conductor of the Berkeley orchestra Philharmonic Baroque.  Read here about McGegan's retirement, and read here for more information about Egarr.  I hope everyone will be happy with this change.

It's an OK Life

Conductor: Patrick Summers
Director: Leonard Foglia

Clara, Angel Second Class:  Kearstin Piper Brown
A Voice: Patti LuPone
Angels First Class: Sarah Cambidge, Ashley Dixon, Amitai Pati, Christian Pursell 
George Bailey: William Burden
Mr. Potter: Rod Gilfry
Uncle Billy Bailey: Keith Jameson
Mary Hatch: Andriana Chuchman
Harry Bailey: Joshua Hopkins

I saw Jake Heggie's It's a Wonderful Life yesterday.  We missed Golda Schultz as Clara.  Her replacement was often covered by the orchestra.  The picture above is Clara getting her Angel First Class wings.  Obviously this is an opera based on a movie.  Other such operas are Orphée by Philip Glass and The Exterminating Angel by Thomas Adès, which seemed to work better.

I wish I liked this, but I didn't.  There were too many words, words not clearly enunciated by all but William Burden.  This meant much staring at the subtitles which were slightly small for me.  Too much talk, not enough arias.  There were even long stretches of spoken dialog so more words could be fit in.  When Clara gets her wings, she needs an aria.  When George and Mary get married, they need a duet.  I could go on and on.  It ended well, but it was too long to wait for this.

I don't pan many things.  After all, I loved Moby Dick.  No thank you.  This seems to be strictly for people who love the movie.

Arabella in San Francisco

--

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.

Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci in San Francisco

Priest places a statue of Jesus in a niche. 

👍🏻
Conductor Daniele Callegari *
Production José Cura *

Turiddu, tenor: Roberto Aronica
Santuzza, mezzo:  Ekaterina Semenchuk
Alfio and Tonio, baritone: Dimitri Platanias *
Lola, mezzo: Laura Krumm
Mamma Lucia, contralto:  Jill Grove
Canio, tenor: Marco Berti
Nedda, soprano: Lianna Haroutounian
Silvio, baritone: David Pershall
Beppe, tenor: Amitai Pati

Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci are now in rotation at the San Francisco Opera.  I have listed the casts of the two operas together because the two operas have here become one. 

The story of this production is reasonably interesting.  In Buenos Aires, Argentina, exists a mural by Omar Gasparini called Escenografico.  Here is a photo of the original.

From my seat in the balcony circle I saw the stage in a manner very much like the photo at the top,  The mural was shown on the wall at stage left which I saw only fleetingly when the conductor entered.  I know about it only from pictures in the program.  The famous Intermezzo was staged as a ballet.

The church is at the back, and near it is a store that sells vegetables.  Mamma Lucia owns the cafe at the front, and when Turiddu sings "O Lola," Lola peeks out one of the windows above and Santuzza peeks out from another.  Silvio from Pagliacci is one of Mamma Lucia's waiters. At the end of Cavalleria Turiddo is killed, and his casket is carried by at the beginning of Pagliacci.  Mamma Lucia and a very pregnant Santuzza also appear in the cafe in Pagliacci. This unified production made the pairing of these two operas make a lot more sense than is generally the case, but everything was much cheerier than others I have seen.

A number of conductors are making their San Francisco Opera debuts this season because we are without a maestro.  Callegari brought us a very beautiful, very Italian verismo experience.  The singing was excellent if a bit on the heavy side.  I even rather liked Berti who was very heavy indeed.  The only thing that seemed missing was acting.

Roberto Devereux in San Francisco

👍🏻
We were discussing the current queen of opera Sondra Radvanovsky, and I suggested we sing "God Save the Queen" when she came out for her bow, forgetting entirely that the opera starts with that same tune.  I am speaking of the current production of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux from the San Francisco Opera, a wonderful performance of a less than entirely wonderful opera. 

Conductor: Riccardo Frizza
Director: Stephen Lawless

Elisabetta (Elizabeth I): Sondra Radvanovsky
Roberto Devereux, Earl of Essex: Russell Thomas
Sara: Jamie Barton
Duke of Nottingham: Andrew Manea [Adler]
Lord Cecil: Amitai Pati [Adler]
Walter Raleigh: Christian Pursell [Adler]

This opera is questionable from a plot perspective.  The above listed characters are all members of the British upper class.  It is fairly easy to describe the relationship aspects of the story.

