After a Sunday matinee, when I saw my first ever “La Gioconda” [Historical Performances: “La Gioconda” with Leyla Gencer, Renato Cioni, Grace Bumbry and Maureen Forrester – San Francisco Opera, October 1, 1967], I returned to the War Memorial Opera House the following Friday night for my first performance ever of Verdi’s “Macbeth”. “Early Verdi” … Read more
Since the year 2006, I have reviewed each of the opera productions mounted by the San Francisco Operain the War Memorial Opera House, providing each with a letter grade.
Like the seminars associated with Ph.D. programs, I do not grade “on a curve”, but, instead expect that a San Francisco Opera performance of any opera, like a seminar grade for a doctoral student, should be an “A”. In those cases in which I believe the performance was of more than routine interest (and excellence) I give an A+. In previous calendar years, I have given grades as low as a “C”, but in the most recent years, “B” and “C” grades have been rare.
(I do not use the performance review to discuss whether the company’s management should have chosen a different opera, different director, or different cast, but review whatever opera performances the company has chosen to present.)
Grade A+
Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
Amon Miyamoto’s “Butterfly” production is an international co-production of several opera companies, including San Francisco Opera. Its most obvious departure from traditional productions is that it includes pantomime scenes that take place at Pinkerton’s death bed, when Trouble learns of the history of his parent’s relationship.
[Below: Miachel Fabiano (left) as Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton and Karah Son (right) as CIo-CIo San; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
The pantomimes worked. The production was also distinguished by impressive singing by soprano Karah Son (Cio-Cio San), Michael Fabiano (Pinkerton) and Lucas Meachem (Sharpless) and by an effective and illuminating scenic design.
In the late 1950s, San Francisco Opera’s formidable general manager, Kurt Herbert Adler, introduced “Die Frau ohne Schatten”, an operatic masterwork of Adler’s fellow Austrian, Richard Strauss, to American audiences. Adler’s successor as General Manager, Terrence McEwen introduced San Francisco Opera audiences to the beautiful opera productions associated with British artist David Hockney.
“Frau” was performed in several 20th century San Francisco Opera seasons. Hockney scenic designs” have been the focus of several productions over the past four decades. The company has performed Hockney productions of “The Rake’s Progress”, “Magic Flute”, “Tristan und Isolde” and “Turandot”. However, it was not until the second decade of the 21st century that “Frau”, for the first time in Hockney’s magnificent production, was performed in San Francisco.
[Below: the Emperor (David Butt Philip, bottom left) returns to the hunt; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
A dream cast was assembled, comprised of Camilla Nylund as the Empress, David Putt Philip as the Emperor, Linda Watson as the Nurse, Nina Stemme as the Dyer’s wife and Johan Reuter as Barak the Dyer. Recently knighted Sir Donald Runnicles, returning to the company that he served as Music Director between 1992 and 2009, conducted impressively.
Sir David McVicar’s theatrically stunning production of “Il Trovatore” returned to the War Memorial Opera House after a 14-year absence, in a dramatically effective revival by director Roy Rallo. The cast was led by tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz in the title role. It was my first opportunity to hear Chacón-Cruz in a spinto tenor role rather than the vocally less wetghty lyric tenor repertory for which he is famous.
[Below: Manrico (Arturo Chacón-Cruz) summons his forces to save his mother; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
As Manrico, Chacón-Cruz sang and acted impressively, and was matched by the vocal and dramatic performances of Angel Blue (Leonora), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Azucena), George Petean (Count di Luna) and Robert Pomakov (Ferrando).
Donizetti’s most famous romantic operatic comedy “L’Elisir d’Amore” The Elixir of Love] returned to the War Memorial Opera House. The bel canto opera has not been performed here in the last decade and a half. (This was the opera’s longest omission from the San Francisco Opera’s performance repertory of the past 75 years). The opera … Read more
The opera “Omar”, whose world premiere took place at Charleston, South Carolina’s Spoleto Festival only a year and a half ago, proved to be one of the most exciting 21st century operatic works to be performed so far by the San Francisco Opera.
The opera is loosely based on the life of the enslaved Muslim, Omar ibn Said. He was a member of a nomadic West African tribe that had been converted to Islam nine centuries before Omar’s birth. Omar was trained from age 12 as an Islamic scholar, and was fluent in spoken and written Arabic. Captured at age 37 by slavers and sold to American plantation owners, it is Omar’s prolific output of Arabic works (now in the Smithsonian Institution), written while in slavery, that has made his story so unique and profoundly absorbing
Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Operatic Composition and Rhiannon Giddens’ Libretto
The opera “Omar”, co-commissioned by the San Francisco Opera in league with six other American operatic companies, is the work of two “co-composers”, the multi-talented musicians, Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels.
