The Opera Tattler

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Michael Francis & Rufus Wainwright at SFS

RufusWainwright * Notes * 
Michael Francis is currently conducting San Francisco Symphony in a program of Milhaud’s La Création du monde, Rufus Wainwright’s Five Shakespeare Sonnets, and Weill’s Symphony No. 2. Last night’s performance began with the jazz-influenced piece by Milhaud. The small ensemble did not appear to include a viola. The saxophone, clarinet, and oboe were particularly good. Next came the sonnets, which were sung by the composer himself. Wainwright used a microphone, which was unsurprising. His music was pleasant enough, but I did not really know what to make of it. It seemed that he could have done just as well with a piano rather than a whole orchestra. The Weill symphony was strong, the brass was together and not harsh, and the woodwinds sounded wonderful.

* Tattling * 
There was much talking and coughing during this performance. It was heartening to see many more younger people in the audience than usual.

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5 responses to “Michael Francis & Rufus Wainwright at SFS”

  1. EBrown Avatar
    EBrown

    I thought the Wainwright interlude was comically bad. Although I expected him to be miked, the amplification was amateurish and overly loud. I understand that he’s a pop singer without formal training, but the amplification emphasized his inability to breathe in a way that supported either the lyrics or the music. After all the sonnets use iambic pentameter, which follows the natural pattern of English speech; the heavy breathing, unrelated to line or, apparently, musical measure, was eerily reminiscent of a weird crank caller. The entire segment seemed an accolade to self-indulgence. And the poet’s shirt and lavender pants? Please, have a little respect for your audience, your fellow musicians, and yourself. I know he can dress more appropriately, so this choice seemed an effort to make him seem fey, in keeping with some of the darker moments of the sonnets, but it came off as merely twee. But the point of it all, as you subtly point out, was to get butts in the seats: in this it succeeded.

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  2. Doug Avatar
    Doug

    I, too, enjoyed seeing some less typically SFS attendees and it was fun to hear the Weill piece for my first time. I thought the Weill piece was well done though not a great piece. I enjoyed watching the conductor and he seemed to really enjoy the symphony and audience. I thought the Rufus piece was poor in composition, indulgent in singing, trampling of the sonnets, and totally uninteresting. The orchestra players did their best with so remarkably little and I agree with EBrown about the mic issues. Rufus’ personae, including waving to the crowd and covering his heart during applause while making strange faces, appeared fake and arrogant. Oh yeah, I really loved it.

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  3. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    It just struck me as odd, and perhaps slightly boring.

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  4. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    My! I just didn’t get it, the Wainwright. Perhaps I should have gone to hear Cyrano again, but I did enjoy SF Symphony’s playing.

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  5. EBrown Avatar
    EBrown

    I’ve actually been a fan of Rufie’s but this isn’t his genre. Just because you can do one thing well doesn’t mean you can do everything well…or at all. And word: he should give “Hallelujah” a rest. Just sayin’.
    I did see Cyrano twice. Bliss!

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