Season Finale

The 2004 fall opera season went out with the bang of a burst balloon this weekend at another triumphal Super Party and Skit, and with SFO Supers showing up all over the national media.

Mmm Mmm Mmm.

The party (for those who were not there) was once again held in the Conference Center at Fort Mason with a capacity crowd of 150 Supers and guests. It is the perfect space for our gathering accessible, spacious and with stunning views.

The food was sensational; a menu of stuffed chicken breasts over a medallion of herby stuffing accompanied by a colorful medley of seasonal roast vegetables.

Ulrica almost had to be physically restrained from going back for thirds but decorum won out and she managed to allow others their share of the feast. Brava Susan Anderson for finding the caterers and Bravi Tutti Intimate Catering for doing such an incredible and efficient job. Vegan Super Sergio Suhett and his partner Jon Carr were impressed by the personal attention they received from the chef, who whipped up special vegan plates for them both.

The Super Committee members were industry personified. Scant seconds went by before Susan or Sally Warren would whisk away an abandoned dinner plate. Irene Bechtel and Joan Imbeau handled the admissions table with customary efficiency and charm, and Steve Lavezzolli and Bruce McNaughton (didn’t he leave town already?) were the handsome bartenders; apparently very generous in their pouring.

Ulrica was appalled at the sight of her own intoxicated sister, Stregata, being unceremoniously bundled into a carriage, spouting a particularly salty stream of adjectives at the doorman and driver as they drove her away to another 28-Day Program.

Of course, Stregata is famous for being 86ed from only the best places and her fishwife vocabulary may well have been inspired by the distinctly nautical theme of this year’s Super festivities. Not only did we have that beautiful view of the Bay and Golden Gate (yachts gently bobbing…) but Super playwright Charlie Lichtman concocted a brilliant parody of this season’s seafaring fare; especially the re-telling of Billy Budd in “the way we all wished it had been written”.

The opening Rossinian ensemble "Comp Night at the Opera" segued into the Prelude from La Traviata as the "Patron from Hell" (the enigmatic and exotic Madame Glinka), her escort and her doggy bag from Chevy’s Tex Mex uproariously took their seats.

Gorgeously attired Priscilla Lore then made an announcement that “Photography is strictly forbidden … but as these are only Supers feel free to flash away.”

Producer/director/author Charlie had installed a proscenium with curtain with the help of his friends at Acme Scenery (motto: "We Build Anything") for scene changes and with the backstage cueing of Stage Manager Albert Goodwyn (nice to have him working with us again), the performance ran smoothly and uproariously. No need for a review here, you can write your own – almost the entire skit was taped by Michael Strickland’s partner, Tony Hurd, posted as a "‘streaming video" (with appropriate framing) and can be viewed from these pages. I’m told that bootleg DVD copies are already hitting Ebay. The missing section (attributed to operator error) conveniently includes Captain Vere’s embarrassing lapses of memory but Ulrica has no reason to believe rumors that the Starry Captain paid dearly to have those compromising minutes of tape “misplaced”.

But look for the many highlights which included Paul Szczesiul’s endearingly goofy Billy Budd (and his bare chest scene in particular,

Kimberly Thompson’s manic Floria Tosca cameo,

Mike Harvey with Squeak’s macho feather duster, the swaying sailors, Marcel Delgado’s dastardly, leather clad Claggart,

and Andrew Korniej's elegantly fey Captain Vere.

The bare-bones cannon Vere-ing towards the Frenchies earned the cast their biggest laugh of the evening.

The evening’s ‘must-have’ fashion accessories were definitely a Michael Strickland black and blue BB tee shirt topped off with a jaunty white sailor’s cap.

Billy came as the climax to the evening’s entertainment. Sadly, this year, the entertainment did not include the perennially provocative Sally Jo LaRue (under the weather), or the Stephanie Salter Whine Award. We’ll all look forward to the ladies’ return next year.

However, it did include Carrie Murphy’s thank-you speech and "Super of the Year Award" which most deservedly went to Spearhead Webmaster, Double-PSC, Committee Member and hard-working photographer Mike Harvey. Congratulations, Mike!

The thank-yous included a big one to Party benefactor Rudy Cook, who got an ovation worthy of Placido Domingo for his generous donation, another to Paul Newman for securing the Fort Mason venue gratis, and to everyone who PSCed this year (and you know who you are). Carrie was looking fabulous, sporting a purple chiffon wrap and a natural hair color (and we all thought she was a blonde). It also included acknowledgements from Paul (“Thank you everyone who baked something for a bake sale”) and, of course, the Hammy Awards; once again cheerfully crafted by Super artisan John Janonis.

Hammy Awards were given out to La Boheme’s John F. Martin for his Musetta-bound flying plate; to Traviata’s Steve Bauman for not returning from an offstage trip to the champagne fountain; to the five Dutchman Super women who never even made it onstage, but did make it into the program of another opera altogether; to first time Super, Derek Ailes’ timing and subsequent near riot onstage during Act 2 of Tosca.

For a complete transcript of the Hammies go here.
The entire event could not have moved more smoothly nor more efficiently, from set up to strike, and could not have been more fun, from arrival to departure.

Closing Nights

The latter days of this fall season were not without interest.

The last show of Super-extravaganza Tosca saw Pamela Rosenberg and Brad Trexell holding up Olympiad final score cards (perfect tens!) as Carol Vaness made her final leap from the Castle Sant Angelo parapets.

The performances of Eugene Onegin had debuting Super Nicolas Papaiconomou named on the cast list and taking a solo curtain call for his amusingly distracted second to Onegin, Guillot, in the Act 2 duel scene.

