Why not Michelle DeYoung?

San Francisco Opera issued a press release yesterday about Dolora Zajick's withdrawal from the world premiere of Tobias Picker's Dolores Claiborne, set to open next month. Perhaps the bigger news is that her replacement is going to be Patrica Racette, with Catherine Cook taking on the final two performances.

Zajick is a mezzo. Racette's a soprano. Not a big deal, I guess, but this is going to be the 4th appearance by Racette out of 8 operas the company has scheduled for the 2013-14 season. Does anyone else find that to be just a bit much?

Why not someone else? Specifically, why not Michelle DeYoung? Yes, she's doing Lohengrin in Switzerland in October, but she's one of the best mezzos singing today and SFO has yet to put her on the stage. What about Sasha Cooke? Her website says she's scheduled to give some master classes in Little Rock during these dates, and not much else. I'm just wondering- was there really no one else available?

Duke Bluebeard's Castle

Michelle DeYoung, Alan Held, and the San Francisco Symphony inside Duke Bluebeard's Castle. Photo by  Kristen Loken

For the penultimate program of its centennial season, the San Francisco Symphony decided to go big with a semi-staged production of Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle featuring two strong singers, Alan Held in the title role and mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as Judith, his most recent wife. I had never heard it live before Thursday night- it's been more than thirty years since it was last performed by the Symphony, and San Francisco Opera hasn't staged it since 1965, making the opera a rarity I've been looking forward to all season long.

Jeremy Denk opened the show as the soloist in Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1, a piece which I've long considered somewhat vulgar, akin to watching elephants performing a line dance at a circus- one admires the work it takes to pull off, but it's too gross to appreciate as more than spectacle. However, Denk seemed happy to take a break from the challenges of the thornier works he's played during his recent visits and show off a bit. Still, the audience seemed to want to get on to the main event, and the response was somewhat tepid. Perhaps I'm not the only one in the house who thought it an odd thing to appear on this program. One of Bartók's piano concertos, especially the 2nd, would have made more sense.

After the intermission Duke Bluebeard's Castle began with Ken Ruta placed high above the stage in one of four turrets reading the prologue, setting the stage for an ambiguous interpretation of what was about to unfurl- the tale of Bluebeard's newest wife wanting to know what's behind the locked doors, and learning the truth one horror at a time. There are a few ways one can interpret the work- from Bluebeard's perspective, from Judith's, or from somewhere outside looking in, with each one offering multiple vantage points. With only two characters involved, and little "action," it becomes a psychological chess match. Is one of them crazy? Are both? Is it the story of a murderer or of a man letting his guard down. Is Judith a sympathetic, but insecure new bride, or is she just a loon? For the record, I side with the latter interpretation on both counts.

Somewhere between the third and fourth door I began to wonder if the staging was really adding all that much to the show. The stage was surrounded by grey castle walls with turrets leaning in to create a sense of the claustrophobic. Projections on walls and lighting effects sought to create atmosphere and illustrate the text. During the sequence depicting what lies behind the first door  (Bluebeard's torture chamber), the castle walls filled with "Hellraiser"-ish imagery of protruding bloody nails and short spikes in a fun, Grand Guignol way, but the after that the images and lighting began to feel somewhat rote- not taking away from anything, but containing few surprises. So I tried to wipe the staging from my mind and imagine how it would play without it and realized it really did add something to the whole. But I thought that it shouldn't- that this small drama between a couple played for high stakes would be best without the distraction of images and lights- just let the voices, the dramatic capabilities of the singers and the music do the work.

That wouldn't have worked however, at least here, because of one real problem- the placing of the singers behind the orchestra instead of in front, which created a sense of distance too hard to penetrate despite the best efforts of Held and DeYoung, whose performances were invested with as much attention to the physical as they were to the vocal, but even singers as skilled as these two had a hard time connecting from the back of the stage. The placing of the surtitles on the sides rather than above the stage also hindered the whole, causing those of us who don't know the libretto by heart or speak Hungarian to look away to follow the lines.

