MUSIC REVIEW : S.D. Symphony Scores Grandly With ‘Nevsky’

The San Diego Symphony fired its opening salvo in the current Soviet arts festival with a grand concert performance of the classic Sergei Eisenstein film “Alexander Nevsky” Friday night at Symphony Hall. Assisted by the San Diego Master Chorale and mezzo-soprano Michele Henderson, the orchestra gave Prokofiev’s score a vivid, sonically generous realization under the skillful direction of guest conductor Zdenek Macal.

A unique alteration of the 1938 film by American producer John Goberman allowed the local forces to supply all of the film score music, while the original dialogue and sound effects remained intact. Subtitles flashed below the screen gave an English translation of the dialogue. If this performance proved anything, it demonstrated that Prokofiev’s noble music is the greater icon. Compared with the film’s less than subtle acting and its heavy-handed propaganda, the music is a paradigm of suave understatement. While Eisenstein had a great eye for heroic poses and arresting images, his sense of continuity was primitive. By this stage of his composing career, Prokofiev had achieved refinement in every aspect.

The evening actually had two heroes. In addition to Alexander of Novgorod, the film’s heroic warrior prince who saved 13th-Century Russia from a savage Germanic invasion, Macal was the hero in the flesh. The Czech-born conductor disciplined the orchestra, yet inspired it to rise to the score’s majesty and pathos. Rarely have the local strings played with such breadth or the brass with such resonance. It was a commendable performance: cohesive, well-focused, and stylish.

Henderson’s moving threnody after the great battle scene was notable for her sweeping melodic line and dark, plangent vocal color. While the Master Chorale’s contributions were even more intermittent than those of the orchestra (unlike most American films of the 1930s, Eisenstein frequently allowed long stretches without musical accompaniment), the ensemble sang with commitment and warmth. Trained for this performance by assistant director Daniel Ratelle, the chorale responded to Macal’s lead with laudable precision. The sole problem was the overhead black curtain to which the movie screen was attached. Since the chorale was placed at the back of the stage, some of the its sound was blocked by the curtain.