A few days off?

I wish. No I have been here however I haven't felt inspired to sit down and write something no matter how bad. Now that the weekend is about over and I have seen one more opera and have ridden BART to the airport, I have a few things to put into this blog.

First, the opera. After reading the review in the Chronicle I did not expect much. Perhaps this was a good thing. Perhaps things improved since opening night. Whatever the case, I enjoyed most everything about the music. Yes, mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick as Azucena, was the best in the cast. Ever since her moving "O Don Fatale" in the Merola Grand Finale concert in the eighties, I have enjoyed her and her voice seems to be just a good today. She is a fully committed singer who can be counted on to do her best. The voice of Marina Mescheriakova (Leonora), while not as agile and flexible as say, a Joan Sutherland, was nevertheless a big voice and capable of some very tender singing when required. The Count di Luna was Carlos Alvarez making his SFO debut in a somewhat fuzzy performance at times but he turned in a moving "Il balen del suo sorriso" marred only by the incessant ringing of a cell phone. Richard Margison's Manrico, while not the most beautiful, was successful if labored at times. The only vocal problems I noted were some thick high notes. Fortunately for him, his final high C's at the end of "Di quella pira" were covered by the chorus so his vocal problems did not stick out like a sore thumb at that point. Based upon the ovations at the final curtain, Zajick and Alvarez were the two crowd favorites with Mescheriakova garnering considerable applause also. The orchestra under Marco Armiliato played very well. In fact, I think it was one of the best performances for this group in the month of June.

The production, however, was weird, weird, weird! For one thing, what was the location? What was the time period?What were those statues or portions thereof (a human head and horse head being the most prominent). The critic for the Chronicle desribed it as looking like a coal cellar. Well, I guess that is as good as any expalantion but why those statues, why a grand piano, why five read chairs under intense spotlights and why no anvils in the "Anvil Chorus". The chorus stood there pointing at the ground and raising and lowering their arms. It looked so silly that I could hardly supress a laugh. All things considered, the best opera in June was at the symphony with their semi-staged performance of "The Flying Dutchman" of which I have spoken in an earlier blog.

Now, about BART to the airport. After a delay of two years and some cost overruns due to change orders and squashed snakes, the nearly nine mile extension to the airport and to Millbrae officially started service today. From the platform level as seen from inside the train, the South San Francisco and San Bruno Stations seemed similar in design to the Balboa Park and Glen Park Stations. (I did not go to the Millbrae Station today.) The airport station is light and airy and functional and connects with the already open Air Train upstairs which connects the various terminals and garage with the car rental agencies towards the north end of the airport. There seemed to be a lot of activity today and apparently everything went smoothly which is good but I am still wondering how some of these people with large suitcases are going to mesh with commuters during rush hours.

So I have had a full day and feel tired and sluggish now. I kept falling asleep while trying to watch the news and 60 Minutes on TV so perhaps I will turn in early tonight.

I hope everyone has a good week.