Tonight's occasion to honor Terence McEwen, general director of the San
Francisco Opera from 1982 to 1988, was right and proper -- and it turned
into something even more than that.
The memorial concert took place on the War Memorial Opera House stage, on
the set of the Wagner "Ring," McEwen's greatest accomplishment (in 1985,
revived in 1990 and all this month).
>From a simple and moving tribute by the great soprano Regine Crespin to a
tremendous concert-closing performance of Wotan's Farewell by James Morris,
McEwen -- who died last year in Honolulu -- was once again present in the
house where he had worked behind the scenes and listened to performances
from the standing room, not the director's box.
There are surely greater general directors in the history of opera, but
certainly none more fun than "Terry." (Just try to think of his monumental
predecessor, *Mr.* Adler, as "Kurt"! It just doesn't work.)
I remember when the famous, long-time Canadian record executive first
arrived in San Francisco, handpicked by Adler as his successor -- and then
virtually banished from Valhalla when Adler realized that he will really
have to turn over the job that was his life. After a two-year "transition
period" (acknowledged by Lotfi Mansouri tonight as "difficult"), McEwen
marched smiling into his first press conference as the director, with a
cheerful "bon jour," went to work, and never looked back -- at least in
public -- at 1980 and '81.
Crespin ("He called me the cauliflower of his heart") was among the
hundreds of great singers who recorded, worked, and partied with McEwen
(always described as a "great host"), and the result was getting both
Pavarotti and Domingo into the house, including the one-day notice for
Domingo to sing an opening-night "Otello" flying from New York to San
Francisco.
Crespin described the "negotiation" with McEwen who wanted her to sign
a 10-year contract with the SF Opera Center. She was reluctant to commit
for such a long time, but now that she looks back, in her 16th year on the
job, all McEwen had to do was to say: "Do it."
Between the enormous contributions to SFO's training and youth programs by
Adler and Mansouri, McEwen's devotion to the voice and to young singers was
acknowledged and praised not only by the speakers but, more importantly,
by performances from those following in the footsteps of Vaness, Zajick,
Swenson, Voigt, Hampson, et.al.
Christina Lamberti, Donita Volkwijn, Elena Bocharova, Norman Shankle, Todd
Geer, Alfred Daza, and John Ames represented today's Adler Fellows.
The crowning moment of the present-and-future segment was the
"Rosenkavalier" Trio with Nicolle Foland, Tammy Jenkins and Elizabeth
Bishop (substituting for the indisposed Susan Quittmeyer). This was one of
those I-know-I-will-say-I-was-there moments, enabling the listener to brag
20 years hence.
As to the music of the past, Mansouri announced that an anomymous donor
purchased McEwen's entire record collection (a matter of legends in the
"biz") and donated it to the Opera where it will be put to good use by
young singers and their teachers alike.
Conducted by Donald Runnicles, the orchestra -- between last night's
"Goetterdaemmerung" and Saturday's "Walkuere" -- did beautifully, with a
rather strange-sounding "Entrance of the Gods" but a fully-committed "Magic
Fire."
Morris, whose Wotan now matches his sensational debut in the role in the
1985 original production of "McEwen's Ring," never sang Wagner before
McEwen turned his interest to the repertoire in the early 1980s, bringing
a great lyrical quality to the music -- never more obvious and powerful
than tonight.
Freed of spear and cape (and the need to waltz around Bruennhilde, putting
her to sleep), Morris stood in a business suit front and center, and put
everything into the voice, into the music. It was a stunningly confident
and effective performance, effortless, the voice projected through the
great house even when he whispered. And, it was moving, a wonderful,
*singing*, Wotan -- just as McEwen envisioned it.
Janos Gereben/SF
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