Placido Domingo in Berkeley

Angel Joy Blue, Placido Domingo, and Micaela Oeste. Photo from YouTube.

This much is true: Placido Domingo, now in his 70's, still has a gorgeous voice; he's an extremely generous and warm performer who respects his audience; and he remains a riveting presence onstage. During Saturday night's concert at UC Berkeley's Greek Theater, a show that ran for nearly three hours, he proved that over and over again with little, if any, apparent effort on his part. The man is worthy of superlatives.

What's less true is that all of his talent and attributes make for a compelling concert experience. A pleasant, pleasing one? Sure. One worthy of the man's abilities. Not quite. Would it appear churlish to say I expected more? I'll leave that up to you, though I suspect many of you would answer "yes." However, before you do, please re-read that first paragraph. The man is undeniably great, but the concert was a meandering hodgepodge that in the end amounted to the kind of show one might have seen on the Vegas Strip in days gone past- glitzy, professionally staged, and flawlessly executed, but offering little more than an evening's entertainment.

That wouldn't be a bad thing if Domingo didn't have so much more to offer.

Everyone did their part, including the sound engineers who expertly captured a surprising amount of nuance from the singers and the orchestra, in effect bolstering rather than amplifying them (I've never heard an orchestra or opera singers amplified to such pleasing effect). The Berkeley Symphony, under the baton of Eugene Kohn, were for the most part marvelous- crisp and fluid, never overpowering the voices and Kohn never let things sag. There wasn't much nuance, but given the outdoor setting it was probably best not to try. Also excellent were the two sopranos Domingo brought along to share the load- Micaela Oeste and Angel Joy Blue. Filler never sounded or looked this good. All that was missing was a reason to be there beyond the opportunity to hear the man sing. Some would say that's more than enough. I will say when you've got someone as gifted as Domingo in the house, who has done so much for the art of singing, and especially operatic singing, it's not.

Domingo wound his way through some opera (Verdi, Wagner & Giordano), some show tunes, some Zarzuela and some schmaltz ("Besame Mucho"). He shared the limelight generously- everyone was allowed to shine. But I couldn't help but wonder how enchanting the evening could have been had an artistic director been engaged to turn the concert from a polished showcase into a musical journey of revelations and discoveries- about why this singularly talented man has been singing opera for over 50 years;  what's special about the form and his unique contribution to it; to show how some stories are best told with the voice and an orchestra; to illustrate the connections between seemingly unrelated styles, and even to learn something more about the man himself. But ambitions of this nature were absent from the program, leaving the real potential of the massive talent onstage sadly unrealized. That was obviously fine for the majority of the audience, who enjoyed every moment of it under the warm summer sky. Their cheers brought Domingo back for numerous encores, and though each one seemed to yield diminishing returns, he looked like he was having the time of his life. I can't begrudge him that. He's certainly earned it.

The concert was presented by Another Planet in conjunction with Cal Performances.

Placido Domingo comes to Berkeley

Placido Domingo. (Dimitri Messinis / AP)

Even though opportunities to see him perform in the Bay Area are few and far between, I was initially ambivalent about attending Placido Domingo's concert next Saturday night, September 7th, at UC Berkeley's Greek Theater because it's outdoors, amplified, and likely be a program of who-knows-what arias.  I've also seen him a few times before and know I'll probably see him again, maybe next year in L.A Opera's production of Thais, maybe this coming January when he performs at Davies Symphony Hall. But I've seen him, and that burning desire to experience an operatic legend, the finest living singer in the world, has already been satisfied a few times now (and he's always been nothing short of superb).

Last Saturday night, as Margarita and I were leaving the Greek after the Goat Rodeo Sessions, there was a guy handing out postcards promoting the concert. I took one, and asked Margarita if she'd ever heard Domingo perform before. She replied she hadn't but would love to, which led to my telling her about the first time I heard him live. Her eyes lit up as I described the tremendous power, shocking really, of hearing him as Siegmund in Die Walkure.  Up until that point I had never heard such a strong, clear voice- first it stunned me, then it thrilled me. Eventually we moved on to other topics.

Then someone sent me a copy of the program for the concert. The first half is all Wagner and Verdi, including "Winterstuerme" from Die Walkure, "O du, mein holder Abendstern" from Tannhauser, "Udiste...Mira, d'acerbe lagrime" from Il Trovatore, and "Pura siccome un angelo" from Traviata. Reading this list, I started to reconsider.

