‘The Future is Now’ Wows the Audience Yet Again
/By Elsa Tranter
12/17/2019
Photo credit: Kristen Loken / San Francisco Opera
The 2019 Adler Fellows with Eun Sun Kim and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra
On December 6, a rainy Friday night, opera fans from around the bay came to the historic Herbst Theater in San Francisco for the latest iteration of the S.F. Opera Adler Fellows Grande Finale concert—aptly named ‘The Future is Now’. This year there was an extra buzz in the air because on Thursday afternoon, from the stage of the opera house, General Director Mathew Shilvock had announced the appointment of the opera’s new music director, after a long search. It was none other than tonight’s conductor, Eun Sun Kim, an up-and-coming young (39) Korean. She will be the first Asian music director of a major U.S. opera company and the first female music director in San Francisco. She had been contracted a while ago to conduct this concert and had been working with the Adler fellows for weeks in preparation for this concert, so it was super exciting to know that we’ll all be seeing and hearing more of her in the future. When she came onstage to conduct a small opera orchestra she got a warm and enthusiastic welcome from all in the house. Then she got down to business and kept the focus on the music for the rest of the evening.
Conductor Eun Sun Kim and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra
The program opened with a rousing Candide overture (Bernstein) which got everyone in a happy and energetic mood. From there it was one singer after another, each one almost chasing the one before off stage—very tightly choreographed. The music was mostly solos, with no staging or props. The orchestra shifted effortlessly from one composer to another and Kim kept them playing flawlessly throughout the evening. Since the orchestra was onstage behind the singers, she, too, was behind the singers with her back to them. She managed very deftly to turn sideways to make eye contact with each one and cue them in at appropriate times. Her style was masterful and made for excellent music-making.
On to the singers—almost everyone was excellent—some of the music resonated with me more than others and only one number slightly disappointed. The first to sing was Chinese tenor Zhengyi Bai in an aria from Adolphe Adam’s Le Postillon de Lonjumeau, which was completely unfamiliar to me. He sang it well and with feeling and expression. Following on was one of the few duets—soprano Mary Evelyn Hangley (from New York) and tenor Christopher Colenero (from Vermont) sang a scene from Verdi’s Don Carlo; this number didn’t come across so well for me—the choice of aria plus the singers voices were among my least favorites of the evening. All three of these singers are first-year Adlers; maybe at next year’s concert I’ll be more impressed.
The next person on stage was Canadian soprano Natalie Image, a second-year Adler. She sang an aria from Mozart’s Idomeneo, accompanied on the harpsichord by Ukranian Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad. Ms. Image’s voice is oversized for her petite body and she was excellent. Next we heard a brilliant aria from Handel’s Ariodante sung by second-year Adler mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon, who is from Peachtree City, Georgia, also accompanied by Ms. Barrad. This was one of the highlights of an evening of highlights. South Korean tenor SeokJong Baek, another first-year Adler, sang a familiar aria from Puccini’s Tosca; he must have felt a surge of pride to be on-stage with a fellow country person—and also found it a little hard to live up to the memory of the more famous renditions of this aria.
Second-year Adler Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (a countertenor from New York), who has already had a lot of success in his short career, gave an excellent rendition of an aria from Handel’s Siroe (another one not familiar to me). He was accompanied on the harpsichord by Colombian Cesar Canon, a second-year Adler. Then we heard tenor Christopher Oglesby (first-year from Woodstock, Georgia) sing a romantic aria from Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta. Next another duet—mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh (Canadian first-year Adler and Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen in music from Mozart’s Lucio Silla—an unusual and beautiful combination—accompanied by Cesar Canon on the harpsichord. Ms. McIntosh had unusual vivacity and a lively energy on-stage, matched by her crisp voice. The final selection of the first half of the program was second-year Adler bass-baritone Christian Pursell (the only Californian, from Santa Cruz) in another unfamiliar aria from Rachmaninoff’s Aleko.
During intermission there was a lot of positive buzz about all of the singers and about the conductor and wondering aloud how the evening could get any better! Well it certainly kept up the same high standard. Leading off the second half was Mary Evelyn Hangley in a familiar scene from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. Again, I thought her performance not quite up to the standard of some of the others. A contrast to the next number, Simone McIntosh and Zhengyi Bai in a scene from Rossini’s Le Comte Ory, which was charming and lively. Expressing the angst of a tragic aria is perhaps harder for a young singer than hamming it up for an upbeat scene.
Next on the program was another duet featuring Ashley Dixon and Christopher Oglesby in a duet from Massenet’s Cendrillon; SeokJong Baek in an aria from Cilea’s L’Arlesiana; and Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen in a stunning rendition of an aria from Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’Ete, usually sung by a mezzo-soprano. The final arias were sung with skill and beauty by Christopher Colmenero (from Massenet’s Le Cid) and Christian Pursell (from Thomas’s Le Caïd). The finale was a splendid rousing ensemble from Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment, featuring Natalie Image in the title role and all the Adler fellows as the soldiers. It was a delicious end to an excellent evening. Opera does have a great future with these young people coming into its midst. Bravi tutti!! Keep your eyes on them!! And bravo to all the people at San Francisco Opera who make such a program possible, from the faculty and staff to the donors who sponsor these young singers.
Elsa Tranter is a Bostonian who has lived in Berkeley for over 40 years and has been an opera goer for most of those years. She worked as a graduate student adviser at UC Berkeley and still attends Cal Performances regularly. Her favorite composer is Wagner and her favorite opera is Tristan und Isolde.