The Opera Tattler

* Notes *
The second performance of Simon Boccanegra featured a different soprano as Amelia, one Ana María Martínez. She last appeared at San Francisco Opera when she shared the role of Micaëla in the 2006 performances of Carmen. Martínez gave a more even performance than Barbara Frittoli, the former’s voice is bird-like and metallic, she reminded me of the mechanical nightingale from Andersen’s fairy tale. Though more accurate, perhaps Martínez’s voice lacks the beauty of Frittoli’s.

* Tattling * 
The audience was well-behaved, though there were scattered watch alarms as usual. However, some aspect of the set was rattling quite a lot just before the recognition scene, it almost sounded like percussion and this was rather strange. Also, electric drills were heard during the set change for Act I Scene 2, so perhaps this is one of the reasons why the curtain needed to come down between scenes.