Back on Her Meds

After last month's vitriolic column, Ulrica decided to return to her normal placid and positive self and vows to say only nice things this time around.

All about Bruce . . .

As many of you know, Super Bruce McNaughton was back on the boards only days after suffering a heart attack while riding his bike. He went to the ER and spent a night at Kaiser Hospital, yet he was in the audience for a Tosca performance three days later. By mere chance, his cardiologist was in the audience, too. Then, in true Super Trouper fashion, he performed in Acts I and III during the following show, and in all three acts during the show after that. Devoted as she is to her craft, Ulrica couldn't promise to do the same under such trying circumstances.

Bruce is surely the favorite for this year's Stephanie Salter Whine Award, whereby a Super who has the greatest cause to whine, but doesn't, wins the Award. He promises to return to San Francisco for the party on December 11th.

A party for Bruce at Buca di Beppo on October 20th had already been planned, so the Supers went ahead and gathered to wish Bruce �Happy Trails� before his departure for Dayton, Ohio (date, as yet, unclear). Among the stellar guests were the former and current Super Captains, Albert Goodwyn and Carrie Murphy. Albert is looking great, and Carrie (always looking great) stayed busy working the tables. Supers Irene Bechtel, Jenny Jirousek, Priscilla Lore, and Katherine Brazaitis (recovered from her recent foot operation but nursing a bad wrist) added glamour to the evening. Sitting next to each other, and bridging decades of Supering, were veteran Paul Ricks and newbie Derek Ailes. According to Mike Harvey, Derek is up for a Hammy.

�In Act II, Derek filled in at the last minute for Bruce and became confused, believing that Cavaradossi was going to hit Tosca instead of Scarpia (Miroslav Dvorsky, Carol Vaness, and Mark Delavan, respectively). So Derek hesitated when he was supposed to grab Miroslav, who discovered that he had to do something during the delay, so he just grabbed Mark in a huge Russian bear hug. I tried to pry them apart, and Carol started to jump into what was beginning to look like a mêlée. We finally untangled the knot, and Super Bad Guy Paul delivered a punch to Miroslav so convincingly that our hero sagged to his knees and I was left trying to drag his 250-pound weight out the door. Finally, Derek extricated himself from Carol and joined us for our exit. Once we were offstage. Mirislav bear-hugged Derek, who was at the point of nervous collapse. A good time was had by all.�

A very welcome surprise guest at the dinner was former SFO ASM Kathleen Edwards, who left a few days later for a month of language study in Lucca, Italy. Kathleen has been freelancing all across the country: in Eugene, Oregon, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she worked on a production of Don Giovanni that, spookily, had been seen by three people sitting at her table. Coincidence? You be the judge.

Among Bruce's departure gifts was a framed photo of himself signed by the principals and Supers from the current Tosca, his SFO swansong.

Speaking of ASMs named Kathleen, diminutive Kathleen Smith gave birth last month to a seven-pound baby girl, Madeline Grace. Sandy Bernhardt announced the happy event at a Tosca rehearsal.

Claudia Muzio

At another of the Tosca rehearsals, Sandy quoted maestro Donald Runnicles as saying, �This is the best Tosca cast ever seen at the War Memorial.� Although the cast is spectacular, and I dote on Carol Vaness (and mean her no disrespect), the comment made me reflect on the first, and surely the greatest, War Memorial Tosca, the truly divine Claudia Muzio.

One of the greatest and most celebrated sopranos of the first half of the twentieth century, with one of the most distinctive and expressive voices ever to be recorded, La Muzio had a voice that could break your heart.

Born on February 7, 1889, in Pavia, near Milan, she was the daughter of theatrical parents. She established her reputation at La Scala and Covent Garden and became an idol in her native country. Entire populations of small towns would come out to see her as she passed. As an actress, she was compared to Eleanora Duse, and although no film footage of her exists, sequential photographs give us some idea of her penetrating portrayals of characters such as both Verdi Leonoras, Violetta, Tatiana, and Georgette from Il Tabarro, a role she created in 1918. She was a favorite of Chicago critic Claudia Cassidy and, later, of singer Maria Callas. A generous but reclusive personality, she always traveled with her mother or a companion and rarely mingled with her peers. Rosa Ponselle was one of her few operatic friends.

Muzio sang extensively in South America and was a huge success in Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires, where she became the lover of a young Aristotle Onassis � the first in his collection of famous women, which included not only Callas and Jacqueline Kennedy, but also Eva Peron and Greta Garbo. In the United States, she sang sporadically at the Met, giving three legendary performances of Traviata in 1933, but was enormously popular in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, where she performed with the San Francisco Opera on tour. She was chosen to inaugurate the War Memorial Opera House on October 15, 1932, with her portrayal of Tosca in a production that was the inspiration for our current one. A plaque commemorating the occasion hangs in the Opera House lobby, and, curiously, the only extant live recording of this great artist comes from a broadcast of the first act of that opening night, one of the earliest surviving opera broadcasts. Here's an excerpt (warning - large file). She made studio recordings at three points during her career, but sadly the earliest sessions, recorded in her prime, are poorly recorded in the inferior �hill and dale� medium.