[Below: Co-composer and librettist Rhiannon Giddens; edited image, based on an Ebru Yildiz photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
Both have professional backgrounds atypical of virtually all other opera composers. Their wide-ranging experience with diverse musical genres include Abels’ scores for Hollywood films and Giddens’ wide-ranging musical accmplishments, including bluegrass and folk music. Giddens has performed at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry as a member of a trio of artists continuing the Black string band traditions that predate the Civil War.
[Below: Co-composer Michael Abels; edited image, based on an Eric Schwabel photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
Jointly, Giddens and Abels have produced an opera, whose remarkable libretto is matched with beautiful vocal writing and superb, brilliantly rhythmic and melodic orchestration.
Jamez McCorkle’s Omar
Louisiana lyric tenor Jamez McCorkle proved to a be dramatically confident Omar. Onstage most of the performance, McCorkle, through Omar’s appeals to Allah and his resignation to his fate (“The whirlwind has me”) effectively conveyed the humanity of a soul existing in an inhumane world.
McCorkle’s repertory confirms a voice with the vocal flexibility to perform Tamino in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and the power to sing the role of Bacchus in Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos”. His performance as Omar demonstrated his vocal expressiveness and security.
[Below: Jamez McCorkle as Omar; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
Brittany Renee’s Julie
Minnesota soprano Brittany Renee displayed a vocally expressive voice of inherent beauty, incorporating a soft, beautiful vibrato. Renee’s artistry showed brilliantly in Julie’s affecting aria My Daddy Wore a Cap Like Yours, when Julie recognized that Omar is wearing a Muslim prayer-cap.
It is the character Julie that persuades Omar to escape the harsh Charleston environment to Fayetteville, North Carolina and to seek the Owen plantation there.
[Below: Brittany Renee as Julie; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
Taylor Raven’s Fatima
Mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven, herself a native of the Fayetteville region of North Carolina in which the opera’s second act is centered, performed the role of Omar’s mother Fatima with graceful poise. Although Fatima is is killed by slavers in the first scene, Raven’s Fatima reappears periodically.
[Below: Taylor Raven as Omar’s mother Fatima; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
Daniel Okulitch’s Johnson/Owen, Barry Banks’ Auctioneer/TaylorandLaura Krumm’s Eliza
Canadian baritone Daniel Okulitch and British tenor Barry Banks each portrayed two characters, one villainous, one more sympathetic. At a slave auction in Charleston, Banks was the Slave Auctioneer and Okulitch the mean-spirited slaveowner Johnson. Both artists performed characters in the Fayetteville scenes, Okulitch as Owen and Banks as Taylor, who, even though part of a slaveowning society, did not share Johnson’s inhumanity.
[Below: Omar (Jamez McCorkle, front) stands before the image of an escaping slave; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
Although a smaller role, Iowa mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm’s character Eliza serves a very important function in this opera. Eliza convinces her father, Owen, to obtain Omar for his own plantation, which results in the Omar’s opportunity to secure his place in history.
[Below: Eliza (Laura Krumm, right) convinces her father, Owen (Daniel Okulitch, left) to add another person to his plantation as Taylor (Barry Banks, center) looks on in approval; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
Norman Garrett’s Abdul/Abe, Edward Graves’ Amoudou, Calvin Griffin’s OlufemiK, Kenneth Overton’s Suleimanand Other Cast Members
Four smaller roles in the opera were assumed by artists on whose operatic performances at San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera and New York’s Glimmerglass Festival, I have reported.
Texas baritone Norman Garrett made a forceful impression as Abdul. Attempting to guide slave traders away from his own tribal community and towards others, Abdul sadly discovered the perils of trying to negotiate with evil forces. Garrett also performed the role of Abe.
[Below: Norman Garrett as Omar’s brother Abdul; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
Ohio bass-baritone Calvin Griffin was Olufemi. I have followed Griffin’s career ever since he was an apprentice artist at Santa Fe Opera in 2014 and 2015 and a Glimmerglass Festival young artist in 2016 and 2017. His Glimmerglass role as Elviro was especially noteworthy [Review: An Elegantly Performed Glimmerglass Festival “Xerxes” – July 15, 2017].
Maryland tenor Edward Graves was Amadou. I have seen Graves’ performances during his two year San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship in Wagner’s “Lohengrin”, Verdi’s ‘Il Trovatore” and “La Traviata”, and three roles at the 2019 Glimmerglass Festival,
Pennsylvania baritone Kenneth Overton was Suleiman. I have cited his previous appearances at San Francisco Opera in 2008 (George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess”) 2010 (Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West”) and 2019 (Britten’s “Billy Budd”).
