WEEKEND REVIEWS : MUSIC : San Diego Symphony Plays on the Brink

The sign outside the hotel lot in the city self-described as “America’s Finest” heralds “Opera Parking.” Business is brisk.

But the hottest ticket in this cultural metropolis doesn’t involve Verdi or Puccini or Wagner. The “opera” in question happens to be nothing loftier than “The Phantom of the Opera,” holding forth in a touring edition at the Civic Theatre.

The low-brow musical with the high-brow pretensions is breaking all box-office records. A decent seat costs $60. So do half-decent seats. The weekly intake soars well above $1-million.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away at the swank Copley Symphony Hall--which used to be a movie palace called the Fox--the outlook isn’t quite so rosy. The San Diego Symphony, chief resident, is facing a devastating financial crisis.

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Signs in the lobby Friday night exhorted patrons to “Save Our Symphony.” Volunteers solicited pledges. Outside the hall, members of a newly organized committee called VOSA (Voice of the Symphony Audience) rallied support for a plan to involve loyal patrons in policy decisions.

“We are extremely concerned,” their flyer stated, “about reports that the symphony board is contemplating drastic action that will endanger the survival of our orchestra.”

At performance time, ushers handed out six pages of photocopied credits and annotations in place of the usual program magazine. A cover letter from the president of the board provided an explanation: “Due to the current financial challenges with which we are faced, it has become necessary to temporarily ‘pare down’ publishing costs.”

Teetering on the brink of extinction is nothing new for the San Diego Symphony. The orchestra has confronted fiscal disasters at least four times since 1981. The orchestra actually disbanded for a year in 1985, and lost a music director in the process. Schedules have shrunk. Managers have come and gone. The beleaguered players have, on more than one occasion, accepted pay cuts to ensure their continued part-time employment.

Under the circumstances, one might have expected a massive outpouring of public support at Friday’s concert (which was repeated Saturday). The event looked festive on paper. Yoav Talmi, the much-respected music director from Israel, was returning after a month’s absence to conduct a Berlioz program with the Dutch mezzo-soprano Jard van Nes as soloist. The concert was being recorded as part of Naxos’ ongoing San Diego/Berlioz survey, and the top ticket fetched only $45.

But the public didn’t seem much interested. The hall can accommodate 2,200. To these eyes, it appeared to be about two-thirds empty. One had to wonder how important a symphony orchestra really is to our sixth-largest city.

Those who came heard a fine concert. The orchestra is playing better than ever. Talmi has honed an exceptionally suave and flexible ensemble, and he usually leads it with equal parts finesse and passion.

On this occasion, he sometimes stressed finesse at the expense of passion. That’s probably preferable to the converse.

In the “Nuits d’ete,” which opened the program, he invariably sustained poetic moods, transparent textures and delicate balances in support of his introspective soloist. Van Nes brought much taste and much poise to the Gautier texts--even when her pitch sagged a bit, and even when her restraint threatened to compromise dramatic impact.

In the “Symphonie fantastique,” after intermission, Talmi did all he could to contain the inherent Berlioz sprawl. The orchestra performed with astonishing delicacy, with gleaming pianissimo resonance, and with phrasing at once supple and subtle (the hesitations in the waltz of the second movement reinforced sophistication).

The mighty outbursts rang with ample, clean-edged power, even if the grotesquerie of the “Dies Irae” in the finale emerged a bit well-mannered. Vulgarity may not be Talmi’s forte. Actually, forte may not be his forte. Still, he guided the movement to a properly zonking climax on his own elegant terms.

He is scheduled to return to San Diego for Berlioz’s seldom-performed “Lelio” on Jan. 12. One hopes the fates--and the corporations--will be charitable.