Champagne

To the last night of Fledermaus at SFO last night - utterly charming! Pure bubbling fun; intoxicating music, witty translation, funny staging, adorable sets. Loved most of the singing, though, really, did Wolfgang Brendel sing more than a phrase at a time, any time? Less Sprechstimme would have been nice. Christine Goerke was hilarious and sounds just as good live as on record (catch her on Robert Spano's recording of Vaughn Williams' A Sea Symphony); I can't wait to hear her in German opera. Gerald Thompson was a fine Orlofsky, and yet I think I'd prefer a mezzo or contralto in the role. Jennifer Welch-Babidge delighted as Adele.

And The Donald was great. It must be a bit odd to conduct Fledermaus one night and Tristan the next, but the pairing seems to suit him just fine.