2 Choruses Win Kudos for Showmanship

If you believe the comments regularly recited in those “man-on-the-street” columns found in the San Francisco newspapers, Bay Area residents would be just as happy if Southern California were physically separated from Northern California and allowed to drift into the Pacific. In reality, north-south relations in the Golden State are less frosty.

Saturday night at the California Theatre, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus made its local debut in a joint concert with the San Diego Men’s Chorus, a program presented earlier this month in San Francisco. Although the smoothly executed musical offerings remained on the lighter side, both groups won kudos for showmanship.

The San Francisco singers served up a lengthy retrospective of Andrew Lloyd Webber hits--both sacred and secular--with ample crowd-pleasing choreography. A dozen appropriately garbed felines from “Cats” pranced while the chorus crooned “Jellicle Cats,” and during the “Evita” medley, a beefy Eva Peron in white chiffon drag took center stage to sing a decidely untearful “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina.” As they say up North, “Only in San Francisco . . . “

The virtues of the San Francisco chorus, however, are not limited to clever staging. Under the authoritative direction of music director Stan Hill, the ensemble produced the deliciously resonant sound of a well-trained opera chorus, moving gracefully from brilliant fortes to lilting lyricism. Their conviction and musical intensity projected through the glossy Lloyd Webber tunes, ably arranged by the Master Chorale of Orange County’s director William Hall.

In comparison, the San Diego Men’s Chorus under music director Gary Holt sounded more like a collegiate glee club. If their sound was more transparent, it also lacked the brilliance and focus of their San Francisco counterparts. Notable for pure blend and clarity of diction was the San Diego choir’s performance of “O Weep Away the Stain” by Minnesota composer Craig Carnahan.