You need to look far and wide to find three younger, more outstanding,
more good-looking singers than the Philharmonia Baroque fielded tonight
in Herbst Theater.

Lisa Milne and Iain Paton, from Scotland, and Philip Cutlip, from heaven,
were the dynamite soloists in Haydn's "The Seasons," and that's not a
translation -- instead of the German of "Die Jahreszeiten," Nicholas
McGegan used a retranslation of van Swieten's adaptation of Scottish poet
James Thomson's bucolic narration from the 1720s.  Makes a lot of sense:
English-language singers performing for an American audience -- why not go
back to the "original"?

The Scottish artists and the San Francisco audience couldn't quite figure
out what to do when the normally below-zero Van Ness wind tunnel came up
with 70 degrees at night on the street, 80+ inside the theater.  (A couple
of nights ago, in Santa Rosa, Thomas Quasthoff commented on the 90-degree
day there by insisting that "today, we had snow back home.")

By Part II (*after* "Summer"), McGegan, the chorus, and orchestra
shed their jackets, leaving the ladies in a quandry.  It's so unfair
and discriminatory!  (I saw worse:  on the Honolulu Symphony tour of
Micronesia, men played shirtless, in shorts -- except the cellos, and
I never figured that one out.)

At any rate, the soloists maintained their attire and dignity.  Also, they
sang like angels.  Why San Francisco -- with an opera music director and
choral director from Edinborough -- had to wait for these singers until now
is a mystery.

Milne looks a lot and sounds a bit like a Ruth Ann Swenson, circa 20 years
ago.  (La Swenson, herself, will sing in the same theater on April 22, in
a program of Rossini, Bellini, Verdi, and Mozart.) She has Presence galore,
a bright tone, with occasional Schwarzkopfian catches in the throat, and a
technique that's impressive but not yet flawless -- she stints on long
notes and phrases to maintain breath control.  But she is a delight; look
for her "Rosenkavalier" Sophie at the Scottish Opera and "Freischuetz"
Aennchen at ENO.  Using a perfectly clear and standard diction otherwise,
Milne had a ball with the ballad "by bonny Hannah," as she sand "kes" for
kiss, "tak" for take, "fether" for father, and -- best of all -- "mecht"
for might.

Paton (to sing the "Bartered Bride" Vasek with Opera North and "Rake's
Progress" in Dublin) should be a major Mozart and Handel tenor for years
to come.  He is all in the clear:  voice, intonation, diction...  clear,
clear, clear, and has an excellent chance to be a great lyric tenor without
"excessive lyricism."

Good as those two are, it was Cutlip who just blew me away.  I heard him
before, in Glass' "Les Enfants Terribles" a couple of years ago and in a
touring SF Opera Center program, but I never really *heard* him:  a strong
heroic/noble baritone, with warmth *and* an edge -- effortless, perfect
diction, great presence...  Is this the age of the baritone or what?

Cutlip and Haydn collaborated on a stunning finish:  the last few pages
of "The Seasons" are beyond wonderful (not everybody makes it there,
through three hours of eventless bucolica), the music encompassing Bach
(the concluding fugue), Beethoven, and Purcell.  Cutlip's "Consider this,
misguided man" included all that, the final resignation and wisdom of a
great composer in his last summing up, philosphically and musically.  Text,
mood, feeling -- it's "The Tempest" in music.  And Cutlip was perfect.
(His bio shows no upcoming opera performances; I hope it's just a "clerical
error.")

The soloists' performance was not matched by the orchestra and, especially,
the Philharmonia Chorale.  Throughout the long evening, they were uneven,
hit-and-miss, clearly without sufficient rehearsal time.  But this was the
first of five performances, and subsequent evenings, you may yet hear the
soloists as well as tonight, and the orchestra and chorus improving.

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