Review: Ariodante
I may occasionally resort to trickery to keep my blog alive. The following lists come from an email I wrote to a dear friend this morning, and they qualify as a dying blogger's review of San Francisco Opera's production of Handel's Ariodante, which I saw last night after spending the day at home in a malaise tragique:
Ariodante was fabulous! And that's despite several bad things:
1. It lasted from 7:30 to 11:00.
2. The dress circle was its usual 80 degrees and stuffy. One woman near me said, "What's that smell? Someone needs to bathe. It smells skunky." The man next to her said, "It's probably Italians." Ah, the opera.
3. The opera takes place in Scotland, but everything was Roman. Lots of columns.
4. There was MUCH MUCH swishing of very large capes -- not nearly as bad as Giulio Cesare at the Met, but still: stop the capes!
5. All the men were pretty weak, especially the bass. He chose to perform his role in a warbly Sprechstimme. I don't think he ever landed on a pitch, especially when he aimed for those impressive low ones.
6. Ruth Ann or Susan may have forgotten a line at the end of Act I. There was a strange silence, some half-hearted singing, and then the full voices got back on. (The lukewarm village dancing behind them may have caused the kerfluffle.)
In other Ariodante news:
1. The audience clapped when Ruth Ann walked on, but not when Susan did.
2. Ruth Ann blew us away with her fast, high arias and da capo ornaments.
3. The audience went WILD WILD WILD after Susan's slow aria in Act II. The B section emotionally drained her Ariodante, and she performed the repeat lying on the floor. One of her ornaments took her to the very bottom of her voice (I'm guessing F or E?) and then leapt up to her very top (B?). A man who sounded like Harvey Fierstein screamed out "BRAVA!"
4. I still felt like Ruth Ann stole the show, but the audience was most excited about Susan in the final bows. (But then Susan was also last.) They were both great.
5. I have a renewed admiration for Handel and for singers of Handel. I found myself nestling happily into each new aria, listening for that B section, and looking forward to the virtuosity in the repeat.
Ariodante was fabulous! And that's despite several bad things:
1. It lasted from 7:30 to 11:00.
2. The dress circle was its usual 80 degrees and stuffy. One woman near me said, "What's that smell? Someone needs to bathe. It smells skunky." The man next to her said, "It's probably Italians." Ah, the opera.
3. The opera takes place in Scotland, but everything was Roman. Lots of columns.
4. There was MUCH MUCH swishing of very large capes -- not nearly as bad as Giulio Cesare at the Met, but still: stop the capes!
5. All the men were pretty weak, especially the bass. He chose to perform his role in a warbly Sprechstimme. I don't think he ever landed on a pitch, especially when he aimed for those impressive low ones.
6. Ruth Ann or Susan may have forgotten a line at the end of Act I. There was a strange silence, some half-hearted singing, and then the full voices got back on. (The lukewarm village dancing behind them may have caused the kerfluffle.)
In other Ariodante news:
1. The audience clapped when Ruth Ann walked on, but not when Susan did.
2. Ruth Ann blew us away with her fast, high arias and da capo ornaments.
3. The audience went WILD WILD WILD after Susan's slow aria in Act II. The B section emotionally drained her Ariodante, and she performed the repeat lying on the floor. One of her ornaments took her to the very bottom of her voice (I'm guessing F or E?) and then leapt up to her very top (B?). A man who sounded like Harvey Fierstein screamed out "BRAVA!"
4. I still felt like Ruth Ann stole the show, but the audience was most excited about Susan in the final bows. (But then Susan was also last.) They were both great.
5. I have a renewed admiration for Handel and for singers of Handel. I found myself nestling happily into each new aria, listening for that B section, and looking forward to the virtuosity in the repeat.
posted by Paul G. McCurdy at 10:55 AM
2 Comments:
I think it was Susan that forgot, just from looking at the opera from the box level.
Yet it was fabulous???
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