Richard Strauss and Charles Mackerras:  a magic combination.  Tonight, at
the second performance of the current San Francisco Opera production of
"Der Rosenkavalier" (I was, alas, at the Stuttgart "Giuseppe e Sylvia" when
the War Memorial premiere took place on Friday), I heard the orchestra play
in the manner of their finest counterparts in Vienna and Munich - not a
hyperbole, a valid comparison of the quality, the excellence of the sound.

And the old gem did its work:  I was moved, carried away to another,
glorious world.  A personal aside here, not from some misguided sense of
superiority, but from the heart:  I feel bad for those in the audience who
cannot experience this sense of letting go - of the annoyance by latecomers
who didn't know about the 7:30 curtain, of the Italian Singer who has no
business setting foot anywhere near an opera house, of the Lotfi Mansouri
slapstick (supposedly in collaboration with Elisabeth Soederstroem, but I
don't believe that), of any and all distraction - and disappear in this
lush music, beautifully performed.  Otherwise, what's the point of
bothering to go to the opera? No, I am not saying to force yourself to
ignore what's bad.  The case in point is this "Rosenkavalier" - so much
to be happy about, so keep the minuses in perspective.

Before the curtain went up, I wasn't anywhere so upbeat and positive about
this revival of the Thierry Bosquet reconstruction of the original 1911
Alfred Roller design.  First, having heard Schwarzkopf, Jurinac, Rysanek,
Te Kanawa as the Marschallin in this house alone; and second, realizing
that the once-promised cast of Rene Fleming, Susan Graham and Juliane Banse
won't happen can make even Little Mary Sunshine here pretty grumpy.
(Fleming sings on Dec.  2, 5, 7 and 10; Banse cancelled in her third week
of pregnancy:  something about high-altitude radiation while flying!)

So, it was Yvonne Kenny, Graham (not in as glorious a voice as I heard
her before), and Rebecca Evans, whom I didn't like at all in the recent
"Elixir." And what happened was being drawn into the opera by Mackerras'
superbly paced and balanced performance, allowing the music to rule, and
soon enough, I began to appreciate Kenny's regal bearing, the accuracy and
consistently fine placement of a voice which is not a particularly great
instrument, enjoying Graham's performance even if vocally it wasn't at her
best, and - heavens!  - actually liking Evans very much.  although still
not really happy about her voice; truly, she makes a better Sophie than
Adina - however little sense that may make vocally.

Protesting possible misinterpretation again, I do not mean to damn
with faint praise, far from it.  The three top roles were done well, and
certainly well enough to continue to experience a magnificent work.  Kenny
and Graham were particularly good together, their scene at the end of Act
1 (the Marschallin in deep thought, Octavian uncomprehending) a triumphant
piece of drama.  Plus, there was a true star in the cast, a landmark Baron
Ochs:  Franz Hawlata, whom I have never seen/heard in a less than brilliant
performance.  But this one took the cake:  in voice and acting, it was in
the class (to me, at the top of the class) of Edelmann, Boehme, Greindl,
Halfvarson, even Berry and Moll!  Leaner, meaner, and somehow more credibly
the coarse louse than those other great singers, Hawlata is well worth the
price of performance.

The large cast of character roles and chorus soloists had their ups
and downs, but the chorus itself performed well throughout.  And most
importantly, somebody finally had the good sense of leaving the curtain up
at the end of the acts, thus preventing premature applause - something that
gets under the skin of even this imperturbable slave of "Rosenkavalier".

Janos Gereben/SF, CA
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