Over the last couple of decades,
I have written eight posts about the summer-ending Merola Grand Finale at the San Francisco Opera House.
As Joshua Kosman notes in his short wrap-up of this year's concert of aspiring professional opera singers, "Good luck to any critic trying to write about it, though. There’s no story on offer aside from
Here are the Merolini to give you one last glimpse of what they can do."
Somebody once left a comment on one of my Merola posts to the effect that "you always say that this year had the best overall crop of singers ever," and they were probably right about the repetitive hyperbole. This year I am not making that claim, however, and if you can't say anything nice, refer to people who can.
Steven Winn wrote an extensive, appreciative listing of his favorite moments at SFCV,
Charlise Tiee at the Opera Tattler did the same, and
educator Matthew Travisano offered a sweet-spirited account at Parterre Box.
Most of the operatic greatest hits selections were love duets, and one of my favorites was Ariana Maubach as Charlotte and Charles Styles as Werther, singing
Il faut nous separer from Massenet's
Werther. Styles's voice is too small to be singing this role in a large opera house at this point in his career, but it's a very pretty tenor, and his interaction with mezzo-soprano Maubach made me remember how lovable this opera can be.
Another duet was performed by mezzo-soprano Theo Claveles as Didon and Matthew Sink as Enee, singing
Nuit d'ivresse et d'extase infinie from Berlioz's
Les Troyens. It may be my favorite operatic love duet in the world, and the pair did it justice.
Near the end of the three-hour long concert, there was a huge bolt of energy from tenor Ryan Bryce Johnson, singing the grotesque
Aria of the Worm from Corigliano's
Ghosts of Versailles. The young singer has stage charisma to burn and it was a joy to see him light the place up. Johnson's evolving career should be be interesting to watch.
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