* Notes *
The opening performance of Idomeneo at San Francisco Opera started off a bit shaky, but did hit its stride by the second act. John Copley's 1999 production has a very similar look to his Ariodante seen at the War Memorial earlier this year. Certainly this is no surprise, as the productions also share the same set designer and costume designer. John Conklin's set for Idomeneo is fairly quiet, there was less banging and such for the scene changes than in Ariodante. One was not quite sure what to make of the spoils of war hanging from ropes with pulleys in the first scene, but the rest of the set is perfectly reasonable, the backdrops are especially lovely. The costumes, from Michael Stennett, recall Tiepolo, not only in style but in palette.
Runnicles conducted the orchestra crisply enough, the only issues seemed to be a few minor pitch problems from the horns and oboes. Adler Alek Shrader sounded nice as Arbace, despite his youth, which is at odds with the role. In her debut at San Francisco Opera, Iano Tamar (Elettra) was overwhelmed by the orchestra in Act I, but was audible for the rest of the evening. Her voice has a certain smoky fragility, but is appealing. Genia Kühmeier's main stage debut as Ilia was more impressive. Though she has the slightest harshness at the top, her voice is beautifully clear and pure. Her "Se il padre perdei" in Act II was gorgeous.
Mezzo-soprano Alice Coote was exceedingly breathy in Act I, almost gasping. She did look convincingly male as Idamante, though she is perhaps a little shorter than Kühmeier. The rest of her performance was smoother, though it was not completely amazing. On the other hand, tenor Kurt Streit was vocally sensational in the title-role. He did have trouble with his train, it got caught on the set at one point and seemed to trip him. However, his performance was engaging nonetheless, and his Act II aria, "Fuor del mar," was gut-wrenching.
* Tattling *
There was much whispering in Box A, but it did die down as the evening wore on. One watch alarm was heard three times, but there were no mobile phone rings. Someone did take a flash photograph at the beginning of Act II.
I was able to hear the prompter after Idamante first entered. There was very little backstage noise but a walkie talkie was clearly heard in Act III just after the chorus had gotten to place.
I absolutely loved the horse heads at the end of Act II and giggled hysterically during the applause.
