The Opera Tattler

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La Fanciulla at SF Opera

Roberto Frontali (Jack Rance), Deborah Voigt (Minnie) and Salvatore Licitra (Dick Johnson), photo by Cory Weaver * Notes * 
San Francisco Opera‘s latest production of La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) opened last night. The production, directed by Lorenzo Mariani and with sets from Maurizio Balò, is cute without being busy or cluttered. The male chorus sounded fine and the ensemble cast did well. The waltz in Act I was particularly lovely. Current Adlers Brian Jagde (Joe), David Lomelí (Harry), Austin Kness (Handsome), and Maya Lahyani (Wowkle) all had respectable appearances. Nicola Luisotti held the orchestra together, creating a luxuriant sound.


Timothy Mix was tender and vunerable as Sonora and Roberto Frontali threatening as Sheriff Jack Rance. Salvatore Licitra’s voice was very sweet and warm as Ramerrez. A few of his highest, loudest notes showed some strain, but for the most part he had a nice ease. Deborah Voigt’s Minnie was spunky and full of spirit. She has a bit of a tinselly quality, lacking the warm creaminess she had in former years, but overall she was quite winsome.


* Tattling * 
The press department did end up giving me tickets for this performance. The volunteer usher in front of us in Row L Seat 23 used her cellular phone as a flashlight to read the program during Act I. After the first intermission, an audience member was sitting in that seat, and the usher insisted on seeing the ticket. The audience member could not produce it and stormed off. It was not clear exactly what transpired, but the usher did not return to L 23, and the audience member sat in K 17 with her friends instead.


Though not constant, there was too much talking during the music and the singing.

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5 responses to “La Fanciulla at SF Opera”

  1. Sacto OperaFan Avatar
    Sacto OperaFan

    Thanks for the overview OT…I’m going on Saturday. Hope you’re there. I’ll keep an eye out. IF some strange guy comes up to you and says “Opera Tattler” don’t scream. 😀

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  2. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    This is the only evening this week I won’t be at the opera! Hope you enjoy Fanciulla though.

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  3. Roberto Avatar
    Roberto

    I am just coming back from the 6/24 performance.
    There is something in the War Memorial that puzzles me. I just cannot hear Puccini sopranos. We had recently Gheorghiu (twice), Pieczonka and now Deborah Voigt is in town. Gheorghiu is a lost case. I can be in the bathroom with her and her voice still wouldn’t come through. But Pieczonka and Voigt? I really expected more from them. Are the singers the problem? Or maybe the orchestra is too loud with Luisotti? Or maybe both? Probably, this is the big dilemma since (or even before) Wagner. Should the orchestra be sacrificed for the singers or should the singers be sacrificed for the orchestra?
    The problem specifically in San Francisco is even worse because in the case of this Fanciulla del West, the orchestra is more interesting than any singer. If Luisotti somehow restrained the orchestra, we could have neither the orchestra nor the singers.
    The biggest moment of any Fanciulla del West is the poker scene. Here we have Puccini’s trademark, which is the crescendo of the timpani. Luisotti restrained the timpani and we lost some of the effect. But shortly after, the orchestra was in full fortissimo to finish the second act and Voigt’s “E mio!” was virtually inaudible. As like Pieczonka, Voigt was far from mesmerized.
    I was also expecting more from Salvatore Licitra. But, let’s face it, Johnson is the least demanding Puccini tenor roles (at least for his well-known operas). Even so, he could have had a spin here and there. I though that Licitra’s performance was flat and unimaginative. I never bought Johnson’s love with Minnie, for example.
    And then we also had Roberto Frontali, a baritone new to me. Here is another one that was hurt by the orchestra. However I also found his voice thin. I read on his biography that he sings Verdi and it is hard for me to imagine him singing Verdi. If I ever see him singing Verdi, my expectations would be so low that I’d be glad with anything.
    However, I’d still recommend this performance for the beauty of the score and the quality of the orchestra. This is really Luisotti’s territory. The set, direction and all aspects of the production were also top notch. In the end, it is very entertaining and people should not miss this production.
    As my last note, I never saw so many young people at the War Memorial. Lot’s of people (included me) in jeans. From the public reaction at the end, everybody had a great time. This is one of the rare examples that the overall result overcomes the problems with the big stars in the cast.

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  4. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Where do you normally sit?
    Thanks for your comments on last night’s performance!

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  5. Roberto Avatar
    Roberto

    I sit in the first row of the balcony circle. My season ticket is on row D, but I often change to better seats. Yesterday I was on seat A2, right in the middle.

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