Elizabeth and Roberto have a secret relationship.  Since Nottingham knows nothing about it, we may assume that this is truly secret.  Then before leaving England to lead a war in Ireland, Robert starts a love relationship with Sara, a young woman in the court.  Robert goes off to war, and while he is away, Sara's father dies.  An upper class woman cannot be left free in the world, so Elizabeth arranges a marriage for her with the Duke of Nottingham.  No one is aware that she is in love with Essex.

Essex returns from war where he has been unsuccessful to find that Sara is married.  Meanwhile Elizabeth hopes that he still loves her.  An emotional mess ensues, the kind of emotional mess that can only happen in an Italian opera.  Long ago Elizabeth gave Robert a ring which he was to send to her if he was ever in danger.

Robert goes to see Sara.  So why isn't he locked up in the Tower of London?  She gives him a love token which her husband recognizes.  

The part of the plot that makes no sense is the political part.  In real life Essex is supposed to have tried to overthrow the queen, which would make nonsense of her part in the emotional, operatic plot.  So the charges are trivial and relate to him being overly merciful toward the Irish.  So he is executed for no apparent reason.  The ring doesn't arrive in time. It's even more complicated than what I have described.

This is Queen Elizabeth's most vulnerable moment, and it happens in her old age.  She died in her 69th year.  It is mysteriously wonderful how Sondra Radvanovsky fits this role.  She is tall and regal, and has a large, commanding voice.  You believe that she is the absolute monarch who has fallen in love in her old age.  It is difficult to imagine any other soprano bringing this role to such spectacular heights.  She should sing it in your city, too.

The production which comes from Canada made the complex plot very clear, clearer than the recent Met production.  Sondra's supporting singers, primarily Russell Thomas, Jamie Barton and Andrew Manea, rose almost to her magnificence.  I don't think this is a great opera, though it is leading the path to Verdi, but it is a great opera for Sondra Radvanovsky.  Brava.

Emerging Stars 2018 Winner

We have a winner for the emerging star from the 2017-18 season at the San Francisco Opera.  I have arranged them in alphabetical order by last name and have included a credit from last season.

Paul Appleby Girls of the Golden West Met debut yes

Atalla Ayan La Traviata, Alfredo Germont Met debut yes  *Winner

J'Nai Bridges Girls of the Golden West no Met

Julia Bullock: Girls of the Golden West no Met

Ellie Dehn Met debut yes Here are her SFO credits:

•  Le Nozze di Figaro Countess Almaviva 
•  Don Giovanni Donna Anna 
•  Così fan tutte Fiordiligi 
•  La Bohème Musetta 
•  Carmen Micaëla 
•  Manon Manon Lescaut 17-18 

Aurelia Florian no Met La Traviata Violetta

Soloman Howard Turandot Met debut yes

Hye Jung Lee: Girls of the Golden West, Nixon in China

Elliot Madore Girls of the Golden West Met debut yes

Ryan McKinny Girls of the Golden West Met debut yes

Ronnita Miller The Ring 

David Pershall Met debut yes Manon

Davóne Tines Girls of the Golden West no Met

Die Walküre

👍🏻
Conductor Donald Runnicles
Director Francesca Zambello

Brünnhilde, Wotan's daughter:  Iréne Theorin
Wotan:  Greer Grimsley
Fricka: Jamie Barton
Sieglinde, Hunding's wife:  Karita Mattila
Siegmund, Sieglinde's lost brother:  Brandon Jovanovich
Hunding:  Raymond Aceto
Siegrune, Valkyrie:   Laura Krumm
Grimgerde, Valkyrie:  Renée Rapier
Ortlinde, Valkyrie:  Sarah Cambidge
Gerhilde, Valkyrie:  Julie Adams
Rossweisse, Valkyrie:  Lauren McNeese
Schwertleite, Valkyrie:  Nicole Birkland
Helmwige, Valkyrie:  Melissa Citro
Waltraute, Valkyrie:  Renée Tatum

I have always considered Die Walküre my favorite part of the Ring.  Some scenes are the best part of the Ring while others are just endless talking.  As the years have passed, I increasingly see Wotan's long winded explanation to Brünnhilde as a self serving excuse for his screw ups.