The second half is a grab bag of operetta (Lehar, Strauss), Broadway (Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Bernstein) and zarzuela. I thought about how invested Domingo is at this stage in his career in actually acting while he's singing and these selections made sense to me. Then I remembered one of the most enjoyable experiences I've ever had was attending a performance of Turandot in 1997 at an outdoor soccer stadium in Rome on a hot  August night in 1997. That pretty much did the trick. I'm in.

Performing with Domingo are sopranos Angel Blue, an Operalia finalist Domingo has described as the next Leontyne Price (I remember her solid performance in SFO's 2009 production Porgy and Bess) and Micäela Oeste, a discovery of Domingo's during his tenure with WNO. Eugene Kohn will conduct the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster with no service fees, and if you enter the code SFS when you order tickets before midnight on Monday, you'll be able to save 50% off tickets in any section. 

How many more opportunities are you going to get? Not many.

The presenter is Another Planet, partnering with Cal Performances.

Placido Domingo returns to Davies in January

Placid Domingo will perform with the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas in Davies Symphony Hall on January 6 at 8:00 PM. The program will consist of music by Beethoven, Tallis, and the guest of honor, Gordon Getty, to celebrate Getty's 80th birthday. Tickets ($75-$345)are onsale now at sfsymphony.org, or call(415) 864-6000. Get 'em while you can- this is certain to sell out very quickly.

LA Opera's 2012-13 season: Bunt!

Marina Poplavskaya

If you ever played Little League baseball, surely you remember some parental troll in the bleachers yelling "A bunt's as good as a hit!" But everyone on the field knew that wasn't the truth- nothing feels better than a solid hit. LA Opera announced their next season today, and it's definitely a mixed bag, the programming equivalent of a bunt- good enough to keep the game going, maybe even score a run or two, but it seems like the safe way out- and disappointing in the long run. With the exception of the Verdi rarity I Due Foscari, the season is wall-to-wall warhorses. Well-cast warhorses for the most part, but there's something dispiriting about a season in which the most intriguing thing on it is an opera by Verdi. Don't get me wrong- the notion of Domingo, Marina Poplavskaya and Franceso Meli in a Verdi opera no one around these parts has seen in forever is tantalizing to be sure, but after that? Lots to see, but little to be truly excited about except for Sondra Radvanovsky as Tosca, which is somewhat undermined by having Domingo conduct.

On the plus side, none of these productions have previously been seen in LA, though I've seen a couple of them here in San Francisco, so let's begin with those.

Raimund Bauer's set design for Die Fliegende Hollander was one of those productions people either loved or loathed, and I loved every minute of it and would happily see it again. So this is a plus, though I also really liked the Julie Taymoor Dutchman I saw in LA a few years back and would have been pleased to see the original version make a return. As for the cast, Jay Hunter Morris as Erik is obviously a good thing, though Elisabete Matos as Senta is an unknown quantity, as is Tomas Tomasson, whom I saw in SFO's production of The Queen of Spades, but frankly I don't remember much about his performance.

The other SFO production is Butterfly- not the most recent, which was imported from Chicago I think, and a total disaster, but the Michael Yeargan production which was seen so many times in SF that it needed to be retired from sheer exhaustion. But it's a good one if you've never seen it. The cast is an embarrassment of riches and can I just say right now that it's something of a travesty to see a singer as fine as Eric Owens cast in the role of Sharpless? Mr. Owens, fire your management team- you should be headlining operas world-wide- not taking secondary roles in warhorses. The magnificent Brandon Jovanovich is Pinkerton (he's great in this role) and Oksana Dyka should make for an interesting Butterfly.

LAO's production of Don Giovanni in 2003 with Erwin Schrott (conducted by Nagano) was as good as it gets, so we'll have to see if Ildebrando D'Arecengelo in this production from Chicago can eclipse that. Having Soile Isokowski as Donna Elvira will certainly go a long way toward making that happen and it's nice to see the phenomenally talented Joshua Bloom return to the West Coast. Go on a night when Conlon is conducting.

I know nothing about the cast or production for La Ceneretola, but LAO has a good track record with Rossini these past few years and though it's too bad Nino Machaidze isn't on the schedule this season (what's up with that, by the way?), I'd say based on the recent past this is a safe bet since Conlon's on the podium. If any company can make a claim to doing right by Rossini in recent years, it's LAO.

So that brings us to Tosca. On the one hand it has Radvanovsky in it, along with the excellent Marco Berti as Cavaradossi. This alone is reason to be excited, but I sure wish Conlon was at the helm of this one. Still, Sondra is Sondra, and how can you miss this?

