Tenor Russell Thomas seemed ideal as Florestan, his voice is so expressive. Grimsley in contrast has less prettiness, which suits his role as villian. Creswell is endearing, his voice warm and so human.
Likewise bass James Creswell (Rocco) sounded so different from bass-baritone Greer Grimsley (Don Pizarro). Soprano Anne-Marie MacIntosh is a sweet and chirpy Marzelline, her pretty tones very distinct from our lead soprano in the title role. The ensembles were also particularly lovely, and the principal singers are beautifully cast. John Pearson did a fine job playing the offstage trumpet in Act II. The orchestra was not always perfectly together, the first note from the brass section was sour, but Maestra Kim draws interesting textures out of the musicians and there were exquisite moments to be sure. The set used some creepy projections, mostly of Elza van den Heever's face (though the back of her head is projected before the opera begins), but did not simply rely on video to set the scene. It was so different, completely transformed in the space of the War Memorial stage. I found the brutality of the layered bars weirdly compelling, especially since the set was also used for the drive-in Barber of Seville up in Marin earlier in the year. Matthew Ozawa's contemporary production features a startlingly spare set that spins to reveal cages full of people or solitary dungeons as the opera requires. Maestra Eun Sun Kim kept the orchestra lively and balanced. A brand-new production of Fidelio (Act II pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) opened at San Francisco Opera last night, a year late and with a splendid cast.
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