Tannhäuser Richard Wagner SFO 29 Oct 94 I had looked forward with great anticipation to Tannhäuser, planning the trip to SFO particularly around this performance, reading and listening extensively in advance. I have long adored the overture and my relatively new-found appreciation for Wagner is hard to indulge, so this performance seemed especially appealing to me. I have to say I was disappointed -- not that it wasn't a creditable and worthy performance, but that it wasn't the overwhelming experience the Ring, Tristan or even (to a degree) Meistersinger have been for me. I blame this mainly on Wolfgang Schmidt, the Tannhäuser. Although he sang with power and volume, I found his performance in the first two acts strained to the point of distraction. He just wasn't lyrical enough to carry those scenes and the evident strain of his attempt to do so was noticeable and distracting. (At one point in Act 2 he seemed almost to be barking out his words as he strained for the lyric line). I must say that he finished very much better, with a powerful and emotional final act, especially in his description of the pilgrimage to Rome. Deborah Voight was easily the finest singer on stage tonight; no surprise there. I liked her every bit as much as I did as Chrysothemis in NY two years ago, although this role obviously isn't nearly so well suited. She made a full, beautiful sound at all times and is surprisingly animated and graceful considering her considerable bulk. (She seemed a bit smaller than in memory from two years ago ...) I also liked Catherine Keen (as I had enjoyed her Magdalene in Meistersinger last year); I found her slightly lush, always warm tone well suited to the role of Venus and she made a believable voluptuous presence on stage. The SFO orchestra was rich and full-bodied throughout, although I was disappointed in the lack of crispness and precision. I liked Runnicles so much in Guillaume Tell and Meistersinger that I wanted more from him here; he seemed capable but hardly commanding in this performance. The ballet during the overture was well presented, with a wall of mirrors behind the stage reflecting scantily clad dancers cavorting in the Garden of Venus, but I still found it annoying. I have to admit that I was late for the overture; having misread my ticket, we arrived at 7.40. John Larson had arranged with the press office beforehand to upgrade his ticket, and the press person waiting for us immediately showed us to box seats (we were in L) so we didn't have to stand and didn't miss much. Still, I was ashamed of myself for being so stupid. I rather liked the box seats; unlike my few experiences in boxes at the Met, my seatmates seemed serious and interested in the opera -- and not in one another, as one often feels in NY. There was a distinctly privileged feel in the box seat area: not only are there much shorter lines at the bathroom, the water fountains even work.