But the opening scene is a joyous occasion.  Karita Mattila and Brandon Jovanovich are marvelous as the twins reuniting after a long separation.  I think modern audiences feel that a woman who never wanted to marry in the first place is fully justified in running off with an attractive almost stranger.  "Du bist der Lenz" is a gorgeous love song well sung here by our Siegmund.  Ok, I'm happy with him as a heldentenor.  They made a great pair.  The staging for this scene is excellent.  Except one minute there's no tree and the next minute there it is.

I enjoyed very much Iréne Theorin's entrance in act II.  Her "toi-jo-to-hos" were impressive.  This was followed by the spectacular tantrum of Jamie Barton's Fricka.  She is very put off by the twins thing.  Wotan drones on but completely messes up.  What is his "will" supposed to make of the fact that first he tells her to make Siegmund win the battle, then completely reverses himself to please Fricka.  She knows what his true will is and does that.

Then we have a scene under a freeway like a modern homeless couple.  Or another opera seen recently.  Sieglinde is having difficulties.  Here occurs the scene where Brünnhilde fulfills the Valkyrie's main role--she offers him eternity in Valhalla.  He refuses because Sieglinde will not be there.

The battle between Siegmund and Hunding has Brünnhilde fighting for Siegmund and Wotan against him.  Wotan wins, but Brünnhilde spirits Sieglinde away to save her unborn child.

I thought all these scenes went very well.  The highlight of this production is the Valkyries flying in on a wire with their heroes.  This is a piece of fun.  Brünnhilde walks in like a sensible person but has no hero.  Then follows the greatest scene in all the Ring:  Wotan's farewell.  He makes her into a mere human as punishment.  The music is very beautiful and was well sung by Greer Grimsley.

The quality of the singing is very high.  The staging sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

A small additional comment:  at every possible opportunity the audience gave the orchestra and maestro Runnicles a huge ovation.  He was very popular here.

Das Rheingold

Conductor Donald Runnicles
Director Francesca Zambello

Wotan, head god:  Greer Grimsley
Loge, god of fire:  Štefan Margita
Alberich, Nibelung: Falk Struckmann*
Fricka, Wotan's wife:  Jamie Barton
Erda, goddess of the earth, Ronnita Miller
Mime, Alberich's brother: David Cangelosi
Fasolt, giant: Andrea Silvestrelli
Fafner, giant: Raymond Aceto
Donner, god of thunder: Brian Mulligan
Froh, god:  Brandon Jovanovich
Freia, goddess of the apples;  Julie Adams
Woglinde, Rhinemaiden:  Stacey Tappan
Wellgunde, Rhinemaiden:  Lauren McNeese
Flosshilde, Rhinemaiden:  Renée Tatum

One wishes for Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen to be significant.  The teeming Rhine surging in the orchestra in the orchestral intro to Das Rheingold signals something deep.

So tourists on a cruise ship was a bit disconcerting the last time I saw this.  But the lighting is transformed, the pastels are gone and every orchestral transition includes projections of water and landscapes.

As always, Donald Runnicles is the man you want for Wagner.  For the epic poem he is the one.  Remember he was great in Les Troyens as well.

And what an incredible cast.  Big Wagnerian voices are everywhere.  Falk Struckman, our Alberich, was the only SFO debut.  The force of his portrayal makes Alberich the main character here.  He convinced in his transition from lover to tycoon to reprobate.  We realize what he does not--his loss of the Ring only affects his self confidence, not his authority.

Štefan Margita's Loge was also outstanding.  He lords it over Wotan at every turn.  Only Wotan seems not to notice. 

My reaction to this whole opera is that when a voice dominates the ensemble, that character dominates the narrative.  That's why it comes out different each time.

Das Rheingold exists only to set the stage for the next three operas.  The Rhinemaidens have lost their gold and their charm; Alberich has lost his authority and love; Fafner has killed his brother but gained the ring, a trinket he has no idea how to use; and Wotan has his Walhalla and his Fricka.  Only Erda sees tragedy coming.

The changes to the production promise significant events to follow, not just fun on a cruise ship.

