Opera is what’s hot in the park
The sun beat down relentlessly, like an over-insistent conductor. The breezes didn’t so much as whisper, as if determined not to disturb the vocal artistry on display. Hydration came to seem as essential as the precise formulation of a trill, or the aerodynamics of a high C.
And in defiance of the heat and the glare, an ebullient crowd gathered in Golden Gate Park’s Sharon Meadow on Sunday afternoon for the San Francisco Opera’s annual Opera in the Park concert. They sprawled across the grassy area in front of the stage, and spilled all the way up the hill at the rear of the dell, where the sight lines were poorer but shade easier to come by.
Sunday’s free program of arias and duets marked the 44th installment of this civic and cultural landmark, sponsored by The Chronicle. It brought to the stage cast members from the first three offerings of the Opera’s season — the productions of Puccini’s “Turandot” and Richard Strauss’ “Elektra” that had taken the stage earlier in the weekend, and Verdi’s “La Traviata,” which opens on Saturday, Sept. 23.
It also represented a poignant landmark, as General Director (and emcee) Matthew Shilvock pointed out in his introductory remarks. Sunday’s was the last Opera in the Park to be conducted by Music Director Nicola Luisotti before he steps down at the end of the
“Traviata” run.
“Nicola has brought music to life in the most dynamic way imaginable,” said Shilvock, before Luisotti went on to demonstrate the point by leading the Opera Orchestra in a breathless, fiery account of the overture to Verdi’s “Nabucco.”
One way to beat the afternoon heat, at least temporarily, was to roll out of bed and park yourself in Sharon Meadow at the crack of dawn. Janay Griffin, 60, and Kathy Bender, 64, both of San Francisco, have been making an annual practice of this for more than a decade, since their daughters — both aspiring singers — were still young. The girls are in college now, but their mothers made the trek without them, arriving in Golden Gate Park at 6 a.m.
“The problem at that point was how to keep warm, with the low-lying fog on the ground,” said Griffin. “It was another couple of hours before it started to get warm.”
The two families are veterans of free outdoor entertainment, including the summer concerts at Stern Grove, as well as the occasional visit to the War Memorial Opera House, when the repertoire is Italianate enough for their liking.
Another pair of regulars, British expats John and Jane Prescott, have been making the trek annually since arriving in the Bay Area in 2001. It’s a tradition they’ve continued to maintain since the birth of 12-year-old Andrew and 9-year-old Anna, and even since moving last year to Carmel.
“This is like the start of our holiday season every year,” said Jane Prescott. “The kids like to walk down to the stage and look at the instruments and the gowns the musicians have. And of course, we all love the music.”
This year’s program provided plenty of opportunities to savor a range of musical pleasures. The three “Traviata” principals raised expectations for that production — baritone Artur Rucinski with a stylish and robust rendition of “Ah, per sempre” from Bellini’s “I Puritani,” soprano Aurelia Florian and tenor Atalla Ayan in a pair of sweet-toned excerpts from Gounod’s “Faust.”
There were actually three consecutive selections from “Faust,” which by any sane reckoning is at least 2½ too many; but those two, and bassbaritone Alfred Walker’s stirring “Song of the Golden Calf,” served to still any rumblings of discontent.
Most of the remainder of the program was entrusted to Adler Fellows (current and past), who rose ably to the occasion, from tenor Pene Pati’s smoothly billowing “M’appari” from Flotow’s “Martha” to the soaring account of Marenka’s aria from Smetana’s “Bartered Bride” in which soprano Amina Edris faced down competition from an obstreperous helicopter and a flock of birds.
Soprano Toni Marie Palmertree did double duty in arias from Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” and Verdi’s “Il Trovatore,” tenor Brian Jagde unleashed an ardently full-throated rendition of “Donna non vidi mai” from Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut,” and soprano Sarah Cambidge and tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven joined forces for a heroic duet from Beethoven’s “Fidelio. ”The afternoon wound up in the traditional manner, with an audience sing-along of the Brindisi from Verdi’s “La Traviata.”