OPERA REVIEW : Music Center’s ‘Salome’ in S.F.

The Music Center Opera of Los Angeles has had a controversial history, to say the least. The company did enjoy an undisputed moment of revelatory triumph in 1986, however, with Richard Strauss’ “Salome.”

The picturesquely bloody, romantically decadent, ultimately cathartic shocker was poignantly staged by Peter Hall amid elegant neo- Jugendstil decors by John Bury. Most memorable, however, and initially most troubling, was the casting of Maria Ewing in the title role.

Formerly a charming lyric mezzo-soprano, Ewing seemed to be gambling with her career by taking on an arduous, complex challenge that had defeated many a high-powered heavyweight soprano. Contrary to dire predictions--many of them from this quarter--she mustered sufficient vocal heft to satisfy Strauss’ basic demands. More important, she swept all before her with a magnetic, feverishly erotic yet stubbornly innocent portrayal of the child-princess of Judea.

The production subsequently traveled to Louisville, London (twice), Chicago and Washington. Los Angeles saw a revival, with Ewing’s still-fascinating performance betraying some signs of strain, in 1989. Now, as part of a modest summer festival devoted to the operas of Strauss, it has come to San Francisco.

This “Salome” still looks fine. One might complain that Jeannette Aster’s hand-me-down staging blunts some of Hall’s sharper points of realism and that the local lighting effects seem a bit primitive. But these are minor considerations. The major problem involves Ewing.

She still commands the stage with hypnotic ease. Even when she stands perfectly still, eyes wide, a girlish pout frozen on her expressive lips, she all but dares the viewer to look elsewhere.

She still focuses Salome’s emotional plight with fierce intensity, still floats about the stage like a dancer in a daze, still dares to bare all after shedding the seven gauzy veils. Even when she conveys little spontaneity, she remains an extraordinarily intelligent, probing artist.

Unlike many a better-endowed rival, she is willing to take chances. Give her credit for that. Unfortunately, her voice seems to be paying a price for those chances.

The sound at her command at the War Memorial Opera House on Thursday was thin, precarious at the top and breathy at the bottom. The luster was gone. She did get through the musical marathon, to be sure, but she had to make some painful sacrifices to do so--sacrifices in volume, in verbal acuity and in tone production.

There was much art here, yet more artifice. There also was a little fakery.

Donald Runnicles, the resident music director, did his enlightened best to scale down the 91-piece orchestra to accommodate his fragile heroine. One had to admire his sensitivity, not to mention the subtle details, lush sonorities and transparent textures he supported. One also had to lament the inherent losses in grandeur, not to mention raw, unbridled passion. A muted “Salome” must be something of an oxymoron.

Lotfi Mansouri, the San Francisco Opera impresario, assembled an uneven ensemble of singing actors--mostly acting singers--to surround Ewing. Apparently left pretty much to their own devices and impulses, some of them would have benefited from a few touch-up or tone-down sessions with Hall.

Tom Fox looked appropriately slim (though possibly a bit too muscular) in Jokanaan’s saintly loin cloth and popped his eyes with crazed intensity. Although not a true Heldenbariton , he declaimed the prophet’s flowing utterances with reasonable rough-edged fervor.

Leonie Rysanek, herself a celebrated Salome not that long ago, has descended, at 67, to the nasty-hag platitudes of Herodias. She swept through the role with astonishingly ample tone and indulgent over-the-top gusto. She also chose to wear her own flamboyant costume, which clashed with Bury’s basic design scheme.

Robert Tear counteracted her as an oddly subdued, dry-toned Herodes. Paradoxically, Mark Baker’s tenor sounded positively heroic as the plaintive Narraboth.

Franz Hawlata introduced a mildly pleasant basso-cantante as the First Nazarene. The lesser roles, which really demand aggressive personalities and seasoned voices, were assigned to timid workshop talents. False economy.

The Strauss celebration, incidentally, will be the last summer festival here for some time. Cost containment has taken another toll.