Opera in the Park 2009

* Notes * 
San Francisco Opera's Opera in the Park performance this year was rather charming. Incoming Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducted with great enthusiasm, and to begin he faced the audience for the National Anthem and conducted us. Both the overture to La Forza del Destino and the intermezzo to Manon Lescaut sounded grand and sweeping. He also  We heard quite a lot from the current Trovatore at SF Opera: Sondra Radvanovsky sang "Tacea la notte...Di tale amor," Marco Berti sang "Ah, si, ben mio...Di quella pira," Quinn Kelsey sang "Il balen del suo sorriso," and the three of them sang "Deserto sulla terra...Di geloso amor" together.

The Adlers sang several selections starting with Daniela Mack's "Non più mesta." Mack was a bit choppy and did sing "Voi che sapete" with greater fluidity. Leah Crocetto did well with both Donizetti and Puccini. David Lomelí sounded very fine as well, singing "Che gelida manina" and then "O Mimì, tu più non torni" with Quinn Kelsey. The afternoon also saw a lovely performance from Ewa Podleś of "Cruda sorte" from La Italiana in Algeri. Her low notes are richly secure, but those higher up in her tessitura are not exactly in tune. Continuing with Rossini, Andrea Silvestrelli gave an amusing rendition of "La calunnia." Brandon Jovanovich closed the afternoon with a beautiful "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca.

* Tattling * 
There was some talking, including a woman on her cell phone as Crocetto sang from Lucia.

The rehearsal earlier in the day was exceedingly entertaining, Luisotti sang in place of the singers for the first half. Podleś did not rehearse, nor did she sing in the encore "O sole mio." The encore was hilarious, and the women held their notes longer than the men. Luisotti danced around the stage during the ovation.