Singers for the Ring

Shortly The Ring of Richard Wagner will begin at the San Francisco Opera.  These are some of the main singers.

Wotan and The Wanderer: Greer Grimsley.  On a good day he can be fabulous. 

 Alberich: Falk Struckmann*  He was our Iago with Botha and Fleming.


Fricka, Waltraute, and Second Norn:  Jamie Barton.  She was our Adalgisa in Norma with Sondra Radvanovsky.  She will have some quick changes.


Brünnhilde:  Iréne Theorin, our replacement.  She'll do fine.


Sieglinde: Karita Mattila.  She appears frequently at both the Met and in San Francisco.  I've loved her since her fabulous Fidelio.


Siegfried: Daniel Brenna*.  He played Alwa in the Met Lulu.  He comes in toward the end.


Siegmund and Froh:  Brandon Jovanovich.  He was here recently in Meistersinger, but this example is the best I've ever heard him sing.  Perhaps he should change Fach.

The list goes on and on.  Maybe more later.

San Francisco Opera Annual Meeting

I received in my email a link to a film of the board meeting of the San Francisco Opera.  The president, the CFO and Matthew Shilvock, the general manager.  The entertainment was cut.  A number of points were covered.

Ticket sales for next season are well ahead of this season.  We are closer to a balanced budget than we've been in years.

The search is on for a new Musical Director to succeed Nicola Luisotti. I hope they can find another Italian.

We were told that Dream of the Red Chamber from the 2016-17 season has been touring in Asia where it is a big hit.  Fascinating.

Next season there will be only 8 productions, a significant factor in balancing the budget.  This was accompanied by a rather disturbing announcement.  Only two (Riccardo Frizza and Patrick Summers) of next season's 8 conductors have ever conducted an opera before.  I am hoping I misunderstood this.

The San Francisco Opera began with Tosca, and it seems we have been watching the same Tosca set for all that time.  I remember Maria Collier, Angela Gheorghiu and Leontyne Price.  We are getting a new production created here in our shops.

Matthew addressed the issue of his artistic vision.  When they first hired him, I brought up the fact that no one had ever mentioned this in anything I had read about him.

• I entered the world of the San Francisco Opera through Kurt Herbert Adler (1953–1981), probably first seeing him looking up at me auditioning.  His vision was to make our company into one of the finest in the world.  He attracted famous singers by offering to stage whatever they wanted to sing.  These included Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo.  He started the Merola program.  

• Terence McEwen (1982–1988)  was a recording executive who knew the singers personally.  His biggest achievement was Norma with Sutherland and Horne.  He was the first to use supertitles.

• Lotfi Mansouri (1988–2001) was a director and continued his career as a director while being general manager.  He hired Donald Runnicles as Musical Director, something of a coup.  He brought us James Morris as Wotan, the greatest thing ever.  He produced some outstanding new operas:  Harvey Milk, composed by Stewart Wallace, A Streetcar Named Desire, composed by André Previn, Dead Man Walking, composed by Jake Heggie, and The Death of Klinghoffer composed by John Adams.  This must be considered a great success.

• Pamela Rosenberg (2001–2005) is for me most famous for bringing us Messiaen's Saint-François d'Assise.  She had been Intendant in Stuttgart, a medium sized German house, and brought us things she would have produced there.  San Franciscans were horrified.  I may only have seen her when she came out after 9/11 to lead us in singing God Bless America.

• David Gockley (2006–2016) promised us stars and basically delivered.  He also brought us what is called The American Ring, which plays again in June.  He replaced Runnicles with Luisotti who now departs.

Shilvock spoke only of connecting with the communities of the San Francisco Bay Area.  I support this.  The San Francisco Opera is idle in both early spring and late summer, giving him ample time to see operas from around the world.  He hasn't promised us anything in particular, and I still see this as a problem.  I will be watching closely to see who he hires as Musical Director.  And just because we haven't been promised stars doesn't mean we can't still have them.

West Edge Summer Festival 2018

West Edge Opera has announced three operas for this summer:

• Debussey's Pelléas and Mélisande (1902).   This is to be directed by Keturah Stickan and is a change from the original announcement.  The cast sounds excellent.  Britten's Death in Venice was previously announced.

• Matt Marks' Mata Hari (2017) which premiered at Prototype Festival this year.  Tina Mitchell will play the title role.  This is to be directed by Paul Peers.

