Grand Opera on the Summer Stage

The San Francisco Opera's summer season opens this coming Sunday, June 7, with a matinee performance of Hector Berlioz's truly grand "The Trojans" ("Les Troyens"). The production marks the US debut of director David McVicar's new staging with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Teatro alla Scala; and Wiener Staatsoper. It obviously takes an international village to get the old wooden warhorse onstage again all in one piece.

It has been 47 years since the War Memorial Opera House has attempted the epic saga as it was originally intended to be heard by the composer. Two operas, "The Fall of Troy" and "The Trojans at Carthage," are joined in a single marathon enactment that clocks in at five-and-a-half hours (including two intermissions). Il est tres Wagnerien, if you catch my drift, but I can't imagine the faithful of San Francisco feeling anything less than thrilled at the prospect of hearing all that glorious music in one sitting, and the casting and physical production are equally luxurious.

Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham (wow!) and tenor Bryan Hymel star as Dido and Aeneas, but perhaps even more exciting, Anna Caterina Antonacci brings her stunning portrayal of the prophetess Cassandra to California after burning up opera houses in France and England. Anyone who has witnessed her in the role on DVD (an unmissable Theatre du Chatelet staging that includes Susan Graham) will appreciate there hasn't been this amount of controlled diva fury onstage - sheer vocal allure and physical appeal - since the golden age of La Divina Maria Callas.

The Trojans cast includes our own local favorite Sasha Cooke as Dido's sister Anna, and former San Francisco Opera Music Director Donald Runnicles is returning to the podium (he's currently general music director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin) for his own major assignment in the pit. Antonacci shares her part for some performances with Daveda Karanas, and I wouldn't let that stop me from getting in on the event before it is too late, but it could also be a reason to ponder the possibility of going twice.

If seeing Antonacci while you have the chance is important (believe me, it is), then the following production in the summer season should also prove irresistible. "Two Women" ("La Ciociara"), music by Marco Tutino with a libretto by the composer and Fabio Ceresa, based upon the famous novel by Alberto Moravia and even more famous film by Vittorio de Sica, receives its world-premiere run starting June 13 (in repertory through June 30).

The visceral drama of a mother and daughter's courage and survival in the war-torn countryside of Italy towards the end of WWII might seem pretty grim for musical expression. When one thinks of the connection of the tale to the horrors of contemporary war and the almost superhuman struggles of the women of today, however, the case seems exceedingly clear. There is love involved, and lots and lots of hate, too, so an opera in Italian (with English supertitles) becomes even more inevitable. Tutino is frankly amenable to catching the listener's ear with melody and lush orchestrations. The score integrates a popular Italian song, and the story often warrants a lyrical touch. So even if the story is often horrific, it should sound bearable to opera-lovers tired of "modern" musical dissonance.

Francesca Zambello, internationally acclaimed director and longtime colleague of SFO General Director David Gockley, is also openly lesbian and married. Her comments at a recent press conference (not to mention glittering theatrical resume) confirm the appropriateness of choosing her for the assignment to Two Women.

The brutality of rape as a weapon of war and the ongoing atrocities committed against the women of today add contemporary punch to the story. Having Anna Caterina Antonacci taking on a role indelibly associated with the great Sophia Loren adds to the intriguing prospects of the theatrical production. Hell, if I have already compared her to Callas, it is a pretty safe bet to say she will equal Loren as Cesira, the Mother Courage extraordinaire. For a stretch of the run, Antonacci will be juggling roles as both Cassandra and Cesira. When asked about similarities between the parts, upon reflection she admitted a strong connection between the two women of the two operas. Zambello also sees the power of both characters, and is in agreement with the composer and conductor (SFO's Nicola Luisotti) that this Two Women will contain a strong feminist message for the audiences of today.

Closing the summer season out, with a run beginning June 14 through July 5, is a return of the sturdily traditional SFO production of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" ("Le Nozze di Figaro"). It hasn't been long since we got to revel in this wonderful music at the War Memorial Opera House (the new staging will also be simulcast at AT&T Park). Internationally admired bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni will be singing the role of Count Almaviva instead of repeating his memorably sexy and intelligent portrayal of Figaro this time, and while I will miss his rather definitive touches, it will offer a chance to savor his range as a singing actor.

Besides, Philippe Sly will be making his role debut as the titular hero, and we can't wait to see what he makes of the part. He already made an exceptional splash at the SFO with his performances in Handel's "Partenope." Luscious soprano Nadine Sierra (exquisite in SFO's "La Boheme") plays the Countess to Pisaroni's wandering hubby, but all will be brought to a happy ending by conductor Patrick Summers in director Robin Guarino's revival of John Copley's well-worn (in the best sense of the word) production.