The same energy and pizzazz that characterize San Francisco, its opera
company, and Opera general manager Lotfi Mansouri were in curiously short
supply tonight in the War Memorial.

The gala concert honored Mansouri at the beginning of the Opera's 78th
season, his 13th and last as general manager, before turning the company
over to the Stuttgart Opera's Pamela Rosenberg.

Considering that Mansouri, generally recognized as opera's premier showman,
is also marking 37 years of continuous contributions as stage director in
the War Memorial, the expectation was that the event would rock and roll
the freshly quake-proofed building (whose renovation is one of Mansouri's
great accomplishment).  Well, the earth did not move.  And, if the somber
tone was aimed at marking a departure, rather than celebrating a career,
it surely was not an Irish wake.

The evening turned into a series of performances -- good, bad and
indifferent -- before a respectful and/or somnolent audience, culminating
in Mansouri *reading* a very long list of acknowledgments, saying thanks to
everyone, from the carpenters to the company's public relations department.
The ultimate art form it wasn't, nor one of those happy "San Francisco
Treat" blowouts.

The hero of the gala was Renee Fleming.  With no other motivation
than paying tribute to an old friend, she left summit-gridlocked New
York (where she is in rehearsals at the Met) earlier today, flew to San
Francisco, sang two of the finest performances of the evening (plus one
that wasn't), and left in the intermission to catch an overnight flight
back to New York.  One can't help comparing the Fleming feat with Patricia
Racette's cancellation of a single appearance, to sing "Un bel di," because
she is in rehearsals *in San Francisco* for tomorrow night's "real"
season-opener, with "Luisa Miller."

Fleming's performances included a so-so "Depuis le jour," a superb,
moving but unsentimental "I can smell the sea air" from "A Streetcar
Named Desire" (Patrick Summers conducting), and a best-of-show "Hab' mir's
gelobt" Trio from "Der Rosenkavalier," under Donald Runnicles' baton.  With
Susan Graham's Octavian and Anna Netrebko's Sophie, Fleming gave convincing
proof that SFO's November "Rosenkavalier" will be an important event.
(Fleming and Graham will sing the same roles as tonight, Juliana Banse
will be Sophie, and Charles Mackerras will conduct.)

The program reflected the strong points of the Mansouri years,
including his advocacy of the Russian repertory and the many Kirov
imports.  Netrebko, discovered in the role of Lyudmila here at a very young
age, reprised an Act 1 aria from the Rimsky-Korsakov opera, but -- going
along with the nature of the concert -- she sang without the liveliness
that made her first appearance here so special.  Ruth Ann Swenson, who has
a big season here this year (Semele and Baby Doe), was in excellent voice,
singing "Ah, non credea mirarti" from "La Sonnambula," Richard Bonynge
conducting in his customary lackadaisical manner.

The evening, of course, was much enhanced by the appearance of Mrs.
Bonynge, one of Mansouri's most frequent collaborators in both Toronto
and San Francisco.

Joan Sutherland, as she is also known, introduced a young soprano from
the San Francisco Opera Center, Twyla Robinson, singing in a duet from one
of her great roles in "Anna Bolena." Robinson did fine, but the wonderful
veteran mezzo Judith Forst stole the show, without meaning to do it -- she
just cannot help all eyes and ears focusssing on her, a star in everything
but name.

Carol Vaness had a great evening:  in three different (and spectacular)
gowns, she sang three very different roles, her voice in fine shape:  the
"Mira, d'acerbe lagrime" duet from "Il Trovatore" with Dmitri Hvorostovsky
(a once-fabulous voice all muscle-bound and poorly projected), "Tu che le
vanita" from "Don Carlo" (Runnicles doing his usual magic in the orchestra
pit), and the Rossini "Cat Duet" with Forst.

The Kirov gang was also represented by Olga Borodina (who started her
U.S.  career with a boring "Cenerentola" and tremendous, Mansouri-directed
"Carmen"), giving a preview of her planned role here next year by singing
Dalila's aria, "Mon coeur." She got the evening's only ovation, based
perhaps on the quality of the voice -- it couldn't have been the lack of
passion or the muddiest diction on this side of Sutherland that prompted
the applause.  She has the goods, but has a long-long way to go working
on all aspects of a performance.

Somebody with vast experience and knowledge, James Morris, sang "Die
Frist ist um" from "The Flying Dutchman," lacking only what Borodina has:
a voice.  The great San Francisco Wotan (gee:  that was 20 years ago!) and
star of many productions here is making a wise career move by appearing in
"The Ballad of Baby Doe," something as un-Wagnerish as a bass-baritone can
go.

This must have been the fourth local gala featuring Richard Margison's
"Nessun dorma," and the second in which he didn't quite make the final
notes.  (Curiously enough, when he sang the full role here, not just the
aria, he did just fine, performance after performance.)

Also ran:  Marcello Giordani, with "E lucevan le stelle" and Hvorostovsky,
with "Largo al factotum."

Kip Kranna acted as the smooth and unobtrusive host.  The Elaine & Norman
Campbell "Opera Is..." closed the program.  Carol Burnett's filmed segments
of the "Lotfi Saga" were the most fun of the gala -- excerpts from what
Burnett called a lamentable and mercifully unknown 'Fifties Hollywood movie
about Caruso were hysterical:  Mansouri *was* Caruso in that film, doing
a great job lip-syncing to Caruso's voice.  More Mansuri-as-Caruso film
segments and less dutiful singing could have turned the evening into
something more entertaining and "San Francisco."

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