Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony can credit an impressive string of successfully semi-staged operas and musicals at Davies Symphony Hall over the years. Last week's presentation of Mussorgsky's massive "Boris Godunov" will be remembered somewhere further down the list.
The idea of illustrating oratorios and paring down theatrical works for concerts has always benefitted from the maestro's innate sense of showmanship and his wholehearted collaboration with the orchestra. "Boris Godunov" is another MTT concept, directed by James Darrah, with the same creative team from productions including an absorbing "Peer Gynt" in 2013, a triumphant "Peter Grimes" in 2014, and the fabulously entertaining Bernstein, Comden & Green "On the Town" in 2016.
MTT has also presented a substantial Beethoven "Fidelio" and memorable Wagner "The Flying Dutchman." Some disappointing misfires were a gussied up Beethoven "Missa solemnis," visually confused with Leonard Bernstein's intentionally kinetic 1971 "Mass," and a busy Mahler "Das klagende Lied" that looked pretty, but buried the score in unnecessary accouterments. There were no outright failures or undercooked performances, as professionals such as these can always be relied on for creative flair and nothing less than musical brilliance.
Still, the highly anticipated recent program proved surprisingly inert despite high production values and a first-rate ensemble of soloists and choristers. The addition of dancers and big technical crew must have added up to a pretty penny, but at least, as they say in Hollywood, the money was up on the screen.
The mostly evocative video projections by Adam Larsen with associate Hana S. Kim were striking, but ultimately too much. Pablo Santiago's moody lighting design clarified the action better. Scenic and costume design by Emily Anne MacDonald and Cameron Jaye Mock was functional, but fell short of the expected opulence.
Choreographer Christopher Bordenave's fellow dancers appeared like a sober-sided company of Mummers. Their presence would have been appreciated more had the stage picture been less frequently congested. The best sense of time and place came from idiomatic contributions by Pacific Boychoir (Andrew Brown, director) and Ragnar Bohlin's extraordinary SFS Chorus. Get them into costumes and light them well, and you have enough background for a convincing drama.
MTT's choice of seven scenes, six from the 1869 version and the final scene from the 1872 revision, seemed suited to a trimmer treatment of the beautifully symphonic score. Using the composer's own rawboned orchestrations was another wise decision.
Advance word and thorough program notes promised the show would clock in at under two hours. Inexplicably, the night wore on much longer. There were still cuts that, ironically, would have helped delineate the sometimes confusing cast of characters and their complex motivations. We know the story, but insights into the politics and psychology of the men surrounding the tortured Boris were left to the singers.
It's unfair to place all responsibility on director Darrah's shoulders. Mussorgsky's episodic take on the rise and fall of Boris has always been a bit muddy, more pageant than drama. Spectacle is appropriate in fleshing out the story, but the scrim-like sets soaked up some of the power of the chorus and, in one instance, the placement of heavy church bells in front of the orchestra virtually drowned out their obviously energetic playing. The usually thrilling coronation scene came and went with flattened impact. When the orchestra was backing the soloists, audibility problems improved. Purely orchestral passages were wonderful.
Bass Stanislav Trofimov was superbly musical in the title role, and he captured the emotional torment of the haunted Tsar as he sank into madness and death. Tenor Yevgeny Akimov was a darkly cunning Prince Shuisky. Mezzo-soprano Eliza Bonet portrayed Boris' son Fyodor with just the right blend of adolescent curiosity and confusion.
Baritone Aleksey Bodganov was effective as functionary Shchelkalov, and bass Maxim Kuzmin-Karavaev sounded fittingly weighty as the old monk Pimen. He was a good foil to tenor Sergei Skorokhodov's believably zealous decision to assume the role of the pretender Dmitri in Scene 3.
Smaller parts were cast from strength and also provided some of the night's needed touches of humor. Bass Vyacheslav Pochapsky proved endearing as the drunken monk Varlaam. His Innkeeper was SFS and San Francisco Opera veteran mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook. She can't help upstaging everyone with her perfect timing and personality. The final scene ended with the wistful song of the Holy Fool portrayed by tenor Stanislav Mostovoy. His brief appearance lent a poignant perspective to the enigmatic saga.
This week, MTT returns with soloist Daniil Trifonov for Rachmaninoff's exciting and melodic Piano Concerto No. 3 and both of Jean Sibelius' masterful final symphonies. No graphic enhancements necessary; the action is all in the music.