Still, the singing and music were splendid, and when the fifth door opened to reveal Bluebeard's treasure, the Davies organ kicked in (it's the largest in the country) with the brass blaring behind it, creating a sensationally loud and thrilling effect, though the blinding lights shining into the audience were a bit obnoxious. The percussion section especially shone, but the entire orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas seemed committed to bring everything to the performance.

The final program of the centennial season, featuring MTT leading the orchestra in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Ligeti's Lux Aeterna and Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw has a few tickets left and you'd be foolish not to get one before the entire four-night run sells out.

John Adams and the San Francisco Symphony

Since I'm so behind with updating this Beast I'm going to do a twofer here, which is appropriate because the concerts I'm writing about are part of the San Francisco Symphony's Project San Francisco program featuring the work of John Adams. Last Thursday night Chad Newsome and I experienced the return of El Niño. Tonight the Femme Fatale and I heard a miraculous Harmonielehre. Had I not been flying down to LA the next night I would have definitely returned to hear El Niño again. Since I have no plans this Friday I've decided to hear Harmonielehre again. Yes, it's that good- get yourself a ticket and get ready to be spellbound.

I'd never heard Harmonielehre performed live before, which is to say that since I live in an apartment and respect my neighbors I've never really heard it at all. It's loud. It's thunderous. It's like the vision which inspired Adams- a tanker steaming full speed ahead through the Bay that all of a sudden becomes airborne. I was recently thinking about all of those people shelling out $275 to see Roger Waters perform The Wall (sorry folks- I saw it twice in 1980- accept no David Gilmore-less substitutes) - they could have attended this for a fraction of the cost and heard some much better music that rocks equally hard.

Harmonielehre is around forty minutes long is broken into three movements. The first, which is untitled, begins with an extremely loud (the orchestra for this piece is huge), propulsive fit of rhythm wherein Adams acknowledges his minimalist tendencies of his past and decides to completely blow it off- and blow it up. Deeply absorbing the work of Sibelius strained through Glass, Riech and Cage, there are hypnotic repetitions which eventually dissolve into something slower, more meditative, without ever really letting go of the idea that harmony is something that can be felt as well as heard. How Tilson-Thomas kept the orchestra so in tune, so perfectly synchronized, was something of a small miracle here.

The second movement, called "The Anfortas Wound," refers not to a stab in the side, but one to the balls which won't heal. And it hurts. Starting slowly, it builds into an agonizing climax so involving that MTT got so caught up in it he smacked his baton against the score and the stick went flying behind him into the front row, causing him to lose his place in the score and for a moment he was furiously flipping pages back and forth to find his place while never losing control of the orchestra. MTT- nicely done! Never let them see you sweat!

The third part is entitled "Meister Eckhardt and Quackie." I'm not going to explain what that means- read the program notes before it begins for an explanation- but halfway through this part is where the realization struck me, becoming that involuntary "wow" moment where one realizes that what's unfolding in front of you, what you're hearing, is something unique and special, putting an involuntary smile on your face which stays stuck there for the rest of the piece. The  massive violin section is playing at full-bore, the horns are just fucking phenomenal and the percussion section is pounding it out like they're John Bonham.

You want to know more? There are three more performances.

The first half of the concert was good, but rendered almost meaningless by what followed. The orchestra performed Henry Cowell's modernist Synchrony, which gave trumpeter Mark Inouye some really shining moments and ends in a kind of Dies Irae/Scary Monster Music climax, followed by the fresh air of Mozart's 5th Violin Concerto, in which the always entertaining Gil Shaham was the soloist. The Mozart was a bit brisk for my liking, and Shaham did his impish "I'm a part of everything" bit as he shamelessly mugged for MTT, the orchestra and the audience by turns. I think next year he'll be onstage with Jeremy Denk and the girl who plays the cello like she's Pete Townsend in Beethoven's Triple Concerto. I'll see it just to see who falls off the stage first as they try to out-do one another in histrionics. It will be Bring it On- the classical music version.

So backing up and catching up, Chad and I ditched our company holiday party last Thursday and made our way over to the hall to hear El Niño. As I mentioned earlier, the debut of this piece in 2001 had a profound and lasting impact on me. It's remained one of my favorite concert experiences through the years-  something completely unforgettable on many levels and I was eager to experience it again. Last week's version was so different from what I saw and heard in 2001 it felt like an entirely different work. That's a good thing because my interest in El Niño wasn't nostalgic- I wanted to know what the work contained that enthralled me so much the first time- not necessarily to re-experience it.