Overall, it's the cautious programming being seen almost everywhere, but at least in this case what's on the stage promises to be good. A step back for what has been an adventurous company in recent years, but not a mis-step. 

Il Postino on Great Performances this weekend

This Friday, November 25th, Great Performances on PBS will be airing Daniel Catan's Il Postino. I was initially skeptical this opera was going to be any good, but once one favorable review after another started flowing in I went down to catch the last performance in L.A. and loved it. Placido Domingo stars as the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Charles Castronovo was magnificent in the title role. Rounding out the perfect cast are Christina Gallardo-Domás as Neruda's wife and Amanda Squitieri as Beatrice, the postman's love interest. The final duet between Domingo and Castronovo was one of the most memorable moments I've seen on an opera stage. You don't want to miss this. Check your local PBS stations for times and be sure to set your DVR to record it.

Domingo returns as Cyrano De Bergerac

In the program notes for San Francisco Opera's current run of Cyrano De Bergerac, Placido Domingo says after hearing him perform it at the Met, SFO's David Gockley asked him to do it here. I'm just curious if this is really true, because they way I originally heard it, Gockley asked Domingo what he wanted to do (the inference of course is Domingo could sing whatever he wanted if he came back to SF) and Domingo responded with Cyrano. It doesn't really matter in a way, except other roles Domingo has been singing recently are more interesting (at least that's what I thought before this afternoon) and for his first engagement with the house since 1994, I for one would have rather seen him in Simon Bocanegra or even Iphigenie et Tauride even though SFO has produced both operas in recent seasons.

Fortunately, I've already seen Domingo twice this year so his long-awaited return wasn't that big a deal to me- especially in an opera no one really seems to have anything great to say about. I was even tempted to skip it, but now I'm glad I didn't. Besides I thought, it is Domingo after all, and if I skipped it I would never be taken as a serious opera fan ever again. People would say "What? Domingo was performing seven times just seven blocks from where you live and you didn't go hear him even once? Loser." I just couldn't bear the shame.

I now understand why Domingo likes this role. It doesn't fit him like a glove in the way Pablo Neruda in Il Postino does, and it doesn't allow him the opportunity to blow you away like he can as Siegmund in Die Walkure, but Cyrano lets Domingo do some serious acting and singing onstage and the results are very impressive. Still, I'm glad this isn't my first Domingo experience because while Franco Alfano's take on Edmond Rostand's play has two great scenes, it's not really something most would argue has been unjustly underperformed in the last 70 years and should be resurrected, like Zemlinski's Der Zwerg, to name one example.

 The production is from Theatre du Chatelet, which is good because it looks better than anything we've seen onstage at the War Memorial so far this season. In fact, the sets are wonderful, especially the bakery in Act II. The director and stage designer of this beauty is Petrika Ionesco, and when SFO has the money again to start mounting new productions of its own, they should definitely hire this obviously talented individual, or at least bring over more of her work. The costumes are of the same quality- Domingo looks quite the swashbuckler and everything you see onstage works in perfect harmony. The conducting of Patrick Fournillier was supportive and the orchestra sounded lush at key moments and never overpowered the singers, though my unfamiliarity with the score leaves me unable to say much on that count. There were moments where it felt a little underpowered, but from what I've read that's Alfano keeping the music well behind the singers.

This is as much an acting as it is a singing star turn for Domingo and he makes the most of it. The balcony scene, where Cyrano takes Roxane (the gorgeous, glorious Ainhoa Arteta) in his arms from behind, still maintaining she is being serenaded by Christian, was as beautiful to watch as it was to hear. The other magnificent moment on both counts is the final scene, where Cyrano comes to see her one last time before dying. Domingo is incredibly real in these moments- and while this is consistent throughout, it is the acting and the quality of the singing in these two scenes which will stay in one's memory long after the music has faded away.

Roxane is an underdeveloped character in that we never really understand why everyone wants her, especially someone with Cyrano's obvious depth of emotion. Still, Arteta makes the most of it, and because she's so good-looking, it would be easy to assume she's desired simply because of her beauty, but I didn't catch that as being the reason behind. But if the part were played by someone who didn't resemble an older, prettier Cameron Diaz, the whole thing may have made no sense whatsoever. Thankfully, Arteta's voice is as gorgeous as her face and this was easily the best singing I've heard from a woman on the stage this season (of course that will likely change next week when Mattila comes to town). Thiago Arancam is another very-attractive singer, and as Christian it's easy to understand the shallow Roxane falling for this hunk even before she knows a thing about him. Arancam is a fine singer, but he didn't really stand out on his own. You may think it's impossible for a tenor to do that when Domingo's onstage, but Charles Castronovo managed to pull it off in Il Postino. In all fairness, the latter presents a much better opportunity to do so, but still.

