Golda Schultz and Harry Bicket
Photo by Michael Strickland
Used with permission
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. (BUT my friend Michael Strickland to the rescue! And I've added him to the round-up below. Thank you so much!)
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
- Michael Strickland, SF Civic Center
6 comments:
You're welcome to grab a photo of the concert from "Civic Center" if you'd like since I had a rush ticket that landed me in the front row. Agree with your assessment of Bicket as a very good Mozart conductor but not quite in the great category, although after years of MTT and others offering deadly dull performances of the composer's music, the Bicket concert was still quite a treat. My favorite Mozart conductors at the SF Symphony have been Bernard Labadie a couple of years ago and James Gaffigan in a number of concerts. He seems to have a natural affinity for the composer's music.
Oh, thank you! I will do that.
Ahahah, yeah, the Mozart conducting at SFS has not been great. Agree with you about that Labadie program, which had Lucy Crowe as soloist, with one of the most beautiful voices I've heard since Swenson retired.
I have not heard Gaffigan in Mozart and was unhappy with all three performances I saw him in last year, but I will keep your comment in mind for the future.
What? No mention of the natural horns? :)
I suppose I could mention the giant clam in one of the pieces. :)
Michael Steven's was borrowing my natural horn. You can blame me.
I thought it was Diego Incertis Sanchez and Jonathan Ring the night I was there? Could I have confused Stevens with Incertis Sanchez?
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