Davies Symphony Hall
Photo by me
I'm sorry that I didn't take a curtain call photo or to at Davies last Thursday, when I saw Harry Bicket's all-Mozart program at San Francisco Symphony, featuring two symphonies, a serenade, and soprano Golda Schultz in Mozart arias. SFS evidently didn't have a photographer in house for the concert, hence, Davies rather than a concert photo.
It wouldn't have been appropriate in my Chronicle / SFCV review to say that I've now seen Bicket in concert with SFS and conducting two full Mozart operas with Santa Fe Opera, his home theater in the United States. I think that he is a good, not great, Mozart conductor; solid, with good instincts, but without bringing out that last bit of rhythmic brilliance that mades Mozart performances great.
(The best Mozart opera conducting I've heard? Cornelius Meister in the last SFO Abduction, Donald Runnicles in the McVicar Don Giovanni, and Henrik Nanasi in the most recent Così. The worst? Nicola Luisotti in the 2013 Così, which had the additional problem of being poorly cast, with a voiceless Don Alfonso and miscast Ellie Dehn, who was excellent in other appearances.)
I've also seen Bicket lead Orfeo (outstanding), Pélleas (eh), Alcina, and Radamisto, all at Santa Fe. No strong impressions remain of his conducting in the two Handel operas.
- Lisa Hirsch, S.F. Chronicle / SFCV
- Joshua Kosman, On a Pacific Aisle (link to follow)
- Harvey Steinman, Seen and Heard International
- Matthew Travisano, Parterre Box
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