Stunning show in unusual treatment
For regular readers of these reviews, a word of caution: this is a rave, pure and simple.
The San Francisco Opera’s current production of Show Boat is stunning. It is the peak of an art form, which is sort of strange for something that is neither “fish nor fowl,” but a hybrid of opera and musical, perhaps part of its enormous appeal. Directed by Francesca Zambello, this production is rooted in the popular idioms and dance forms of the twenties with modern Broadway savvy and opera flair.
Every element shines, from the brilliant choreography of Michele Lynch to Bill Irwin’s improbable physical comedy and masterful storytelling. And the costumes! Paul Tazewell’s combination of colorful, naughty and patriotic is a three-punch combo.
And then there is the music, which one quickly discovers is embedded in our culture. How the SF Opera Orchestra managed to sound like a full jazz band is beyond me, but a look in the pit will convince you it is really them. Conducted by John DeMain, they used lots of flash and brass and sparkle and snare, along with violin passages as svelte as weeping willows.
Show Boat “is our answer to the Italian opera,” according to an interview on KCBW’s Black Renaissance with bass Morris Robinson. “The late twenties is when this show was written, and it was really kind of the first thing we put together to rival what Puccini was writing in Italy.”
Robinson, who usually sings in German or Italian and was recently the Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the SF Opera, stole the show as soon as we heard his magnificent voice – in a spoken line! He then gave voice to the deep truth at the center of the work, singing the iconic “Ole Man River” with a winning blend of ancient resignation and modern rage. Those philosophical truths took Jerome Kern’s music and Oscar Hammerstein’s lyrics to a perspective from which one could really look at racial divides while exploring common racial ground – the rocky terrain of love.
No less inspiring was the singing, where Broadway singers and opera stars informed each other on style. Opera regular Patricia Racette sang, “Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly,” with a touch of bluesy note bending, and leaned on “loving my man” with enough impish huskiness to bite into… well, something or someone. And soprano Heidi Stober and baritone Michael Todd Simpson sang their lovers’ duet, “Make Believe,” with heart-stopping immediacy.
In fact, there was a rare depth of emotion throughout Show Boat, possibly because it resonates on so many levels. Zambello’s production, with its red, white and blue sets and costumes, proudly emphasizes an American tradition, full of jazz and Broadway musical, big city glamour and backwater towns, and themes of racial intolerance and star-crossed love.
Sound engineers worked to massage the opera singers and actors into a common accord so that spoken language would be audible in the three thousand seat house. Striving for a natural bridge between spoken and sung, body mikes were used on all of the principals, and cranked up or down to suit the delivery.
Did I mention the dancing? These are not your usual excellent SF Ballet dancers, but Broadway dancers who mix graceful line and sizzling timing with jaw dropping strut.
As for the many chorus scenes, if one has enjoyed the Hollywood movie versions, it would be hard to imagine what a world-class chorus could do. But that was the SF Opera Chorus, bringing their rich and burnished sound to foot-stomping songs.
It doesn’t get bigger than this.
—Adam Broner
Photos of Morris Robinson as Joe with the SF Opera Chorus, and below, Angela Renee Simpson as Queenie with chorus and dancers. Both photos by Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera.
