The Opera Tattler

* Notes * 
Michael Tilson Thomas just finished conducting San Francisco Symphony in a program of Wagner, Berg, and Beethoven. The Overture to The Flying Dutchman sounded lovely, and the brass were fairly clear and sounded nice. The second piece also had to do with opera, and the Suite from Lulu was dense and lush. Soprano Erin Wall made an admirable attempt to be heard over the heavy orchestration, and something about her icy voice does penetrate over the din. It was not very easy to hear which words she was singing, however. The second half of the performance consisted of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, with James Ehnes as the soloist. The orchestra was spirited, the principal cello and viola were particularly fine, as were the woodwinds. The quiet parts of Ehnes playing were exquisite and plaintive.

* Tattling * 
There was some quiet talking during Saturday’s performance in San Francisco, but not very much. A cellular phone was heard right before Beethoven.