The god lost his domain: James Morris thundered.

The father lost his daughter:  Morris whispered, crumbled, dissolved in
pain.

In the hushed audience, there were stifled sobs, and the glorious music
peaked almost intrusively, the Magic Fire -- *any* sound -- interrupting
a uniquely magic moment.

Any other time, the last-minute replacement in the title role would be
the headline and pretty much the whole story, but not tonight.

Frances Ginzer sang instead of the still-ailing Jane Eaglen, and she
did wonderfully well, but this "Walkuere" in the second cycle of the
San Francisco Opera "Ring" belonged to Morris, who sang the Wotan of
a lifetime.

How great was he? Positively Hotteresque.  Yes.  I am one of Hans Hotter's
most fervent admirers, but what we witnessed in the War Memorial tonight
was clearly on that level:  the vocal and acting majesty, power, effortless
projection, warmth and beauty of tone, even the diction -- not always the
best from Morris (and, of course, in that department, Hotter cannot be
touched).  By now, Morris is using his entire body to create a grand Wotan;
several times, the slightest motion of his shoulders betrays intense
feelings when his back it turned to the audience.

And there is something Morris has developed in the 15 years of singing
the role that goes even beyond the Hotter standard:  he commands maximum
attention with minimum volume in key scenes.  I have never heard anyone
whisper with such force as Morris does, in yielding to Fricka, in
dismissing (and killing) Hunding.  It is a majestic and yet utterly
human performance.

"With a Wotan who understands suffering, a Bruennhilde who knows how to
listen (one of the most treasurable and rarest of stage skills), and a
worthy audience, this scene is one of the greatest in musical theater,"
Michael Steinberg has written, speaking of the Act 2 encounter.  Both there
and in the climactic Act 3 confrontation and farewell, Morris, Ginzer, and
Donald Runnicles' superb orchestra have created those "greatest" moments.
Principal cellist David Kadarauch, Janet Popesco (English horn), Philip
Fath (clarinet), concertmaster Kay Stern and the entire orchestra -- in the
middle of the four cycles -- are reaching new heights performance after
performance.

It is such nonsense to keep focussing on Andrei Serban's direction --
simple, unobtrusive, "clean" as it is -- and neglect the pivotal, glorious
role of the orchestra.  It was Steinberg who did some insightful counting
in the Act 1 scene of the initial meeting between Siegfried and Sieglinde:
"It obviously takes some words and some singing to exchange information,
but the astonish thing here is that in this scene of 224 measures, 119
measures are for the orchestra alone.

"These passages are not just connective tissue; they are intensely
expressive music that commands our most sympathetic attention, and even
where Siegmund and Sieglinde sing, the orchestra sings with them at no
less a degree of intensity."

This is true throughout the "Ring," but perhaps most obviously and
prominently in "Die Walkuere." And it is the rock-solid, sustained,
inexorable sound from Runnicles' orchestra that creates the platform for
such unforgettable performances as Morris' and Deborah Voigt's.  Tonight
was a special Sieglinde as well, Voigt's voice soaring, even as every word
came through as in an effortless conversation -- one of the finest dictions
I ever heard by an American in a Wagner opera (certain parties in Bayreuth
included).

Ginzer had a tentative beginning in her first dialogue with Wotan,
even going off pitch ever so slightly on some notes.  But she came back
quickly and strongly, and for the rest of the evening, she sang a splendid
Bruennhilde -- not huge and "Eaglenesque," but strong enough, very musical,
and with an excellent stage presence.  It is unknown at this point if
Ginzer needs to continue in the second cycle (pending Eaglen's recovery),
but she is definitely scheduled for the third cycle, and I am looking
forward eagerly to her appearances in "Siegfried" and "Goetterdaemmerung."

And, there were, again, Marjana Lipovsek's Fricka (believable, scary,
powerful); Mark Baker's calm, confident, vocally flawless Siegmund (lacking
only the cutting edge of a true heldentenor -- an *option* for the role);
the great Valkyries of Elizabeth Bishop, Claudia Waite, Catherine Cook;
Reinhard Hagen's dramatic Hunding (in acting more than in voice).

Janos Gereben/SF
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