The difficult thing is that so much has changed in my own life since then and I have to weigh that against the very significant changes made to the work as it appeared then versus now. What's objective? The first experience was conducted by Kent Nagano and featured film and dancers choreographed by Peter Sellars. It also had Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson in the cast for the world premiere. From what I've read, I was one of the few who found the film to be an integral, deeply moving part of the work. Maybe because I grew up in LA and not only recognized the locations in the film but was profoundly touched by the images it conveyed of Joseph and Mary as desperate yet hopeful Latino immigrants on the overcast beaches of Southern California. The dancers didn't work for me, but the film certainly did. When I walked out of the hall that night I felt a communion with people I'd never experienced before and have never felt since. It was that powerful.

Fast forward 9 years. Dump the divisive film and the dancers. Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson is dead. The 90's are well over and the U.S. has been at war for ten years and the country is as polarized as it's ever been. Adams is now the conductor and the magnificent Michelle DeYoung steps into Hunt-Lieberson's big shoes. Is anything the same now as it was in 2001? Are you the same as you were then?

The brilliance of the score is indisputable. Adams has crafted a contemporary oratorio on the birth of Jesus that can confidently stand next to anything in the canon. It's a masterpiece on so many levels. Dawn Upshaw returns as Mary and is flawless. Flawless! DeYoung makes the part her own through vocal perfection and a stage presence that exceeds that of Hunt-Lieberson, though I suspect few will give this tremendous singer her due in this particular role. Jonathan Lemalu takes over the role of Joseph and it works on every level. Steven Rickards, Brian Cummings, and Daniel Bubeck reprise their roles, angels clad in white, like three countertenors who just strode off a tennis court, to perfection.

Adams has difficulties navigating the behemoth, as he writes about on his own blog, but he does better than he thinks. He keeps this music alive in ways one couldn't expect. Nagano brought out the hope in the score but Adams brings out the doubt which is so appropriate to this time and place. He had to work harder at it, but the result was a performance that didn't confirm a miracle, but left the audience wondering if such things were really possible. It was intense.

As I told some people after the show, in 2001 after seeing this I left with a feeling that my hand had opened itself to the world and myriad possibilities. Nine years later, I felt my hand had become a fist, reluctant to let go of what I knew, in a world that has slowly closed in upon itself.

That's art, and these concerts will be on my year-end top ten list. 

Beastly Profile: Michelle DeYoung

Michelle DeYoung is in town to take part in the return of John Adams' El Niño - a contemporary masterpiece that made its debut here nine years ago with SFS. She was gracious enough to be the subject of the first Beastly Profile. DeYoung has appeared in many of the world's leading opera houses and halls and she is without doubt one of the finest singers currently performing onstage. She's sung on two Grammy-winning recordings, includingMTT and the San Francisco Symphony's  Mahler's Third.

I wrote to her with ten questions, and here are her responses:

You're here to sing in John Adams' El Niño, which is at least the second time you've performed it with the composer conducting. Did Adams seek you out for the part?
Michelle DeYoung: I do think that Adams asks for me, although there are a couple of others that also sing this part. It was originally written for the late and amazing Lorraine Hunt Lieberson.

Many people are on tight budgets this year. Why should someone go hear this instead of Handel's Messiah?
MDY: Hard to answer, as I also love to hear the Messiah... but this is a very special piece, and experience. It is semi staged and beautifully done. I find it so very moving and thrilling, I want everyone to experience it as well.

You perform on both sides of the Atlantic- can you tell us a bit about what you miss from one side when you're performing on the other?
MDY: I feel I am so blessed, as I love most of the places that I work. I am always a bit homesick when not home, but I find that wherever I am is a temporary home. I am a bit nomadic, and really like being in different places... .of course there is no place like home!

Though we've had the pleasure of hearing you with the San Francisco Symphony before, you've never performed across the street at the War Memorial Opera House. Is this sad fact going to change soon?
MDY: I hope so... I would love to sing there, just the right situation hasn't shown itself yet!

