The Opera Tattler

* Notes *

Yesterday evening I went to the fourth performance of San Francisco Opera’s Parsifal San Francisco Opera and read the score in standing room. The way Maestra Eun Sun Kim has set up the strings is novel, she has the violins in the middle, the cellos on the outside to her left, and the violas to her right.

Having the violas exposed made them stand out more to me, and it was easy to hear their lines from the back of the balcony. The playing of the whole orchestra keeps getting better and better. It was especially lovely hearing the clarinet soli and the harps, and it was fun to follow the music with the score.

The singing is consistent, everyone sounds very appropriate for their roles. Hearing mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz (A Voice) from the balcony was intensely beautiful, it was easier to appreciate from this location, even though the singer doesn’t appear on stage regardless. Tenor Brandon Jovanovich (pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) is truly a fine Parsifal, and it was great to be able to hear him yet again.

* Tattling *

There were very few tickets sold for standing room, but since there were so many latecomers to the 6pm performance, it was quite crowded in the balcony. There were very many young people, and one wanted to read the score with me at the end of Act I.

A person whose cellular phone was ringing during Act II rushed out of the hall, but gave me quite a start as he was passing me as the ring tone went off, and I almost thought it was my phone as I use the same one.

The Doechii show at Bill Graham got out at the same time as the opera performance, and it was surreal trying to get to BART with so many young people.