Yesterday afternoon’s return to the War Memorial Opera House for a second encounter with the San Francisco Opera (SFO) production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 366 opera Idomeneo did not fare much better than opening night. Once again, the curtain opened on Ilia in Crete following the defeat of King Priam in the Trojan War. From the very first notes sung by soprano Ying Fang, I felt I was experiencing the rise of the next vocalist worthy of undivided attention. The combination of that technique and her dramatic skills made her the most satisfying point of focus. (Even Elettra’s mad scene, sung by soprano Elza van den Heever towards the end of the opera, never rose to Fang’s level of commitment sustained through the opera’s three acts.)
Sadly, Director Lindy Hume seemed more occupied with rearranging chairs on the stage than on developing the personalities between the five leading characters in the plot. It was almost as if the rash promise made by the title character that then required him to execute his son had almost no relevance. When the chairs were not being rearranged, most of them were occupied, as expected, by the chorus. John Keene’s direction prepared them to deliver impeccable balance, even when they had to contend with Hume’s overly-busy staging.
SFO Conductor Eun Sun Kim (photograph by Cody Pickens, courtesy of SFO)
As I previously observed, Eun Sun Kim’s conducting was right up there with Keene’s preparations. Fortunately, my seat provided a first-rate view of the orchestra pit; and watching Kim at work was, more often than not, far more engaging than the tedious comings-and-goings of Hume’s staging. For that matter, I had a first rate view of the continuo performers for the recitatives, harpsichordist Bryndon Hassman and Jungin Yang on cello. These provided some compensation for the many annoyances wrought by Hume, but not enough to overcome the tedium of the full experience.
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