What role would you like to sing, that you're ready for, that no one knows about?
MDY: I would love to do Carmen and Dalilah...and am anxious to try Marie in Wozzeck.

You were in the remarkable LA Ring cycle, directed by Achim Freyer. If it's ever done again, do you want to be in it?
MDY: It was mostly difficult because of the very steep rake... and I also really enjoy acting and interactions, which this didn't have... but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the roles I got to sing, so if it was the right situation, I would do it again.

Keeping on the Freyer Ring, do know what the deal was with the airplane?
MDY: hahaha.... it was supposed to be Froh in there, painting the rainbow at the end, but he didn't end up going in there.

Was that your first Sieglinde, and how was it performing opposite Placido Domingo in such a seminal role?
MDY: I sang Sieglinde in the Chicago Ring 4 years ago (I think) with Domingo...which was amazing. It's thrilling to sing the role with him... I would do it again in a heart beat.

If you could drink mojitos with anyone, anywhere, who would it be and where would you have them? And please don't say "with my husband"!
MDY: I haven't gone to Hawaii, but I really want to, so I am going to say Hawaii with Dennis Haysbert (Ok, so I didn't say my husband.. haha) or actually, with Meryl Streep on one side and Phillip Seymour Hoffman on the other.

You like pop and rock music and so do I, but many people in the "classical" audience don't get it and vice versa. What would you suggest rock audiences listen to as a bridge to "getting" classical or opera?
MDY: My husband isn't a fan of classical, and LOVES Bluebeard's Castle by Bartok. It's only an hour or so long, and it's exciting and beautiful and has a high C... I also tell people to see Marriage of Figaro...

If you could be the lead singer for any rock and roll band for a night, what band do you want to front and which song do you want to tear it up on in front of 20,000 people?
MDY: I want to sing a duet with Freddie Mercury (we are dreaming, right?) or Sting!!

Das Rheingold and Die Walkure: the LA Ring Revisited

Since I had previously seen the individual productions of LA Opera's Ring cycle over the last year and a half, I was initially not going to see it as the full cycle for reasons of cost and scheduling (9 days to see an entire cycle- what were they thinking?). When the prices came down and the opportunity arose to buy selected performances rather than an entire cycle I eagerly bought tickets to see Rheingold and Walkure and after seeing how director Achim Freyer has tweaked what were already substantial artistic triumphs into near perfection I'm certainly glad I did. I was already tempted to see the fantastic Gotterdamerung again, but now I may even see Siegfried just to see how it's been improved.

Das Rheingold has been tinkered with less than Walkure, though there were subtle changes that made it even better than I recalled. That's saying something since I'd rate this particular Rheingold among my top five favorite productions of all time (and yes, it is my favorite opera). I was seated much further back in the orchestra than I was the first time, which makes Freyer's mise en scenes much more potent but had the distinct disadvantage of making large portions of the orchestra almost inaudible though the singing came through with complete volume and clarity all evening. We were stuck in a dead zone for the orchestra, unfortunately.

Richard Paul Fink has taken over as Alberich, replacing Gordon Hawkins. Fink brings a different, more energetic interpretation to the part, changing the dynamics in a significant way. This production of Rheingold casts Loge as the central figure, while Wotan is an observer to his own miscalculations and poor choices- hence the cage around his head representing how he's trapped by his own machinations. Fink's strong presence makes Arnold Bezuyen's Loge a less dominant figure this time around, which gives the entire production a less sinister air, while making it more of an ensemble piece, further aided by having Fricka and Wotan move about the stage more than they did the first time around. Michelle De Young, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite singers, was again spot on as Fricka, arms extended in pitiable frustration- she's pleading or she's illustrating how despicable her husband's games are. Graham Clark's Mime gave an energized, strongly sung performance. Fink's singing was strong throughout, and while he's not a sinister Alberich, he displays emotion through his voice and body language, allowing him to project more personality than anyone else onstage despite being masked through the entire performance. His Alberich is a cocky ringmaster, corrupted and avaricious. Hungry to exploit and eager to run the show. It's quite an interpretation.