• Luca Francesconi's "sexual psycho-drama" Quartet (2011)  This will be directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer.  "Brutal fury."

The venue is Craneway Conference Center, Harbour Way South, Richmond, CA.  Tickets are available.

Quinn Kelsey in Rigoletto

For me when it comes to Rigoletto this is the make or break aria.



I'm sorry we don't get the whole aria.

Klimt at the Legion of Honor

At the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco is currently an exhibition of Klimt paintings. Above is The Virgin, a strange painting with I counted 6 heads.  I presume the named person is the one with two arms in the center.

I love this landscape.  All of his styles are very attractive.

This last example is a copy of a section from the Beethoven Frieze.  I visited this in Vienna when I went there in 2007, and I was pleased to have recognized it.  It is near the opera house, so when you go to Vienna to see the opera, be sure to drop by.  It's an entire room with paintings up high on the wall.  That's what makes it a frieze.

San Francisco Opera 2018 -- 2019

Today next season's schedule for the San Francisco Opera has appeared.  It has shrunk to 8 operas.  This say new productions, but most of them come from other companies.  We are now working without a music director, so you should regard most of this conductors as auditioning.

We start with the fall series.

Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci

Music by Pietro Mascagni / Ruggero Leoncavallo
September 7–30, 2018
Conductor:  Daniele Callegari*
An Opéra Royal de Wallonie (Liège) production by Jose Cura

Cast for Cavalleria:
Turiddu: Roberto Aronica
Santuzza Ekaterina Semenchuk
Alfio Dimitri Platanias *
Lola Laura Krumm
Mamma Lucia Jill Grove

Cast for Pagliacci:
Canio Marco Berti
Nedda Lianna Haroutounian
Tonio Dimitri Platanias *

Roberto Devereux

Music by Gaetano Donizetti
September 8–27, 2018
Conductor:  Riccardo Frizza
A Canadian Opera Company production directed by:  Stephen Lawless

This features the excellent cast:
Elisabetta (Elizabeth I) Sondra Radvanovsky
Roberto Devereux Russell Thomas
Sara Jamie Barton

Tosca

Music by Giacomo Puccini
October 3–30, 2018
Conductor:  Leo Hussain*
A San Francisco Opera production premiere directed by:  Shawna Lucey

with:
Floria Tosca: Carmen Giannattasio
Mario Cavaradossi: Brian Jagde
Baron Scarpia: Scott Hendricks

Arabella

Music by Richard Strauss
October 16–November 3, 2018
Conductor:  Marc Albrecht*
A co-production of the Santa Fe Opera, Minnesota Opera and Canadian Opera Company:  Tim Albery*

Arabella Ellie Dehn
Zdenka Heidi Stober
Matteo Daniel Johansson *
Mandryka Brian Mulligan

It's a Wonderful Life

Music by Jake Heggie
November 17–December 9, 2018
Conductor:  Patrick Summers
West Coast Premiere:  Leonard Foglia

George Bailey: William Burden
Clara: Golda Schultz *1
Clara Kearstin Piper Brown *2

There are three operas for the summer series.

Carmen

Music by George Bizet
June 5–29, 2019
Conductor:  James Gaffigan
Francesca Zambello production from Opera Australia.

This features the excellent cast:
Carmen J'Nai Bridges
Don José Matthew Polenzani welcome back Matthew.
Micaëla Anita Hartig *

Orlando

Music by George Frideric Handel
June 9–27, 2019
Conductor:  Christopher Moulds*
A production of Scottish Opera directed by:  Harry Fehr*

Orlando Sasha Cooke
Angelica Heidi Stober
Dorinda Christina Gansch *
Medoro Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen
Zoroastro Christian Van Horn

Rusalka

Music by Antonín Dvořák
June 16–28, 2019
Conductor:  Eun Sun Kim*  (A woman conductor from South Korea)
A production of Lyric Opera of Chicago:  David McVicar

Rusalka Rachel Willis‐Sørensen
The Prince Brandon Jovanovich
Vodník (Water Gnome) Kristinn Sigmundsson
Ježibaba Jamie Barton  (worth the ticket just for this)

Only one of these is actually a new production so I changed the information.  They're just new to us.