* Notes *
This year marked the 50th Opera in the Park performance from San Francisco Opera. The proceedings yesterday were delightful. Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducted with vim and clarity, starting with the National Anthem followed by Strauss’ Radatzky March. Later in the afternoon we heard San Francisco Opera bassist Shinji Eshima’s composition Butterfly YY which showcased the orchestra well.
As expected, we heard many of the singers from the current run of Rigoletto that premiered last Friday. Tenor Yongzhao Yu sang the famous “La donna è mobile.” which did sound better in this context than at the opera house. Baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat impressed in “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” and his exchange with soprano Adela Zaharia “Mio padre…Tutte le feste al tempio…Si, vendetta” was moving, and convinced me to go hear this opera again. The quartet “Bella figlia dell’amore” from Act III was also performed with vigor, with mezzo-soprano J’nai Bridges as Maddalena.
The other big production coming up is Dead Man Walking, which opens next Sunday. Therefore we heard many singers from this cast, including soprano Brittany Renee; mezzo-sopranos Nikola Printz, Susan Graham, and Jamie Barton, and baritone Rod Gilfry. Especially impressive were Graham singing “Ombra mai fu” and Printz singing “Where shall I fly?” both by Handel. Rod Gilfly was charming in “Some Enchanted Evening,” which I always associate with the late John Lindstrom.
Bass and Adler Fellow Peixin Chen was very funny in “La calumnia” and did a fine job with Adler soprano Olivia Smith in “Quanto amore!”
* Tattling *
There was a bit of talking and in the second half of the performance the man in front of me even took a short call during the music. There were the usual phone rings and other electronic noise. Many people used their mobile phones to take videos of the afternoon, including the mom of one of the singers.
Many champagne corks flew around the VIP section of Robin Williams Meadow, since they were part of the lunch. This occasionally happened during the music, which was disorienting at times.
This post also appears on https://substack.com/home/post/p-173131385
The Opera Tattler 
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