Vitalij Kowaljow's Wotan, which was solid last year after a hesitant start, is now a full-blown star turn, though that becomes more apparent in Die Walkure. Having perhaps the most onerous demands as far as working within Freyer's elaborate production, Kowaljow seems completely at home in this role and he owns it from the moment he opens his mouth. For my money, he's the Wotan I want to see whenever possible and though he's fantastic here, I can't wait to see what he does with this role in a different production.

What surprised me the second time around? How solid this cast is. For Rheingold, there is not a single weak link onstage. I was also impressed by how quickly it moves and feels significantly less static than the 2009 version. Even the scene where Alberich turns from a dragon to a frog, normally my least favorite part of this, went by without me hoping it would be over quickly. The scene in the Nibelung's mine was thrilling and brilliantly choreographed, thanks to Clark's willingness to go all out and lead the way. I'm still not a fan of the airplane rainbow bridge, but it's larger now and makes sense in that you can tell what it is and further back in the house the Giants magnifying glasses are of no effect whatsoever. Small quibbles for what is really one of the greatest interpretations of Wagner's work there is, and I do mean that. For those who think this production has nothing to do with the story, what part of it don't you understand?

The following night we returned for Walkure, which didn't thrill me as much as Rheingold the first time around, but now I would have to concede it's better than it's predecessor. Why? Kowlojov, Domingo and Michelle DeYoung. Kowloljov owns this evening and though Domingo naturally got the biggest rounds of applause, Kowoljov wasn't far behind and in my opinion gave a flawless, nuanced, extremely sensitive performance. In the third act his remorse and anger were staggering. Having Michelle DeYoung replace Anja Kampe, who was a weak link last year as Sieglinde, transformed the first act from the most static thing I've ever seen into a thrilling, brilliant hour of drama and passion. She matches up much better with Domingo, and having the characters move around the circle, while the presence of Hunding and his kin lurk all around them, greatly improves the drama.

Second time around, improvements were significant for the Ride of the Valkyries, which now seems much angrier and violent, and having seen the production, I had a better appreciation of how Freyer uses a silhouette of the unborn Siegfried to mark time's progression, or lack thereof. There are so many brilliant, small details and nuances in this production that illuminate the story (if you know it) in such rewarding ways. The way trails of blood red ribbon tether the gods to Freia. The way Wotan gathers up the same tethers (tendrils?) extending from his Wanderer persona as he prepares to banish Brunnhilde, and then casts them aside, as if it's the most painful thing he's ever had to do. Kowoljow was simply riveting during this part of the third act.

And then there's Linda Watson- the Achilles heel of the production. Still not my kind of Valkyrie, but at least when she didn't have to emote anything strongly her voice was pleasant. Unfortunately, in Walkure, that's not too often, and let's just say she's no Gwyneth Jones.

This night flew by and oddly, was one of the most brilliantly paced, perfectly executed evenings of opera I've ever attended. I just wish I could have heard the orchestra better.

A final note: I saw Freyer in the lobby Saturday night and was quite disappointed he didn't come out to take a bow on either night. Based on the strong audience reaction, I think he would have been warmly greeted. Contrary to all the naysayers, everything I overheard during intermissions and after, with the exception of a certain New Yorker and a lover of Italian Bel Canto whom I brought with me on Saturday, was extremely positive.

Okay, one more note: it was a pleasure to run into Brian from Out West Arts, The Opera Tattler and her brother, and to catch up with Mary Ann Smart, whom I have not seen for way too long.

Really, you'd be foolish to miss this if you can make it.

Gotterdammerung- Tearing Down the House

LA Opera's Gotterdammerung brings the company's first Der Ring Des Nibelungen to an audacious close in what has turned out to be one of the most interesting, stimulating and brilliant productions I've ever seen. I remember once reading a quote by someone who said "What happens in Gotterdammerung is just awful." The quote kept coming back to my mind as I was getting ready to see the performance. Circling around it was my own thought about how director Achim Freyer would present what really is an awful story, because his Ring really hasn't been centered in the emotional lives of the characters, but rather in their psyche.

