San Francisco Symphony presents Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes
2014-06-26
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA
8:00 PM, Thursday, June 26, 2014

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Benjamin Britten (1913-1976): Peter Grimes (1945)

[7:55 PM, orchestra noodling, choir coming in]
[8:m PM lights down, announcements]

(5 parts, ending with 1st interlude)
[section ends 8:m PM]

(2 scenes, 1 interlude, 19 parts)
[section ends 9:00 PM; set break!]

[9:19 PM lights down for the second half, let's go!]

(2 scenes, 2 interludes, 14 parts)
[section ends 10:15 PM, no pause before proceeding]

(2 scenes, 2 interludes, 12 parts)
[section ends 10:55 PM]
[show ends 11:02 PM after lengthy applause]

• Kim Begley: tenor vox, as Reverend Horace Adams, the rector;
• John Bischoff: bass vox, as 1st Fisherman;
• Eugene Brancoveanu: baritone vox, as Ned Keene, apothecary and quack
• Adam Cole: vox, as 1st Burgess;
• Richard Cox: tenor vox, as Bob Boles, fisherman and Methodist;
• Nikki Einfeld: soprano vox, as first “Niece”, one of the main attractions of “The Boar”;
• Kevin Gibbs: tenor vox, as 5th Burgess;
• Jimmy Kansau: tenor vox, as 3rd Burgess and A Lawyer;
• Rafael Karpa-Wilson: boy (silent role);
• Kevin Langan: bass vox, as Hobson, a carrier;
• Peg Lisi: mezzo-soprano vox, as Fisherwoman;
• Nancy Maultsby: mezzo-soprano vox, as Mrs. Nabob Sedley, a rentier widow of an East India Company's factor;
• Ann Murray: mezzo-soprano vox, as Auntie, landlady of “The Boar” tavern;
• Abigail Nims: mezzo-soprano vox, as second “Niece”, another of the main attractions of “The Boar”;
• Alan Opie: baritone vox, as Captain Balstrode, retired merchant skipper;
• Matthew Peterson: baritone vox, as 2nd Burgess;
• John Relyea: bass vox, as Swallow, a lawyer
• Steven Rogino: baritone vox, as 4th Burgess;
• Stuart Skelton: tenor vox, as Peter Grimes, a fisherman.
• Chung-Wai Soong: bass vox, as 2nd Fisherman;
• Michael Taylor: baritone vox, as 6th Burgess;
• Elza van den Heever: soprano vox, as Ellen Orford, a widow, schoolmistress of the Borough
• David Varnum: bass vox, as Dr. Crabbe (a silent role!?);
• Cindy Wyvill: soprano vox, as a Woman.

San Francisco Symphony

• Michael Tilson Thomas: conductor, music director;
• symphony members vary by program, see the current list.

San Francisco Symphony Chorus

• Ragnar Bolin: director;
• performers vary by program

• Benjamin Britten: composer;
• James Darrah: stage direction, production and costume design;
• Michael Egan: stage manager;
• Adam Larsen: cinematography;
• Emily Anne MacDonald: associate scenic design;
• Cameron Jaye Mock: scenic and lighting design;
• Sarah Schuessler: associate costume design;
• Montague Slater: libretto.

Quite a fine production! I like being up close, but pitched over to the right as I am is tough on the neck – when the action is on Stage Rt (as at the very start), I need to crane over to glimpse what's going on. Conversely, when the cast is spread (as in the bar scene), I can't put them all in my field of view. Makes for an interesting acoustic! That sense of spread is exaggerated even more when the singers at center turn and sing to the far side or back of the stage… it's immediately obvious that they're no longer singing in my direction. Tonight would have been a good one to get a seat upgrade; I'll have to remember that for future shows!

• Sean Martinfield posted an interview with tenor Stuart Skelton on HuffPost.
• Jean Schiffman posted an article about the multimedia aspects of this production on the SF/Arts website.
• David Wiegand posted a laudatory review of the show on SFGate.

Back to the previous event ☸ Back to the 2014 yearbox ☸ Back to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!