Stephen Powell's De Guiche was well-sung and suitably sleazy, but he was done a grave disservice by the make-up crew, who made him look like the Cowardly Lion with that ridiculous moustache and hair. Another singer who such lodge a complaint against the same folks is Lester Lynch, who was terrific in Porgy and Bess and would have been really impressive here as well if he didn't look like James Brown circa 1978. Timothy Mix turns in another impressive performance after last summer's Fanciulla. Current Adler fellows Austin Kness, Maya Lahyani and Leah Crocetto all stood out in their smaller roles, especially Lahyani, whose clear, rich voice is already a thing of wonder. I know next year we get Kate Aldrich as Carmen, but someone please- please cast Lahyani in that part?

There are two performances remaining. There are a few tickets available for each, and of course there is always standing room available the day of the show. If you don't travel out of town to see opera, you really shouldn't miss what may turn out to be Domingo's local swan-song.

All photos by Cory Weaver.

Il Postino- specially delivered

Last Saturday night I caught the final performance of Il Postino at LA Opera. I was initially loathe to even think about seeing this- another opera based on a film for which I had little fondness. It seems that almost every new opera opera commissioned by American houses is based on a movie, even if the movie has a literary origin, it seems the opera is pitched to the audience that admired the film. However, when the reviews came out and everyone was singing the praises of Daniel Catán's score and the singers I wanted to see for myself if it was that good.

As it turns out, I think it's even better than most of the reviews I read about it claimed. Perhaps that's one of the benefits of seeing the last performance instead of the first- at the end of a run everything is in place, just clicking, and the cast last night had an easy air about it, as if they were sending off something the were all proud to have been a part of and wanted to make this last one the best.

Placido Domingo's 134th role as the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda is the big draw here, but the night really belongs to Charles Castronovo- and Domingo was very gracious to make his curtain calls at the end in hand-in-hand with Castronovo. While everything about this opera works- it's these two who are its heart and soul, along with some incredibly beautiful music.

I'll skip the story/plot- you probably already know it anyway, and just relate what worked so well on the stage, which was, for me at least, an unexpected delight. First of all from the primary to the minor roles, this was extremely well cast. Catán wrote the part of Neruda with Domingo in mind, so it's no surprise he inhabits this role to an extent that will make it a challenge to whoever follows him in it. Domingo's voice isn't as large as it has been recently- here he sings at the same volume as everyone else instead of seemingly effortlessly soaring over them, and I couldn't tell whether Domingo was doing this intentionally or if this was just the inevitable signs of a man his age, but there was no apparent attempt on his part to ever be more than part of a tight ensemble that had a story to tell. Not an easy feat when you're probably aware that all eyes are on you whenever you're onstage.

Castronovo is brilliant. As his character develops and grows in spirit and confidence, so does his voice. During the final duet performed by the two tenors, Castronovo's Mario has grown to where he shares the stage with Domingo as an equal- as a character and a tenor. It was one of the most moving moments I've witnessed in an opera.

Christina Gallardo-Domás' turn as Neruda's wife Matilde was perfect. The physical chemistry between her and Domingo was wholly believable, and when she exclaims late in the opera that their time on the island of Cala di Sotto was reinvigorating to their love and happiness it's easy to believe. It's not a large role, but it is a significant one, and Gallardo-Domás leaves an indelible impression.

Amanda Squitieri's Beatrice Russo was another revelation. It's easy to see why Mario falls in love with this beguiling woman. I'd like to see her and Guillardo-Domás as Mimi and Musetta. And Castronovo would be a great Rodolfo.

The rest of the cast was fine as well, but everything about this production was done at the finest level. A brilliant, beautiful yet simple set. Gorgeous use of imagery, perfect costumes and Grant Gershon led the LAO orchestra through the graceful score with clarity and richness. I've read a lot of commentary comparing the score to Puccini, but I hear his influence primarily in the vocal writing. The music reminded me more of Strauss, and oddly enough, Janacek in Cunning Little Vixen mode (one of the most joyous scores ever composed). Beautiful.

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.

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.