Adler Fellow’s Lucas Meachem took the role of Onegin for the December 9th performance, a performance that built to an especially harrowing climax in Tatyana’s shoe closet. The pre-performance announcement that Mr. Meachem was filling in for an ailing colleague was confidently made, onstage, by our very own Carrie Murphy.

The Future is Ours at Herbst Theater on December 8th had extraordinarily thrilling performances from eight Adler Fellows, including Thomas Glenn’s chilling “Miles” from The Turn of the Screw, Ricardo Herrera’s Rachmaniov aria and Super fave Joshua Bloom’s very accomplished and mature “Elle ne m’aime pas!” from Don Carlos.

Trooper Alec Page’s brief run on and run off in Onegin added to that scene’s sense of movement exponentially. Too bad they didn’t utilize him more.
Very mixed reactions to that production’s ostentatious pyrotechnic chandelier, its robotoid ballroom movements, and the dancing haystacks in Act 1. No doubt extensive research led Herr Direktor to discover this quaint Russian folk dance but really, didn’t they just look like hyper-caffeinated old floor mops?

Sara Jobin took up the baton again for one Dutchman performance and, again, got enormous applause and cheers from her claque in the orchestra seating. Ulrica saw the show three times and thinks that might have been the best one…

Media Blitz

The December issue of Opera News is all about SFO Supers. Not only do the Cosi Supers get special mention but two Supers get their photo in the same issue.

In the review of Cosi by Georgia Rowe, "It was all
brightly colored and festive, yet Cox allowed intermittent glimpses into the increasing reality of the era: the crisp military uniforms seen at the start of the evening gave way to soldiers on crutches and sisters in nurses uniforms by the end of Act I."

And here is the picture that appeared on p.32 in a piece called "In the Parisian Style" that shows Joe Giammarco as well as Paul Szczesiul (in
shadow).

The long-awaited "60 Minute" segment on soprano phenomenon Anna Netrebko finally aired on December 12th and those who caught it say that Maitre D’ Andrew Korniej and waiter Sergio Suhett can be seen with the glamorous one in shots from last Summer’s La Boheme. Thanks to Pat Beresford and Rob Wonder for alerting Ulrica to that! Her TIVO was unfortunately on the blink that day and she missed it.

If you can’t wait until June to see Supers onstage go and check out the new SF Ballet Nutcracker and look for returning Nutcrackers Katherine Brazaitis and Louis Schilling.

Charlie Lichtman was surfing channels recently when he came upon an old Cagney and Lacey episode. The two women were on the heels of a murder suspect who was an aspiring actor. They track down his agent who tells them he was last seen working at “the Opera.” Off go the two to said opera house to question the staff there. One pithy administrator tells the girls that the suspect was “a Super.”“So he cleans the place?” observes Cagney. “Oh no”, replies Pithy, “he was a Supernumerary.”“Have you talked to him recently?” asks Lacey. “Of course not,” lisps Pithy, “we never fraternize with those people”. It’s easy to imagine that the script was written by one of us.

Mind your M's and N's...

Our ever vigilant editor Mark Burstein caught yet another SFO programme gaffe.

In the program credits for Le Grand Macabre, Joshua Bloom is reported to have sung in Le Mozze di Figaro, which translates as either "Figaro's Cabin Girls" or "Figaro's Truncated."

The Cold Winter

The first months of any year are usually operatically challenged, but go and see the local Festival Opera and SFO Opera Center; see opera when you travel (Laurel Winzler plans on getting a Rodelinda preview at the Met in January); and tell us about it and keep checking Spearheadnews.com. We’ll continue to update and review, to photograph and interview, to gossip and speculate.

In the planning stage is an off-season Super potluck barbecue. Eddy Gordillo and Denise Gutierrez came up with the idea and Eddy is hoping to organize a gathering of Supers in the Park during the spring/early summer. Watch this website for further details and if you have any ideas for location and/or date let us know.

In Closing…

At the end of the year, with the Holidays approaching and still basking in the glow of the Super Party, Ulrica takes a pensive moment to reflect on what a unique community we have among the SFO Supernumeraries. Can any other opera company boast such a great group? Probably not, as we so often hear from visiting performers and directors that SFO has the best, most diligent Supers.

Can any other Company’s Supers have such great communications, starting with the old photocopied Spearheads? This website just gets better and better and the level of professionalism of the photography and web design gets higher and higher.

We are supportive of each others’ work and efforts, sympathize with lost roles, applaud each others’ triumphs and laugh along with our own mishaps. We mostly see each other for only a few weeks out of the year, sometimes not working with people we have known for years for several seasons, but always pick up our friendships and alliances as if we’d never left off.
We are a community of equals, knowing that today’s featured performer will be tomorrow’s three-second walk-on. We accept whatever is offered us with good grace and humor and approach the smallest, most obscure part with the gusto we give to the most prominent. It’s a rare Super who isn’t happy when a fellow Super gets their moment in the spotlight.

Although recent seasons have been lean ones for Super roles, and economically lean for the company as a whole, we have nevertheless continued to show up to lightwalk, to volunteer and, now, to take on the responsibilities of Production Super Captains. And if we ever feel under-appreciated we can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that no matter how hard we are to spot onstage, there is a fellow Super out there in the audience who has his or her binoculars trained on us alone.

It is an honor and a privilege to belong to this group, and after 15 seasons I never cease to be amazed at our devotion to the unique, fragile and esoteric world of the Opera Supernumerary.

Ahime…

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