Claudia Muzio is best known, therefore, for the series of recordings she made in the mid-1930s, when her voice had lost some of its range, but her interpretive gifts were at their height. These recordings have saved her from obscurity. Norman White's program notes for the CD  (Muzio on Nimbus, from the Prima Voce series) state, �We are treated to an experience in human terms almost unequalled in the history of recorded sound.� Having suffered a decline in her health and fortune, she reputedly approached a Roman crime lord and borrowed the money to make these famous recordings. The outstanding cut, and the singular piece she is now most remembered for, is her beautiful and anguished Addio del Passato from the final act of La Traviata.

It was a prescient choice for the �Duse of Song.� A year later, on May 24, 1936, at the age of 46, she died in Rome. The official cause was heart failure, but she almost certainly died by her own hand.

Program Notes

On a lighter note, it seems that Ulrica hit a nerve last issue with her critique of the SFO programs.

The Tosca Supers were finally recognized in a program insert that lays the blame for their omission on a �printing error,� but even then the insert was missing one name, which Carrie thoughtfully wrote in by hand. Click here for full picture.

Meanwhile, the erstwhile Dutchman Supers will be thrilled to note that, in yet another silly program "printing error” their names, as well as would-be PSC Charlie Lichtman’s, are listed in an actual program… albeit the one for Le Grand Macabre!!!

From eagle-eyed editor Mark Burstein comes the following observation:

"On p. ix of SFO's printed program for Billy Budd, the article 'Writing Billy Budd' by Eric Crozier refers to Captain Vere as 'Melville's wise and thoughtful navel commander.' One should always respect he who is master of his own bellybutton (See: omphaloskepsis)."

We also hear that artists' requests to approve cuts to their bios are not always honored. SFO is, apparently, notorious for butchering said bios: a case of �omit the Met debut but keep �as a teenager sang the lead in many community theater productions of Annie '.�

But the crowning mis-achievement for the program production staff must have been when �difficult� British mezzo Alice Coote was contracted for her SFO debut two seasons ago. Originally scheduled to sing Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, she was given the role of Ruggerio when they added Handel's Alcina to the schedule. Although Ruggerio was the more coveted role, she apparently retained animosity toward the artist who was hired to sing Hansel in her place, Sara Fulgoni. Imagine, then, the Coote dressing room scena when the Alcina programs arrived from the printer. There above the biography for Alice Coote was a picture of ... Sara Fulgoni!

Reminds one of the Kathy Battle glory days . . .

[Ed.: Stop, stop, stop! Cut that out! This is the Prozac column, remember? Nothing but positive thoughts, Ulrica!!]

Picky, Picky

At the much anticipated audition for the sole Super in Eugene Onegin this week, fifteen or more 6’1”-and-under Supers were kept waiting in the Ballet Studio for over an hour before Director and AD, the cheerful duo Johannes Schaaf and Roy Rallo, showed up. After staring at one likely candidate for ten minutes, Herr Schaaf deemed him “too tall” and left. And so the search continues, no doubt at great, additional expense. Although Herr S surely has his followers I wouldn’t count Finnish superstar Karita Mattila among them. The Kat’a Kabanova Supers of 2002 will never forget the cowed look on Herr Direktor’s face, outside her dressing room after the final dress, when Miss Mattila told him exactly what she thought of his staging of the opera’s climax.

Ulrica is concerned that Herr Schaaf won’t be able to find work in this country after Mrs. Rosenberg leaves us. It’s doubtful that outgoing Met General manager, Joe Volpe, would tolerate such eccentricities (Mr. Volpe to troublesome soprano Angela Gheorghiou: “The wig goes on with or without you.”)

Gaily Forward

The Billy Budd Buffet/Bake Sale on October 17 was another resounding success, raising over $750 for the Super Fund. Well baked, Supers! Nice idea from Committee member Paul Szczesiul to provide baked ham or roast turkey as a menu item. At the Bake Sale, our pal in Wigs & Makeup, Denise Gutierrez (now in her twenty-first Season at SFO and working her a-- off in Tosca. Shown here with Anthony Laciura) observed that the Tosca Supers are giving the best performances she can remember. That's saying a lot, considering that most of us are only onstage for a few minutes, but it means we're making the most of it. It does feel good to get some recognition (outside of our family, close friends, and fellow Supers) during these dispirited Super days. Thanks, Denise, we appreciate it.

