from the War Memorial, that is, in the SF Symphony's Davies Hall: two
voices that will figure prominently in global opera in the next decade
or two.

In a fiery/lyrical "Carmina Burana," conducted by David Robertson (review
in next Tuesday's www.sfcv.org), Patricia Petibon and Christopher Maltman
gave extraordinary performances, both in their SFS debut, both yet to
sing in SFO here.

Petibon's soprano is clear and clean and effortless.  I don't know if
I ever heard a more heavenly "Dulcissime, total tibi subdo me" - the
stratospheric notes coming right from the chest.

Maltman is a great singing actor, turning the oratorio into a series of
operatic scenes.  A lyric baritone with power, Maltman can pretty much
do anything and everything.

Not in the same class, but doing very well, Richard Troxell as the swan,
a fine but not very powerful voice supplemented by simple and clever
staging - flapping his wings in the first stanza, revolving slowly (sans
spit) during the second, quite "dead" in the end.

There is one more performance Saturday night.  Never mind what you think
of Orff - go for the voices.

Janos Gereben
www.sfcv.org
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