Misha Didyk's des Grieux received some vitriolic comments (mine was: "beautifully sung, although not effortlessly and naturally projected"), but now there is high praise from a source not usually given to such: http://www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=music&article=254 Tackling a notorious 'tenor killer' Music San Francisco Opera's 'Manon Lescaut' has the right stuff Published 11/30/2006 by Stephanie von Buchau === It's interesting that this dafke review appears on the same day with Anthony Lane's decidedly minority defense of "The Fountain" (http://www.newyorker.com/critics/cinema/), and Alex Ross' extreme enchantment with Adams and Kurtag (http://www.newyorker.com/critics/music/articles/061204crmu_music1). Let a hundreds flowers bloom, I say. === Someone whose musico-biological background is impressive suggested that Didyk is practicing "laryngal suspension," actually trying to drop the larynx to create a larger "tube." That sounds worse than the results. === On the matter of the revival of curtain calls in the War Memorial at "Manon Lescaut," see the next-to-last item of http://www.sfcv.org/arts_revs/music_news_11_28_06.php: Hands at the Opera House... ... On the subject of hands, Chapter 2: Once upon a time, hands at the opera were used at the end of each act to applaud the artists, whether they deserved it or not. Then some years ago, something inexplicable happened. Intermission curtain calls disappeared altogether. And now, to confuse us even further, during the current "Manon Lescaut" performances there are curtain calls! Well-used to instant egress as the curtain comes down after each act, most of the audience is caught in a situation that requires them to walk ahead as they clap backward. (In the old days of consistent curtain calls, the routine was simpler: First applaud, then walk.) What does the Opera administration say about this? There is no firm new policy one way or another. But apparently David Gockley is bringing back intermission curtain calls on an "as needed" basis. What would constitute such a need? Perhaps when a major character is not coming back later in the opera (the art form is rife with victims of fatal misdeeds) or just had a big aria before intermission ... the possibilities are interesting and many. Janos Gereben/SF www.sfcv.org [log in to unmask]