Just in from Gay Wired, via Sergio Suhett, is an interview with Spearhead fave Anna Netrebko, in which she states the obvious: the best-looking men are gay (in Russia, at least). She also coyly hints at her own appreciation of an attractive female form. [Our editor cannot help but include a plug for a recent article on opera fans, which mentions his friendship with the Diva.]

In Other News

We're planning a field trip to see Super Louis Schilling in a role that requires making sound onstage. He's the male lead in the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley production of Noel Coward's Present Laughter. We plan to go on Friday, November 5. Admission is only $10, and we're going to try to carpool. If you're interested, go to their website to purchase tickets, and drop Ulrica a line; she'll do what she can to get you a ride if you need one.

Has anyone seen dresser Joe Potter's apron? He loaned it to a Bake Sale Super during the run of La Bohème and hasn't seen it since. It's signed by celebrity chefs James Beard and the late Julia Child, so it has sentimental value.

In terms of visual wit and excitement in musical theater, SFO will have a hard job surpassing the recent ACT offering, The Black Rider. It's hard to believe that this was the first time a Robert Wilson production has been seen in San Francisco. Just a couple of years ago, his designs for Lohengrin at the Met received overwhelmingly good reviews. Rider is a celebration of the gravelly voice, with text by William S. Burroughs and songs by Tom Waits. It starred Marianne Faithfull, singing the role of the Devil. The story is based on the same German folk tale as Weber's amazing Romantic opera Der Freischutz. Sad to say Freischutz was dumped from SFO's 2003–04 season. And we got dreary Doktor Faust instead?

Commiserations to the five 5-feet-1-inch-tall women who have been bumped from the ending of Der Fliegende Hollander. This had been the Great Hope for the women Supers this year. What we need is a production of The Dialogues of the Carmelites (or the other nun opera Suor Angelica) on a grand scale, with unlimited ops for Super Ladies. I hope so. Some of those indignant Super Dames were getting quite vociferous at the McNaughton dinner.

The Scoop on Parking from One Who Knows

The Spearhead received the following enlightening missive on the subject of parking, which is always a hot issue. The situation is a lot more complex than we had imagined. But it is nice to know that company policy is not an example of anti-Superism.

Just a couple of notes for Ulrica, in reference to your article. Parking in the lots is regulated by several contracts. For example, the administrative and daytime production staff (props, wig room, etc.) have spots in the lot on McAllister Street (WoWo, for you old-timers). These are apportioned to people by way of monthly contracts, and some of the parkers must pay. No one without a monthly contract may park in the McAllister lot, even if the Fulton Street lots are full. Cars will be towed if their owners don't have reserved spots. In the Fulton lots, the aggressive parking staff are members of a subcontracted parking and security service. All SF Opera staff who have contracts bestowing Provided Parking receive a memo outlining new parking procedures, which include the following: You must show the House-issued parking pass; security staff may ask to see your driver's license; and security staff may take away expired passes, destroy them, and kick you out. As far as the famous soprano, soloists are often charged for company-provided housing (CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?) � parking is a mere bagatelle compared to that.

I don't know if you've ever seen the lots at curtain, but they're bloody full; in fact, they are downright inadequate. There really is no room at the inn.

May Ulrica suggest a parking solution? If you reach Franklin Street just before or a few minutes after 6 PM on weekdays, you can almost always find a metered space north of the Opera House. Stay with your car until 6, though. (One or two of the blocks on the west side are tow-away zones until 7 PM, so check the signs.) If your call is at 6:30 or 7, you'll have plenty of time to visit the Crepe House on Gough for the best local food deal and the stimulating company of fellow Supers and production people.

The Inside Dope?

There are no Carmelites in the upcoming 2004–05 Season, though. See if you can identify these operas and guess what they might have in common:

Set in the Wild, Wild West, unhappy gold-diggers pine for their homes in Sacramento.

Enrico Caruso starred in the belated US premiere of this mid-period Verdi masterpiece, along with an 18-year-old operatic debutante, the former Rosa Ponzillo.

This gender-bending prison drama was penned by the composer of the Moonlight Sonata.

Another gender-bender, this wedding-day farce is set above and below stairs, wherein the former Rosina gets caught carousing with the hired help.

One of the famous Talmadge sisters, she shared her first name with another Silent Film Goddess who later became the widow Thalberg.

Saucy girl crosses the Mediterranean and shows Islamic ruler a thing or two about the independent woman.

Baroque rarity that would have been the name of a heroine of Die Fledermaus if the letters D and E had been the letters S and A.

Highly anticipated new opera from composer John Adams, not to be confused with another Dr. played by a different Peter Sellers.

Answers next season . . . .