Looking back over the summer and remembering the rich season of classical music and opera performances in San Francisco and the Bay Area, critics and audiences alike should agree on at least one thing: Music has the power to guide us through crazy times. It can provoke, divert, inspire and console. Ready access to a vital community of local artists is essential, and there have been many shining examples to prove it.
Last week, West Edge Opera's 2017 Festival took on Ambroise Thomas' French version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" to inaugurate the company's new digs at Pacific Pipe Oakland. Aria Umezawa's bold direction, Jonathan Khuner's urgent conducting and set designer Jean-Francois Revon's striking use of the industrial space made a terrific showcase for an often-snubbed opera.
Barihunk Edward Nelson, rising fast since his participation in the Merola Opera and Adler Fellow Programs and roles at San Francisco Opera, made his self-absorbed enactment of the title role feel totally current. Expressive singing belied his numbed physical attitude. Damn the consequences; Nelson's melancholy prince spoke truth to power.
Out and proud soprano Emma McNairy returned to West Edge after praised performances in past festivals to create a glam goth Oph�lie that was reason enough to revive the work. Her mind-blowing coloratura in the famous Mad Scene ranged from purest precision to strangulated gulps for air.
West Edge is trailblazing new ways to stage opera; Northern California's beloved Lamplighters Music Theatre upholds a tradition of performing Gilbert & Sullivan with historical accuracy and contemporary flair. Their 65th season opened in August with a lovingly crafted "The Yeomen of the Guard" that proved there are still signs of vibrant life in an old operetta. The troupe's high professional standards continue to delight. We can always use a hearty laugh and a well-sung song.
The Merola Opera Program's 2017 Summer Festival offered several chances to meet the promising new members of the 60th anniversary class. A trio of one-act operas at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music demonstrated everything the program is valued for. Hearing infrequently performed works with full orchestra and fresh young singers in clever productions at affordable prices makes the Festival an irresistible annual treat.
The San Francisco Opera's summer season was, understandably, a bit more careful with programming, but all the operas were still on everybody's Top 10 lists. Casting for Mozart's "Don Giovanni" added luster to the revival of a mediocre production, re-booted with new technical gimmickry. Visual distractions were unnecessary when the stars took the spotlight. Bass-baritone Ildebrando D'Arcangelo was magnetic as the Dirty Don, and Erwin Schrott made a memorable SFO debut as his long-suffering servant. Texan soprano Ana Maria Martinez was another standout as Donna Elvira. She added depth and humor to a part that is often one-dimensional.
Verdi's "Rigoletto" was notable for the star-making opportunity offered to New Zealander and Samoan-born tenor Pene Pati (Merola 2013; second-year SFO Adler Fellow). His assignment as the dissolute Duke should open new doors. Quinn Kelsey (Merola 2002) brought effortlessly fresh voice to the tormented title role.
The rapid return of Puccini's "La Boheme" couldn't match the initial impact of the SFO 2014 production by English director John Caird and designer David Farley, but American soprano Ellie Dehn was an appealing Musetta, and the intimate staging is still a keeper.
Opera Theater Unlimited's world premiere of an original opera at Exit Theatre in San Francisco's Tenderloin was one of the summer's biggest surprises. "Hunter," with a libretto by San Francisco-based Caitlin Mullan and music by Joseph M. Colombo, was a powerful fable about a closeted lesbian in the military. The libretto will probably be edited, but the commitment of the premiere cast struck deep, and the stage direction by OTU founder Sarah Young and a stunning portrayal by soprano Katie Nix of the title role still resonate in memory.
The 35th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival devoted week three of "Summer Sessions" to the music of Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy-winning composer John Luther Adams. The SFJAZZ Center may seem an unlikely place for a spiritual retreat, but after intense absorption in the nature-inspired composer's string quartets, featuring the U.S. premiere of "Everything That Rises," we're looking at the venue with new appreciation. Adams was celebrated at other SF sites, including Grace Cathedral and Sutro Baths, but their visual majesty was complemented by the intimacy of the Miner Auditorium. The composer's unique soundscapes felt right at home.
Bringing the San Francisco Symphony's immersive SoundBox experience to the big house (Davies Symphony Hall) after the summer solstice was an adventurous move that paid off. It also signaled some intriguing advances for an organization that looks to the future. Led by Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, the concert included the West Coast premiere of his own setting of Carl Sandburg's "Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind." George Antheil's "A Jazz Symphony" was energetically staged too, with dancers Kiva Dawson and Erin Moore, joined by pianist Peter Dugan, rousing the audience and fellow artists to high party mode.