The Opening Gala of the San Francisco Symphony's 104th season has left some pleasant memories, a few unanswered questions, and perhaps most importantly, a confirmation of Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas as party host par excellence. The glittering crowd last week wasn't really in the mood for a concert offering much more than an amusing respite after dinner and a chance to re-fuel on champagne before the afterparty in the elegant tent pavilion. MTT has made sensible note of this attitude over the years, and has accordingly developed a carefree musical ambience on opening night that feels more like an evening at the Pops than a program showcasing the orchestra's serious musical ability.
There has usually been a theme, however thin, for the Gala programs, but if there was any rhyme or reason to this year's concert, other than giving some notable guest stars a chance to shine, it escaped me. Maybe MTT was still a trace jet-lagged since returning from the triumphant European Festivals Tour, or he was simply trying to catch his breath while switching gears for the first weeks of the new season. I'm grasping at reasons for why the concert was patchier than almost any I can remember from the past. If that sounds harsh, let me hasten to add there was still a lot of good-natured fun to be gleaned from the light bill of fare.
Opening with an uncharacteristically wordy anecdote �" something about Marlene Dietrich telling Judy Garland of her greatest European standing ovations �" Fearless Leader managed to connect it to the recent tour. His delivery and gift for mimicry sold the joke, and an easy in-crowd tone was set for the rest of the night.
The orchestra launched into a 25-minute tour through Ottorino Respighi's musically negligible Roman Festivals to take us briskly to intermission and (I guess) to allow the artists scheduled for the second part of the show to get out of makeup and their dressing rooms. There are better Respighi works, but the performance was good, and hearing the echoes of Italian song with a cinematic sweep proved blandly appealing, like eating pasta at Olive Garden.
How it related to the main event remains a mystery, but I was more than willing to stop wondering in order to settle in for a big-band wallow with some "Broadway in the Golden Age" hits after the break. Beloved favorites Rodgers and Hammerstein were on the playlist, and that was fine by me. The brilliant Carousel Waltz from Carousel got things off to a promising start, and I couldn't help thinking how much more sense it would have made to present an entire concert celebrating the great waltzes and ballet music of Richard Rodgers, alongside the operetta-like melodies of Frederick Loewe. Add some of the great vocals, arias and duets for rhythmic contrast, and it could have been great. It's too late to complain now and pointless fantasizing, considering the pleasing quality of what we did hear and the obvious enjoyment of the opening-night crowd.
Baritone Nathan Gunn appeared to sing "Some Enchanted Evening" as his only solo of the night. The handsome star, looking sharp as ever, was overamplified and ended up sounding like an unusually accomplished karaoke singer. The recent trend towards "sound design" on both sides of Grove Street is acceptable on occasions when untrained voices or singing actors appear, and the gala was also being broadcast live on the radio, but I'm hoping the increasing use of electronics gets perfected pretty darn pronto .
Gunn ordinarily doesn't need a mic, and lovely soprano Alexandra Silber would have sounded better without one herself. Her first number, "I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy," was way too bright. She has more than enough bounce to sell a song without so much augmentation.
MTT announced the surprise appearance of magnificent mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, taking a night off from Sweeney Todd, to effectively steal the show with a moving rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone." Gunn should have jumped in at this point to sing a solo version of "There Is Nothing like a Dame." La Blythe has a voice and a half, and just as her Mrs. Lovett proves, she can make quite a case for show tunes as art songs.
The remainder of the night was shared by Silber (a pert Eliza Doolittle) and Kelsey Grammer, substituting nicely for the originally scheduled Patrick Stewart, in selections from My Fair Lady . Grammer has earned his musical theater credentials with a number of Broadway successes, and his droll delivery and mellifluous voice, well-remembered from his signature role on television as Dr. Frasier Crane, added authority to his portrayal of the endearingly disdainful Professor Henry Higgins. His Mid-Atlantic accent made Alan Jay Lerner's lyrics pop with sophisticated wit in "Why Can't the English?" and "I'm an Ordinary Man." "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" was subtly characterized and sweetly touching.
The trio of Grammer, Gunn and Silber sent the audience out to the dance floor with a rousing "I Could Have Danced All Night," and that finally tied in to the occasion with a great big bow.