There an aching beauty to Richard Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos," as
conventional tonality is stretched to the limit, and yet wave after wave
of accessible melodies washes over the audience.  The final hour-long
stretch is of unbearable intensity, resolved in one of opera's most
seamlessly happy endings, both musically and dramatically.

That's how it should be, but very rarely is, given the limitations of
the human voice and the near-impossible task to present a production in
which the deliberate clashing elements don't kill the work.

Tonight, at the San Francisco Opera's fourth performance of John Cox's
splendid production, the obstacles disappeared.  Under Jun Markl's baton,
the Opera orchestra built towards the starry finale, playing as a host
of angels.

Laura Claycomb's Zerbinetta once again dazzled and enchanted,
high-coloratura runs anchored in a charming, earthbound character,
her great aria, "Grossmachtige Prinzessin," a star turn even more
than before.

Deborah Voigt's Ariadne went right into the record books as one of the
great, memorable performances in the War Memorial.  Cox's direction
prevents applause after "Es gibt ein Reich," which may be dramatically
correct, but it's an injustice to a musically-dramatically superb
presentation.  During the finale, Voigt's voice soared on velvet wings,
and she became as flesh-and-blood a character as a tragic mythological
figure possibly can be.  No, impossibly.

But beyond all that, the hero of tonight was Thomas Moser.  His Bacchus
was good before - and "good" is no faint praise for singing the unsingable
correctly - but this time, his voice rang out beyond "just" singing the
role right.  Before tonight, Moser did well; at this performance, he
produced a Bacchus no one sings better.

The full house provided the kind of attentive silence during the finale
that becomes part of the event.  It was a night to remember.

And there are only two more performances remaining: Sept. 26 and 29.

Janos Gereben/SF
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