Abscheulicher! [cue laugh track]

While all eyes and ears on the East Coast seem to be trained on the disappointment that is Roméo et Juliette at the Met, out here we've been having a regular laff-in at SF Opera's hilarious production of:

FIDELIO!

Hear...

...the worst spoken German since your Elementary German class had to read out loud from Chapter 3 in Deutsch Heute!

...Beethoven played like it was Debussy on Quaaludes, utterly lacking in clarity, energy or direction!

...Thomas Moser rush desperately through Florestan's 2nd act opening aria, knowing that he was barely hitting the notes and just needed to get to the end so he could lie down!

See...

...Juha Uusitalo as Don Pizarro posture dramatically while silently moving his mouth!

...SF Opera take on absurdist theater, as Christine Brewer tries to convince 3000 people that the simple act of taking off her cap is as shocking as The Crying Game!

...Leonore and Florestan pop up from the set like candies in an Advent calendar!

...principals at a major opera house stand still in a line as they sing trios and quartets!

...the frickin' largest starving man in the world!

(and, my personal favorite)

..."Gelobt sei Gott!" translated as "I'm coming!"

~~~~~~

I went on opening night; more detailed commentary from Lisa, Cedric, and Joshua. Aspects that transcended unintentional amusement included very fine singing from Arthur Woodley as Rocco and especially Eric Owens (of Diet Aria fame) as Don Fernando. SFMike tells me that Herr Moser just had a bad night and is much improved. I sure hope so, because honestly I was frightened for him last Wednesday.

Vielen Dank to La H- for a delightful evening. It was truly a pleasure.

Herr S-, thanks so much for coming today. I am tickled that we finally had a chance to connect. Enjoy the show! I hope I haven't spoiled it for you. ;-)

Comments

[Nick]

Ok, seriously. One of the best posts on opera I've read this year, but I mean...

~~~~~~

regarding "Gelobt sei Gott!"??? Didn't you forget to put 8===D in front of it?

[M. C-]

ROFLMAO

[not literally, but i am greatly amused]

[Lisa Hirsch]

Oh, this is great! (And you are very welcome.)

[Heather]

Check today's Chronicle Datebook section. There is a letter by someone who loved Fidelio, hated Atomic, and advocates for two critics--one "for the people" and another for those of us in the trenches. Sighing heavily, (Atomic a "disaster"?) I can only say, wtf?

[Lisa Hirsch]

That person needs a blog! To be the voice of the igno, er, the people! To be the anti-Joshua! (Hey, I disagree with him sometimes myself!)

The fact that someone disagrees with a critic doesn't make the critic wrong and doesn't invalidate that person's enjoyment of a performance that left something to be desired.

[cedichou]

characters popping out of the set like candies in an advent calendars! -> this is just so true. I wish I could write something so right yet so funny.

You were at the premiere as well? You should say hi next time.

[andrea b.]

Oh boy, bad pronunication, stupid a** staging and sets, poor musicianship and criminally inaccurate supertitles - those are some of my favorite pet peeves. Advent candles *and* beginners reading German from Ch. 3... very funny (and evocative).

Keep up the great work! (I simply must add the standing room to my blog's side bar...)

ps feel free to come on over and read about some major staging travesties in Baltimore's recent Sonnambula on my blog. pps I neglected to mention that they had a major TYPO in the supertitles that night, to wit: "La Somnambula" (?!) Arrrrggghhh...)

[Lisa Hirsch]

I truthfully don't think the set was bad - it's just that bit where you think it's going to kill the leading singers. :-)

[sfmike]

Actually, the rumor proved untrue, and Herr Moser was still sounding pretty awful at tonight's performance (Saturday the 19th). It makes me sad because he was so good in "Peter Grimes" back in 1998 and also in "Ariadne auf Naxos" a few years back.

When the Rocco is by far the best singer onstage in "Fidelio," it is NOT a good sign. I quite enjoyed the Advent Candies coup de theatre, though the two principals were so huge they really had to get close to make sure they weren't bonked by the stage. Runnicles' conducting, which I usually love, was all over the place tonight and his finale tempo was so crazed in relation to the rest of the evening that nobody kept up.

A weird evening, but then again Leonora, Florestan and Pizarro are weirdly difficult to sing well. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard those parts done well live. By the time the great Hildegard Behrens sang it here in 1992, her voice was shredded from one too many Brunnhildes at the Met.

[Henry Holland]

the worst spoken German since your Elementary German class had to read out loud from Chapter 3 in Deutsch Heute!

Hahahahaha. Ah, the memories.....

Best supertitle translation I've seen is, during a searing Fiery Angel all those years ago, Ruprecht being translated as saying "Renata, you're raving". While it's true that all throughout the opera, Renata does nothing but rave like a crazy woman, it caused a roar of laughter, which rather undercut the musical/dramatic tension.

[AlbGlinka]

I was falling asleep throughout, but then again it's been a busy week or two.

Love the Advent Calendar metaphor.

Did you hear about the performance where the stage crew forgot to open the hatch doors in the last scene, and as the deck was being lowered there almost was a crushed Diva/Divo sandwich onstage?

PS: Hope you'll stop by my new Blogspot site, I had to abandon AO-Hell because of hideous banner ads.

[Henry Holland]

I talked to a friend who lives up in San Francisco and he was scathing about the Fidelio. He also said that Moser is going to sing Tristan next year. Yikes! If he's sounding bad singing Florestan, how on earth is he going to handle Tristan? Oh well, that just means I won't have to worry about spending four hours standing upstairs.

[M. C-]

Working backwards:

Henry: No kidding. I also heard that Moser would be singing Tristan, and I can't imagine anything but an unmitigated disaster. As snotty as I am from time to time, I usually don't think people are Bad. His Florestan, however, was Bad.

Albert: Wtf is up with the stage crew??? That damn curtain landed smack on top of the chair at the end of Act I in Forza Last night, and it got caught AGAIN on the set at the end of Act III! It's past comical and into disturbing.

Mike: "When the Rocco is by far the best singer onstage in 'Fidelio,' it is NOT a good sign." Amen to that. I think Christine Brewer did a respectable job singing, but the horrific German made it completely impossible for me to believe that she was Leonore, rather than Christine Brewer.

Andrea: My favorite title typo? The time I went to see a movie about spelling bees titled "Spellbound," and got a ticket for "SPELLBUOUND."

Lisa: I didn't think the set was Bad either, really. That moment was just too gimmicky for me.

Cedric: I'll look for you by the Milano cookies. Perhaps you could encourage the press office to get better intermission snacks! (and better coffee, please)

Heather: I think that letter deserves its own post. All in due time...

[cedichou]

Re: intermission snacks. Two things: last spring for cosi, they outsourced the snack room to some external pr firm, there was wine. Maybe this time again, cross your fingers. Second: whatever you think of the milano cookies and coffee, it is head and shoulders above the Met's, which has nothing, NOTHING!, except a snotty attitude. For a f*ing world premiere (at least there was a special spread with cheese in SF for Atomic). So I'll be happy with my petit ecolier.

[Coach Outlet]

future political Coach Outletand to ensure their re-electability after passing unpopular measures

head of state will oversee