The San Francisco Opera's 1999 "Ring" cycle opened tonight in the War
Memorial with a smooth, fine performance of "Das Rheingold."

Far from damning with faint praise, that is in fact an acknowledgment
of some exceptional work by Lotfi Mansouri's company.

A "good Ring" is a great accomplishment, especially in this situation:
as the first of four complete cycles opened tonight, SFO was facing the
third revival of the 1985 production by Nikolaus Lehnhoff and John Conklin.
(And producing an often-performed 130-year-old work.)

Resisting strong temptation, the company sailed securely between the Scilla
of a tired, old repetition, and the Charybdis of "something new" and damn
the work.

The most impressive display of restraint came from stage director Andrei
Serban, whose highly unusual appointment to the job came without any
previous "Ring," indeed, any previous Wagner experience!  Against the
siren-song of "making his mark," Serban built on the best of the previous
production, fixed obvious problems (such as the original outlandish
presentation of Loge as a contemporary "attorney type" among all the
properly customed gods), and he pulled together a brisk, flowing production
-- but without the idiotic dashing-about of the Bayreuth Kupfer production.

Two veterans of the original production paced the performance beautifully:
the years fell away for James Morris' solid, confident, imperial Wotan, and
Donald Runnicles propelled the music as smoothly and transparently as the
invisible engines drove the Giants.

Not quite on the level of intensity of his previous "Ring" cycles,
Runnicles has settled into a knowing, quiet direction, perfect balances
and a typically faster-than-others tempo, but even that is tempered by
the years.  Other than a few unfortunate problems in the brass section,
the orchestra did itself proud.

Ah, yes, the Giants.  They are new and grand:  John Coyne's creations are
15 (Fasolt) and 16 (Fafner) feet high, gliding about freely, their heads
and arms moved by black-clad "kuroko" assistants -- more "invisible" than
anything I have ever seen even in Japan.  I am not sure where their voices
came from (possibly the midsection), but Eric Halfvarson's Fafner came
across through the mesh, Reinhard Hagen's Fasolt didn't fare as well.

Luck was with SFO tonight:  the last-minute illness of Marjana Lipovsek
brough her cover to the stage, and Elizabeth Bishop stepped into the role
of Fricka gloriously.  Besides her exceptionally clear and strong vocal
performance, Bishop also provided a far more restrained and believable
wronged wife than the usual shrill portrayal.

Bishop, in turn, was replaced by Kristin Clayton, who joined fellow Merola
graduate Elena Bocharova and Suzanne Ramo in the Rhinemaiden trio.

Tom Fox's Alberich (notwithstanding his appearance as
Rigoletto-in-a-jumpsuit) did well, but did not build sufficiently towards
the pivotal curse scene.  Thomas Sunnegardh's Mime was as a vocal and
theatrical delight, Gary Rideout's Mime just exactly right.

There are no small roles in the "Ring":  Jeffrey Wells' weak Donner
and, especially, James Cornelison's inaudible Froh brought the entire
performance down by several notches.  (Wells is scheduled as the third
cycle's Wotan.)

Bob Ringwood's new constumes are impressive, but he has a hair fixation
which we could do without:  the Rhinemaidens are bald to the top of their
heads, and sport huge quantities of hair in the back, both male and female
gods have manes for hair, and even Wotan looks like Siegfried at his heroic
hairiest.  (Hmmm.  Maybe hair runs in the family?)

Still, this is not a "Ring-about-hair"; even this bit of novelty or excess
did not interfere with the over-all honest effort and good performance.
This, thank goodness, looks like a "Ring" pure and simple.

Janos Gereben/SF
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