The Opera Tattler

* Notes *

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra gave semi-staged performances of Tolomeo (Dashon Burton, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Lauren Snouffer, Kangmin Justin Kim, and Nicole Heaston pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken) starting last Thursday at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Music Director Peter Whelan chose to have the orchestra behind the singers, which led to some synchronization issues, but all the singing was remarkably beautiful.

Maestro Peter Whelan opened his tenure with these performances, and his style seems quite rapid and lively. The brass played cleanly. Considering that the basso continuo and singers were in front of the conductor, the proceedings could have been much less together. However there were moments that did seem off-kilter.

There were certainly cuts to the music, as it was only 2 and a half hours long with an intermission, but the singers made the most of their time. Bass-baritone Dashon Burton is robust as the blustering Araspe, King of Cyprus. On the other hand, countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim was a contrast as Tolomeo’s brother Alessandro, sounding much more warbling and delicate.

Soprano Nicole Heaston has a clear and warm tone for Elisa, Araspe’s sister who is, of course, in love with Tolomeo. The voice of soprano Lauren Snouffer, Tolomeo’s beloved Seleuce, has a tawny quality to it, very pleasing and pretty. Fittingly, countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen was most impressive in the title role, he has a lot of depth to his sound, and nuance. The duet at the end of Act II between husband and wife was particularly gorgeous.

I could not make sense of director James Darrah Black’s production, which seemed set on a desert island with aircraft pieces strewn on the sand. There was a chest wrapped in foam, long tubes of light set on stands that could change color, and worst of all, mirrored cubes that repeatedly blinded me. The costumes were simple and also did little to elucidate the plot. Elisa wore a blazer and slacks, Seleuce a sundress.

* Tattling *

There was quite a bit of talking during the overture, which is odd, since one would think the audience would be interested in hearing the new music director. There was also a lot of unwrapping of cough drops near me (Row H Seat 8 on the orchestra level) for the beginning of Act II.