Since Freyer is really interested in exposing the inner psychological workings of these characters, this is a Ring without any heroes to be found anywhere on the stage. In this version, the ostensible hero is one step above a buffoon, trapped and ruled by his own id. Even without having his heart poisoned by Hagen's love potion, this Siegfried would have made the wrong move at some point. Brunnhilde really doesn't fare much better because a woman who would worship such a man can only end up looking foolish in the end.Those who dislike Wagner because of his anti-Semitism and eventual co-opting by the Nazis would be hard pressed to find anything here that even remotely glorifies the ideas behind their their discomfort. If Hitler's army was composed of nothing but Freyer's Siegfrieds WWII would have been over shortly after it began.


It's worth noting that the characters with least amount of moral rectitude in the entire cycle, Loge (Rheingold) and Hagen (Gotterdammerung), have been the true stand-out characterizations and hold the center in their respective chapters. While everyone else is trapped by their own flaws or personas (often literally), these two approach a level of strength that Schoepenhaur and Nietzsche would have admired. Does that make Freyer's approach anti-Ring? No. Set in no discernible time period or place, Freyer's vision takes on a quality of timelessness and otherworldiness that liberates Wagner's libretto from its historical time period and mythical sources- this story could be taking place 5000 years ago on a distant planet or 2000 years from now on this one. It really doesn't matter. Most productions of the Ring I've seen go one of two ways- the make the Gods truly gods (read heroic or noble), or they want to anthropomorphize them. Freyer throws those notions away and works with the libretto as it is. In this way, despite all the hoopla and dissent this production has caused, this may indeed be the most literal production of a Ring ever staged from the standpoint of the characters. And Shavians would be disappointed- unlike Zembello's Ring staged in Washington and currently unfolding in San Francisco, it would be a stretch to pin a capitalist critique on this cycle.


While there were some rough spots in the staging of Die Walkure and Siegfried, most notably expressed in the lack of comfort John Treleavan and Linda Watson seemed to have in their roles as Siegfried and Brunnhilde, with Gotterdammerung Freyer seems to have finally gotten everybody onboard with his vision. Treleavan seems comfortable with Siegfried as a clown this time around- and gave the character a depth that was lacking before. This was most notable when his face and body showed genuine angst when he realizes the truth behind his betrayal of Brunnhilde. Watson seems to have made peace with being an unglamorous, vengeful warrior- a woman spurned by both father and lover who is incapable of seeing the flaws in either of them. While neither are perfect singers for these roles for my taste, they both delivered powerfully sung performances, with Treleavan making every word distinctly clear and Watson becoming a force of nature in the third act, even though when she tears her hair out in age I kept thinking she looked like Esther Rolle dressed as Morticia Addams at a Halloween party. Equally important, both seem to have grown comfortable with the physical demands (and limitations) of Freyer's vision.


Eric Halfverson's Hagen was everything one could want in the role, whose conception is brilliant. Freyer's Hagen is a dwarf, constantly perched on the lap of another, whom he makes do his bidding. He looks like a puppet though he's always pulling the strings. Strong in voice, Halfverson was fantastic.


The real revelation in the singing department came from Michelle DeYoung, who performed double duty as the second Norn and most impressively as Waltraute. De Young impressed me quite a bit in Rheingold, but she was even better here. She justly received a tremendous ovation afterwards as her singing was the finest of the performance. Her addition to the upcoming performances of Die Walkure will remedy the one bit of weaker casting from that chapter and give Domingo a formidable partner in the first act.


Jill Grove and Melissa Citro were the first and third Norns, and Grove gave another memorable performance.


Alan Held as Gunther and Jennifer Wilson as Gutrune both had masks on for the entire performance, as did the entire Gibiching chorus. Wilson had a difficult time making the role more than a cog in Hagen's machinations, and couldn't convey any physical presence justifying Siegfried's desire for her, but Held, large and clear in voice, managed to project a strong physical characterization behind his mask that gave this faceless Gunther a distinct and unique presence onstage. Held made Gunther a sympathetic character- who would have thought that possible?


Richard Paul Fink's Alberich has little to do here, but his moment was solid and as he trolled the stage checking on his son's progress, he casted an interesting aura of menace and intrigue when he was onstage.

