The San Francisco Opera's 93rd season opened last Friday with an unlikely production for a party. Giuseppe Verdi's pivotal opera "Luisa Miller," based on a domestic tragedy with political overtones by Friedrich Schiller, is a pretty heavy affair for the haute couture set. Luckily, it turned out to be just the ticket for music-lovers and anyone willing to settle for a grand night of singing over dramatic involvement.
A large and encouraging crowd of standees cheered throughout the night, backing the slightly overheated but surprisingly well-behaved patrons of the orchestra and boxes. The gentry quickly calmed down to attentively savor the long performance done with only one intermission. Dramatic action and deep emotions were in short supply. Any thrills to be wrung from librettist Salvadore Cammarano's superficial take on Schiller's melodrama were most definitely delegated to the musical company under Nicola Luisotti's suitably intense direction.
Francesca Zambello's coolly efficient production of 15 years ago has been faithfully restaged by director Laurie Feldman to the point of sterility. Everything moves like clockwork, but reduces the drama to something one might observe in an oil painting. It has all been tastefully curated in a modern museum setting. Stage designs by Michael Yeargan remain handsome if too sleekly stylized, and the beautiful costumes by Dunya Ramicova - especially the gorgeous crimson tones of the aristos' gowns - add needed visual impact. Gary Marder's lighting is in keeping with the general atmosphere. With the stellar cast on hand and the understanding of Luisotti emanating from the pit, the singers frankly could have stood at lecterns to tear into Verdi's unforgettable tunes as a theatrical concert.
Former SFO Adler Fellow and Merola Opera Program alumna soprano Leah Crocetto has been caught at just the right moment in her growing career to essay the title role of the innocent middle-class girl done to dirt by the lords and ladies of a provincial court. Crocetto's seemingly limitless vocal strength has enough power to maintain a creamy tone at both ends of her vocal register. Her top notes and coloratura are beautifully achieved - a perfect voice for Verdi, as she proved most memorably in her performance in the Requiem in 2013. Not much of an actress, but she makes the right facial expressions at the right times and lets her voice fill in the rest. She earned her spot center stage and triumphed with an old-style "golden age of singing" performance.
Winner of the trifecta (voice, acting and looks) for the musical marathon was, not unexpectedly, American tenor Michael Fabiano. In the role of Luisa's tortured lover Rodolfo, he simply owned the stage on every appearance. Here was the necessary jolt of adrenaline for a static show. The handsome star (and he is officially in the big-time now, fans) opened his voice with amazing ease, filling the house with an ardent tone and commitment to character. He got a truly deserved avalanche of approval from the thrilled audience.
There are more singers in the story, and each character is given a moment in the spotlight to make an impression, but perhaps the most subtly shaded role is assigned to Luisa's veteran soldier father Miller. Verdi would go on to explore the complexities of father-daughter relationships for the rest of his own career, but he really started getting serious here. Making his SFO debut in a role he has performed at Milan's Teatro alla Scala, Ukrainian baritone Vitaliy Bilyy brought a commanding believability and pathos to the part. His exchanges with his daughter in the final moments of her life evoked emotions that would be sharpened more dramatically later in the conclusion to Rigoletto.
As Rodolfo's big bad dad Count Walter, former SFO Adler Fellow and Merola program alumnus bass-baritone Daniel Sumegi was slightly overshadowed, but there is an appealing edge to his voice that added villainous character.
As the cruel (and inadvertently, but appropriately named) Wurm, who cements the whole shameful plot against Luisa and her true love, bass Andrea Silvestrelli made a meal of a surprisingly underwritten character.
Again, it all had to be portrayed in the singing, and Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk made her SFO debut as the duchess betrothed to Rodolfo by his father (and who has loved him since childhood) with penetrating vocal skill. Her entrance on an oversized statue of a horse is impressive, but the horse sticks around for no apparent reason (sort of like Luisa's bed from the first act), and Semenchuk must use her own devices to keep the audience focused. Like everyone else, her voice carried the day.
Ian Robertson's Chorus slips convincingly and seamlessly from peasant to noble garb, and they supply emotion where the staging falters from too much stateliness.
The most important part of the production (for my money) and certainly the illuminating spark to an ultimately satisfying experience flowed electrically from the orchestra and maestro Luisotti's baton. At one moment I looked to his extended hand in the spotlight and caught what was truly enlivening an otherwise overly careful performance. A touch of passion, combined with an obvious love for the details in Verdi's boundless flow of melody, set the final seal on a big opening night.
Luisa Miller runs in repertory through Sept. 27 at the War Memorial Opera House