Last Night: Massenet's Thaïs at 1550 Fell

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Massenet's Thaïs
1550 Fell
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009

Better than: Finding Jesus

San Francisco Parlor Opera, the young company that in May introduced audiences to the concept of Faust in a house, brought its unique brand of chamber opera to the Zellerbach Mansion at 1550 Fell on Saturday night with the opening of its production of Jules Massenet's Thaïs. A run at the Met last season notwithstanding, this tale of an Egyptian courtesan and the monk who tries to save her soul while battling his desire to jump her bones is not generally considered part of standard operatic repertoire. But then, neither is it standard for performers to take their final bows in someone's backyard in front of an enthusiastic sellout crowd of maybe 50.  

When I heard that SF Parlor Opera had chosen Thaïs for its third production, I didn't know quite what to expect. The title role is one that gives even world-class sopranos pause, and without someone who can execute it brilliantly, a company may as well not bother staging the opera at all. While Patricia Urbano was a charming Marguerite in Faust, this role didn't afford her the chance to demonstrate whether she had the voice and charisma necessary to sing Thaïs.  After last night's stellar performance, there's no question that she has both.

Leading a condensed cast that also comprised bass-baritone Cole Grissom as Athanaël (the monk on a mission from God; at first, anyway), tenor Justin Farrell Marsh as Nicias (a member of Thaïs' pre-conversion clientele), and mezzo-soprano Alexandra Jerinic as Albine (the abbess of the convent where Thaïs meets her unhappy end), Urbano scarcely set a foot wrong throughout the hour and 45 minutes of this streamlined rendering of the opera. To be fair, she doesn't actually have to sing in the first act -- she just comes onstage to enact the erotic dreams of Athanaël -- but her acting is just as key as her singing.  This is abundantly true given the intimate nature of SF Parlor Opera productions -- audiences are privy to gestural details that might be muted on a larger stage, such as an affectionate nose-nuzzle between Thaïs and Nicias, or the tenderness with which Thaïs and Athanaël wash each other's feet.

Grissom easily held his own with Urbano in their scenes together, and was a compelling vocal and physical presence on his own during his largely solo turn in the first act. An announcement before the final act that he was "under the weather" seemed to catch the audience off-guard, so little did his resonant singing betray it. SF Parlor Opera does not have the luxury of understudies, so becoming mysteriously "indisposed" à la Nadja Michael the night I saw Salomé is not an option. This is not to belittle whatever may have befallen Michael, but for the time being: point, Grissom. Marsh and Jerinic both proved to be capable vocalists in their smaller roles.

The staging of this production (which was directed by Grissom, with assistance from Elizabeth O'Neill) was endearingly DIY, which is as it should be. After assembling for pre-performance wine in the mansion's living room, the audience was shepherded out to the back garden, which -- holiday snowflakes on the fence and all -- stood in for the desert in which the first and third acts take place. (As one patron generously commented during the trek, it does indeed get cold in the desert at night.) The extremely minimalist approach to props was perfectly suitable for an ascetic monk's dwelling, though it might have been nice if the light fixture on stage had been a little less aggressively Ikea. Between the desert scenes, the second act took place back in the living room, the inherent ornateness of which made it a believeable stand-in for a courtesan's playground, as did some mildly burlesque shadowplay in the background.

In lieu of an orchestra, music director Jungmee Kim coaxed an admirable rendition of Massenet's score out of her keyboards, with an assist from Angus Davol on cello during one scene. No subtitles, either, but if vous ne parlez pas français, Arnold Levinson's engaging and occasionally irreverent pre-act narrations ensure that you'll have some clue what's transpiring onstage. It's almost a welcome relief not to be forever dividing one's glance between subtitles and stage -- it's one less barrier between audience and performer, and that kind of experience is precisely what this company deals in.

By the way: Remaining performances are Nov. 19 and 21 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $55 ($25 for students with ID), wine and dessert included; visit www.sfparloropera.org for more information.