The Rheinmaidens, Ronnita Nicole Miller, Stacey Tappan & Lauren McNeese, were again fine and mesmerizing to watch as their arm movements were duplicated to create a rippling effect at the rear of the stage. This time around lit in red, rather than blue, to signal the disharmony i.e. blood that surrounds their missing gold.


The orchestra, led by James Conlon, delivered the most gorgeous-sounding chapter of the ring in all of its fullness. Undoubtedly helped by the fact that the pit is no longer completely covered, they emitted a glorious sound the entire afternoon.


As for Freyer's choices in the staging, especially of the ending, I found it to work on a couple of levels. This Ring isn't of our world, and it's unlike any other, so when Valhalla goes up in flames and takes everything with it. there really is nothing left behind. Well done.


Photo by Monika Rittershaus

Berg 2, Schubert 0, Bloggers 5

The San Francisco Symphony began "Dawn to Twilight: A Schubert/Berg Festival" tonight with a program I found to be only a partial success. Whether you would like it or not will likely depend on how you like your German Romanticism served. I prefer mine to be robust, bloody and well-cooked. Tonight's Schubert's offerings catered more to those who tastes lean toward the more easily swallowed without much effort. That may be fine for an appetizer, but it makes for an unsatisfying main course- especially when paired with a dynamite wine.

Ok- enough of the stupid food analogies. I guess that's what happens when the concert starts an hour earlier than usual and one is forced to have supper post-performance. Please, no more 7:00 PM start times. If anything, start later rather than earlier. Why can't the show start at 9:00? Then everyone would be on time and well-fed. It would be so much more civilized.

Allow me to a digress for a moment, if you please. A few years back I was sitting in the now-departed Vicolo prior to a Symphony concert and I recognized a member of the orchestra eating alone. I mustered the arrogance to tell him I didn't much care for the way MTT had conducted Beethoven's work those past couple of years, especially an Eroica which I had recently attended that I thought had nothing remotely heroic in at all. In my opinion it was a prancing horse and I desired a snorting bull. Much to my surprise, he agreed with me. For the past few years I've avoided MTT conducting Beethoven for that very reason. This season I relented and decided to attend the the September 11th performance of the 9th Symphony and I was floored. It was the most gorgeous and powerful 9th I've ever heard. My faith was renewed and all was immediately forgiven.

So my expectations for the Schubert-side of this festival were pretty high, because MTT was back to giving full-blooded accounts of my favorite genre of classical music. Alas, to my disappointment, he has slipped back, at least for this night, into that lean, bloodless mode I find so discouraging. On the opening Rosamunde Overture that can be forgiven, even expected, but when that same scourge bleeds the life from Unfinished it just leaves me feeling sad. Even the orchestra looked sheepish afterwards, as if they wanted to say to the audience,"We're sorry, we know could have kicked-ass on this, but tonight we just didn't." And fie to the trombones.

Berg on the other hand, was performed with something close to perfection, including the trombones. Go figure.

In the evening's first half Michelle DeYoung turned in an incredible performance of Seven Early Songs that made me immediately want to see her cast across the street and right away. Check my review of LA Opera's Die Walkure back in April to see that she turned in that day's strongest performance against some pretty heavy competition. She's incredibly talented and was the evening's highlight far and away. I'm adding her to my list of must-see performers.

Three Pieces for Orchestra, also performed just this past January, was brilliant (and loud!).This crazy quilt of sound that spools out of a white-hot central core into molten tendrils was thrilling and beautiful, with each section of the orchestra coming through crystal clear while making a cacophonous din. Who knew MTT would use this evening to show off his Modernist cred? At the end, the orchestra looked very pleased with itself and it was justifiable satisfaction.

One thing I've recently learned that this concert validated in both halves: in the entire classical music canon, there may be no one who can compose and ending to a piece as effectively as Berg. We'll get to see the ultimate example of this gift next week in the Violin Concerto, but tonight it was on full display with every one of his works.

As for the 5 bloggers, that was how many were present at the Opera Tattler & Axel Feldheim's table at intermission. SF Mike snapped a picture to prove it. Also at the table was SFist's Cedric, who recently interviewed Michelle De Young, as he does most of the visting talent at Davies.