New Jersey mezzo-soprano (and former Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist) Rehanna Thelwell was Kobe Ellen and a Caller.
“Omar’s” Dancers
New York choreographer Kiara Benn was the creative force behind the opera’s frequent dance sequences. Dancer Jermaine McGhee appeared at several points in the opera bedecked in a colorful costume as an Ancestral Figure.
Other featured dancers included Illinois dancer James Johnson, Wisconsin dancer Marianna Locklear, California dancer Carol Martin and California dancer Micah Mock.
[Below: dancers, from left, are James Johnson, Micah Mock, Coral Martin and Marlayna Locklear; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
Co-composer Giddens has described the importance of square dancing in North Carolina’s social history. Significantly, the opera incorporates lively sequences that underscore Giddens’ premise. The dances further evoke memories of Floyd’s opera “Susannah” [Review: Racette, Aceto, Jovanovich in Brilliant New Production of “Susannah” – San Francisco Opera, September 6, 2014]. Most of “Omar” and all of “Susannah” take place in the Eastern region of America’s Old South.
San Francisco Opera’s dance master is Irish choreographer Colm Seery.
“Omar’s” Chorus Soloists
A mix of artists represent both the San Francisco Opera regular and extra choruses and visiting artists. Pennsylvania Chorus Master John Keene heads San Francisco Opera’s Regular and Extra Choruses
The “Omar” chorus members are often onstage, sometimes representing West African or slave populations.
Visiting artists include California tenor Christopher Craig, California tenor John Fluker, New York basso cantante Earl Hazell, Pennsylvania tenor Ernest C. Jackson, Jr., California mezzo-soprano Jessica-Elizabeth, California mezzo-soprano Joanna Lynn-Jacobs, California soprano Thalia Moore and Texas soprano Sydnee Turrentine-Johnson
[Below: Omar (Jamez McCorkle (center left in white garment) surrounded by members of the “Omar” chorus; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
San Francisco Opera regular choristers include California mezzo-soprano Aleta Braxton, Minnesota baritone Wiliam Lee Bryan, California baritone John Fulton and Florida bass-baritone Wilford Kelly. The slaveship crewmen were San Francisco Opera regular choristers, Rhode Island baritone William O’Neill and Missouri tenor Chester Pidduck.
San Francisco Opera extra choristers included Califonria mezzo-soprano Melissa Dufort and Alexander Taite and California soprano Chloe Vaught.
Maestro John Kennedyand the San Francisco Opera Orchestra
[Below: Maestro John Kennedy; edited image of a publicity photograph, from the Spoleto Festival].
The “Omar” score is rich in solo opporutnities accompanying the action on stage for the principal instrumentalists. Especially praiseworthy was a beautifully performed quartet consisting of concertmaster Kay Stern, Second Violin principal Jeremy Preston, Viola principal Carla Maria Rodrigues and Cello associate principal Thalia Moore.
Director Kaneza Schaal and Production Crew
New York director Kaneza Schaal coordinated the the complex production, much of it organized around Arabic writing, and West African Muslim images.
[Below: Director Kaneza Schaal; edited image of a Bart Michiels Studio photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.]
The fluid sets were created by New York designers Christopher Myers and Pennsylvania designer Amy Rubin.
[Below: Designer Christopher Myers; edited image of a publicity photograph.]
The costumes, many of them covered with written Arabic script, were created by Colorado designer April M. Hickman and Illinois designer Micheline Russell-Brown. Mexican designer Pablo Santiago created the lighting, Massachusetts designer Joshua Higgason, the projections. Caifornia director Dave Maier choreographed fight sequences.
Recommendation
The operatic art form’s roots are based in Europe. Although the story lines of many operas take place in exotic, non-European locales, those locales predominantly reflect European imagination of what those locales are like.
“Omar” is based on autobiographical information written by an enslaved, literate, African scholar, fluent in Arabic and in Muslim teaching. One of the opera’s scenes take place in a part of West Africa where literate Africans of Muslim faith are preyed upon by slave traders. Other scenes takes place in slave-owning communities of the Southeastern United States.
Neither the slave trade nor slaveholding presently exist, but we have ample documentation that informs this opera’s libretto. We can be confident that the opera’s story truly portrays a man who existed, and whose sobering story is one we should know. That Omar’s story is accompanied with a melodious, nicely orchestrated operatic score that is always interesting and often inspiring is a further bonus.
I recommend the opera to both the veteran opera-goer and the person new to opera.