The San Francisco Symphony's Opening Night Gala marked the official start to the city's fine arts season last week and also the ban on white after Labor Day, a brief hot spell, the Orchestra's 105th season, composer Steve Reich's 80th birthday, and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas' incredible 22 years on the podium at Davies Symphony Hall. If that's in no particular order, it's because the centerpiece of the opening, the concert itself, couldn't seem to come up with any clear priorities either.
MTT has attempted and achieved a mostly persuasive formula over the years. As the elegant opening-night host, his results usually satisfy just about everyone. There are typically big-name guest stars on hand too, as further insurance of glamor. The beginning of 2016-17 felt much the same as always, but the show was surprisingly shorter and slighter than what we learned to expect. A "Give em what they want" programming attitude didn't appear too heavy or overly cliche, but there was more sense of grab-bag than potpourri about the bill.
The opening Overture from William Tell by Rossini was strong enough to engage younger listeners, but I suspect it was the older crowd that smiled most when the Lone Ranger theme appeared. Not exactly pandering, but I wondered why the overcooked amuse-bouche was served in the first place.
Time to send in the superstars. Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham made a fine entrance, looking marvelous in emerald green, to sing a measured and tonally lustrous aria from Mozart's La clemenza di Tito .
Gal pal and colleague (both chums of MTT as well) soprano Renee Fleming arrived to sing two arias because La Graham's first song was "longer than hers." A lovely gem from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur and the familiar, beloved "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi highlighted the concert with Fleming's trademark limpid sound. "Like buttah," as they say, and the first half ended with the pair singing a bright duet from Mozart's Cos" fan tutte.
After a literally sparkling intermission (nothing like the bubbly to fuel the fun), the second half opened with Three Movements , which was to be played again later in the week and on the following Sunday in the concert celebrating Steve Reich's birthday. It was a fine rendition, easily the most impressive music on the bill, and happily, the composer was there, wearing his trademark ball cap, to accept the ovation. Granted, the piece stuck out a little, like the only guest who didn't get the dress code, but it was enough to satisfy listeners hankering for more substantial fare.
The ab fab ladies returned to sing some Gershwin and then paired amusingly for a jokingly confrontational and cleverly modified Irving Berlin "Anything You Can Do."
If the program seemed slighter than most in recent memory, it was still fun and fast enough, and the soigne after-party could easily be called gala. Bigger bites of the orchestral repertoire will be following soon.