Exceptional 'Trovatore' opens opera season
By: Janos Gereben
Special to The Examiner
September 13, 2009
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| Big and bold: Marco Berti as Manrico and Sondra Radvanovsky as Leonora are among the superb cast in San Francisco Opera’s “Il Trovatore.” (Courtesy photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Before his first downbeat Friday as the new music director of the San Francisco Opera, Nicola Luisotti already made his mark on the company.
He and General Director David Gockley assembled a cast of big voices for Verdi's "Il Trovatore" the likes of which hasn't been heard since the days of Kurt Herbert Adler, general director from 1953 to 1981.
The 3,200-seat War Memorial is not an easy hall for a non-amplified voice to fill. To have a whole cast shake the rafters all performance long is truly something.
Marco Berti's Manrico was thrilling, his duets with the magnificent Stephanie Blythe's Azucena going right into a book of operatic memories.
Berti's "Di quella pira" was fearless and spot on. His is a heldentenor Verdi, with a few instances of lyric beauty. Blythe was prodigious, the mighty voice soaring free, dipping effortlessly into the lower register, her consistent projection astonishing.
A big, fabulously projected voice came also from Sondra Radvanovsky, an affecting actor as well, coping even with silly directorial misdeeds, such as sinking to the floor during "Tacea la notte placida," assuming "Vissi d'arte" poses. Her Leonora had every note in place.
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, the Count di Luna, sang as well as he ever has during his many appearances here. Even his acting improved, far less wooden than in the past.
Adler Fellows Renée Tatum (Inez) and Andrew Bidlack (Ruiz) kept up with the stars. Burak Bilgili's debut as Ferrando introduced a big voice, lacking in finesse more than the others.
Ian Robertson's Opera Chorus had volume, artistry, lots of gymnastics and fisticuffs to boot.
Luisotti, only the third music director in the company's 87-year history (after John Pritchard and Donald Runnicles), led a wonderful performance, even if not to the degree of his memorable "Boheme."
Emerging from a painfully slow "Star-Spangled Banner" (he should be taking season-opening lessons from Michael Tilson Thomas), Luisotti directed in a laudably restrained manner.
Instead of exaggerating the explosively bouncy score, the passionate musician delivered music at its best.
The orchestra sounded fine, but not providing such long segments of magic Runnicles brought out, especially in Wagner and Britten.
Still, listeners are ready for great things from the Luisotti-SFO Orchestra combination.
The production came from the Met and Chicago, with David McVicar's action-packed direction. Charles Edwards' huge wall (out of "Fidelio"?) dissected the stage and revolved (without squeaking, kudos), to reveal new scenes.
There were questionable instances of singer abuse: Poor Leonora’s head was nearly twisted off, and di Luna's face was slashed.
Yet with music and singing on this level, much can be excused - even the curtain, which showed a grotesquely enlarged detail of a Goya painting. Art for art's sake, eh?
OPERA REVIEW
Il Trovatore
Presented by San Francisco Opera
Where: War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco
When: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16, Oct. 1, Oct. 6; 8 p.m. Sept. 19, Sept. 22 and Sept. 25; 2 p.m. Oct. 4
Tickets: $15 to $310
Contact: (415) 864-3330; www.sfopera.com