LA Opera's Die Walkure

The last time I anticipated seeing an opera as much as LA Opera's Die Walkure was probably Karita Matilla's initial turn as Salome at the Met. Those who've read my comments about LA's Das Rheingold will understand why- it was genius. Is Walkure on the same level? No, it's merely very, very good.

The problem is the first act, which is one of the most static stagings I've ever seen. There were static bits in Rheingold as well, but they worked for me because it showed the gods paralyzed by their own identities, acts and choices. In Walkure that approach doesn't work in the first act because we are supposed to be witnessing the flowering of a lust that results in, well, gotterdammerung. Yeah, it's incest and all that, but it's molten love all the same. Place Siegmund and Sieglinde at opposite ends of the stage for an hour and there's not a lot of tension building to match the music. The picture to the left is about as hot as it gets, and that cool blue light is a constant through the first act.

Additionally, while everyone is correct about the astonishing ability of Domingo at 68, he took awhile to warm up and his voice wasn't nearly as strong as when I last saw him in this role a couple of years ago in Costa Mesa. Anja Kampe, normally a singer whom I really enjoy, seemed completely unable to handle the vocal requirements of the role, though I've heard her quality seems to change from performance to performance. The staging gives you little else to go by however, so when the voices aren't there, it becomes, well, very slow going. Eric Halfvarson's Hundig was as good as expected.

Acts 2 and 3 were an altogether different story and returned to the level of greatness achieved in Rheingold. Vitalij Kowaljow's Wotan had confidence and range- he was completely convincing in voice and acting. The Wotan of these two operas is in distinctly different circumstances and Kowaljow's performance conveyed all the conflicts that come out during this part of the Ring. I think it's a brilliant portrayal. To my surprise, the afternoon's best singing came from Michelle DeYoung as Fricka. She was perfect and has definitely laid claim to the role.

So yes, I haven't mentioned Linda Watson's Brunnhilde, the star of our show. My opinion- fair. Act 2 went fine, she delivers the Hojotohos with force and power, but during Act 3 she was pinched at the top and her pairing with Kampe and that leads to "O hehrstes Wunder! Herrlichste Maid!" was not the gorgeous moment one hopes for (indeed, perhaps it's the musical highlight of the entire Ring). The remainder of the afternoon saw no turnaround in the vocal department from her.

Since Walkure is a much different dramatic set up than anything else in the Ring, it's essentially one confrontation between people in love (familial, sexual, romantic, etc.) after another, it is a different animal to stage. There are no dragons, rainbow bridges, giants, dwarfs to make a big show of things. It has just one murder, and of course the Valkyries set piece, which was the highpoint of the staging, with the various limbs of heroes scattered all around the ever-present disc that forms the stage. When the Valkyries depart the stage an indelible visual moment is created. The fire surrounding Brunnhilde at the end was beautiful, but the effect was lessened by the fact that not all of the lanterns came on when they should have and one didn't come on at all, despite the harried attempts of a member of the stage crew. Achim Freyer's production is good, but overall it doesn't achieve the glories of his Rheingold in execution or imagination.

Musically, the performance by the orchestra was superb and the muffled sound created by hiding the orchestra was not apparent at all this time. What was apparent however, and this something LA Opera needs to FIX NOW is that background noise that sounds like an old air conditioner that was audible throughout the entire performance (and present again on Saturday's performance of Die Vogel. It's white noise and it's hugely distracting. PLEASE FIX THIS!

One last comment. I hardly ever go to matinee performances because of the audience one usually finds there. When Domingo bowed out of the final two performances, I changed my tickets because, well, given a choice between Christopher Ventris and Domingo, who are you going to choose, right? So I ended up at the matinee. The audience was hands down the most obnoxious, rude, loud and inconsiderate to which I have ever seen been subjected. Hey stupid lady in seat 1 of row L- if you hadn't been eating your lunch out of a paper bag during the entire 3rd act, your hands probably wouldn't have been dirty. And exactly what the fuck do you think your husband was going to do about it anyway? As for the two biddies who kept talking in row M until you were shushed, you really need to stay home, because it's obvious you too are way too old to learn any new etiquette tricks. Appalling. Simply appalling.