* Notes *
A spare production Manon from Jules Massenet was revived at San Francisco Opera last night. The orchestra sounded lush and vivid under Maestra Eun Sun Kim and the singing was simply beautiful.
Never bombastic, the orchestra was perfectly clear and contained, yet shimmered. The woodwinds and strings were particularly strong. The singers were never overwhelmed.
The production, last seen here in 2017, is plain, with a shiny floor and reflections on a slanted background. It took so much time to switch scenes, as always, a pet peeve of mine as the energy of the audience shifts and becomes restless.
There are many balloons (pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) featured, and this was perhaps the only bit of excitement in a rather featureless staging. The cast did act very well, and one was never confused about what was happening, so in that sense the direction was clear and told the story.
Every singer on stage was clearly also an actor, and it did make for a believable drama. It was quite fun to hear soprano Sofia Gotch (Poussette), mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm (Javotte), and mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven (Rosette) sing together, they almost sounded like Rheinmaidens, especially as they tittered and giggled. Tenor Steven Cole was evilly charming as Guillot de Morfontaine, he moves well, pretty much dancing across the stage.
Bass James Creswell is impressive as Comte des Grieux, his voice is so full and rich, while baritone Vitor Bispo made for a contrast as Lescaut, a lighter voice, with a pleasant graininess to it.
The lovers in the opera are real-life partners, and sang beautifully together. Tenor Pene Pati (Chevalier des Grieux) is dashing, and his voice is sweet and warm. His Act II aria “En fermant les yeux” was especially heartrending. Soprano Amina Edris likewise fit the title role of Manon. Her voice sparkles and her legato is impressive. She did well with “Je suis encore tout étourdie” in Act I and “Adieu, notre petite table” in Act II.
* Tattling *
There was so much going on in the lobbies, many opportunities to create social media content with the lighting, little sets, and even models in corsets.
The opera house was sadly not full, and because the opera is rather long at 3 hours and 25 minutes, many people left at one of the two intermissions.
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