11-17-2022, 12:26 PM
Any night spent at SF Opera is a good night. Stacy bought tix as a birthday present for Tara. It's the most played opera of them all.
Being SF, the cast was diverse, which was cool. Eun Sun Kim conducting. Violetta was Pretty Yende from South Africa and she rose to the occasion. What a voice. I thought Alfredo (Jonathan Tetelman) was being too dramatic at first, too much bombast, but then I recognized that this was Italian opera so it worked. Alfredo's dad (Simone Piazzola) was my favorite. He could make his opera voice sound almost conversational which is amazing considering that opera is all about belting out the biggest notes to an auditorium full of people without any amplification. Opera stars are basically yelling singers, and to hit those sustained notes at that volume is just superhuman.
There was a Fight Director, but there really isn't a fight. There's a gauntlet slap but the duel is offstage, in between acts. How much did that dude get paid? I want that job.
If you don't know this opera, Act 1 is happy and peppy with the catchiest signature tune. Act 2 has 2 parts (a set change) and it's a downward spiral. Act 3 is one long death scene.
We had a fine time. Tara requested her birthday dinner be at Jijime, a Korean place on Geary, and it was excellent. I had the seafood ramen, medium spicy, and it was delicious. Highly recommend this place. Not too expensive. Plus it's just a short walk from her apartment.
I was really struck by the architecture of the War Memorial this time. We were seated in the grand tier (2nd balcony) at the rail against the wall on house right. It offered a spectacular view of the stage and the ceiling - the centerpiece chandelier (if that's what you'd call it) was blowing my mind with its design.
A fine night in SF.
Being SF, the cast was diverse, which was cool. Eun Sun Kim conducting. Violetta was Pretty Yende from South Africa and she rose to the occasion. What a voice. I thought Alfredo (Jonathan Tetelman) was being too dramatic at first, too much bombast, but then I recognized that this was Italian opera so it worked. Alfredo's dad (Simone Piazzola) was my favorite. He could make his opera voice sound almost conversational which is amazing considering that opera is all about belting out the biggest notes to an auditorium full of people without any amplification. Opera stars are basically yelling singers, and to hit those sustained notes at that volume is just superhuman.
There was a Fight Director, but there really isn't a fight. There's a gauntlet slap but the duel is offstage, in between acts. How much did that dude get paid? I want that job.
If you don't know this opera, Act 1 is happy and peppy with the catchiest signature tune. Act 2 has 2 parts (a set change) and it's a downward spiral. Act 3 is one long death scene.
We had a fine time. Tara requested her birthday dinner be at Jijime, a Korean place on Geary, and it was excellent. I had the seafood ramen, medium spicy, and it was delicious. Highly recommend this place. Not too expensive. Plus it's just a short walk from her apartment.
I was really struck by the architecture of the War Memorial this time. We were seated in the grand tier (2nd balcony) at the rail against the wall on house right. It offered a spectacular view of the stage and the ceiling - the centerpiece chandelier (if that's what you'd call it) was blowing my mind with its design.
A fine night in SF.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse