The first performance tonight of the San Francisco Opera's revival of the familiar and wonderful Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production of Verdi's "Falstaff" blew hot and cold. It's tough to do justice to this "perfect opera," even with the late director's guiding hand - the warm rain in the opening scene, the dazzling white of the laundry-strewn about the stage (in Thomas J. Munn' s excellent lighting), all the way to the enchanted Windsor Forest of that incredible finale. Ponnelle assistant Vera Lucia Calabria directed the revival of the 1985 production, last seen here in 1989, finishing the run before the big quake hit, playing havoc with "Idomeneo" and "Aida." It is a challenge to rise to the level of Verdi's masterpiece, even with a cast that does much credit to the outgoing (often justly criticized) Lotfi Mansouri/Christina Scheppelmann administration. Also on the plus side, perhaps most decisively, is the recently red-hot SFO orchestra, under the direction of Donald Runnicles. Against those tangible, hot assets, waves of cold entered the War Memorial, something vague, difficult to define. It was a cold house, with many empty seats, and a respectful but passionless audience. The orchestra, which played like angels through large portions, sounded cold at first, almost as if it had done too well at rehearsals and now it just couldn't get up to its usual focus and concentration. The chorus fairly fell apart at the beginning of the Windsor Forest scene, only to rally valiantly at the end - but there was a slack, imprecise ensemble the like of which I haven't heard (thank goodness!) in this house for some time. (Chorus director Ian Robertson and Runnicles must share responsibility for the slip - whether it came from lack of preparation or lack of direction.) Cold as in the illness must have been the cause of Nancy Gustafson's cautious, low-key Alice; it was a performance without fault, but nowhere at the level we have come to expect from this great soprano. John Del Carlo's performance in the title role presented the biggest, most obvious deficit. He had no high notes in Act 1 and by the last act, he had no voice left at all. Having just finished, with less rest than Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers get, seven performances as Fritz Kothner in "Die Meistersinger," it's small wonder that Del Carlo didn't last, but there is a question about his casting in the role anyway. But now to the hot stuff. Runnicles' balances were fabulous, strings and woodwinds played wonderfully again - apparently THEY didn't tire through the "Meistersinger" run. Elena Zaremba's Quickly was as rich and powerful as expected from her consistently outstanding appearances here. There were three fine San Francisco debuts, led by the strangely delayed one of Dwayne Croft, whose Ford was warm, mellow, spectacular - with a couple of rough spots. Victoria Livengood's Meg Page and Paul Groves' Fenton were decisively on the plus side, although Groves' high notes were less than something to write home about. The hottest of the hot was Anna Netrebko's Nannetta. . . up to a point. In Act 1, the "old" Netrebko silver was back - the unforgettable sound from her 1995 debut here as Lyudmilla - but with new strength, perfect breath control, seamless, soaring, thrilling singing: the best Nannetta there is or even can be. By Act 3, however, whatever has kept the (still very young) soprano from a greater stardom has returned, although only as a hint. I've been struggling for five years now trying to describe "it" and I am still not up to the task. A slightly hooded quality, a microtone off the true pitch. . . something which was completely absent in the glorious Act 1 performance. The smaller roles were well cast: Stanislaw Schwets as the imposing Pistola, Doug Jones as Bardolfo, Jonathan Boyd as Dr. Caius, Dan Stanley as Page. For the rest of the run, if Del Carlo's performance improves, if Gustafson's strength returns, if the chorus gets it together all the way (not only at the end), and if there is more buzz and excitement in the house - this will be one heck of a "Falstaff," and there are few better experiences in opera. Janos Gereben/SF [log in to unmask]