After starving herself throughout the Teutonic austerity of the Rosenberg Administration, U!lrica finds herself ready to binge on the glamour of the new Gockley Era, which got off to a sparkling start Friday night with the season opener, Un Ballo in Maschera.

Events like this only reconfirm that, of all the groups that comprise the San Francisco Opera (from stars to security), the Supernumeraries are, without a doubt, the hottest. Our vocal prowess may not be remarkable, nor our histrionic abilities Academy Award–winning, but we really, really know how to look good.

There are, however, times, when the most conspicuously glamorous can be truly incognito. My spy, Twisted Sister, reports:

I was standing inside the stage door to keep warm while watching the swells arrive, and I was joined by an older Guild volunteer, who chatted away about this and that. After while, a third lady took up a post next to us to check out the gowns — none other than Debbie Voigt, in khaki crops, a pullover, clogs and NO makeup. We joked about her being a "stealth diva" and how she could sneak out into the crowd and be completely ignored by the people who'd be cheering her several hours hence. The old Guild dame wasn't tracking the conversation too well, because at some point she rather grandly said to Debbie, "And what do you do for the Opera, dear?" Debbie replied "I'm your diva tonight" and the volunteer replied, "Very funny, but really, what do you do around here?" Debbie was completely nonplussed, so I jumped in and said "She's not kidding — she is our star for tonight. Haven't you met Miss Voigt?" and the Guild lady looked like she would drop dead of astonishment. In the tent after dinner, Debbie — by now resplendent in a green satin gown that was truly diva-worthy — laughed and said "You should go get your friend and ask her if she recognizes me NOW!".

Thank goodness she has a great sense of humor..... I can think of some old-time divas who'd have chewed that woman's head off!!!!!

Then there are those who will always be glamorous despite what Wigs and Wardrobe do to them. Take, for example, three of the loveliest fishwives ever to grace the War Memorial stage: Ballo Supers (L to R) Yvette Forte Rosedale, Traude Albert, and Katerina Rubin. Even babushkas shall not their beauty diminish.



As gorgeous as all the Supers were, U! has to admit that (L to R, below) directrix Gina Lapinski, maestri Armiliato and Runnicles, and backstage carpenter Randy Walsh were looking pretty good, too.


Being a pre-set Super on Opening Night gives one a rare chance to be able to sing (in a fashion) on the Opera House stage — as long as you know the words to the Star Spangled Banner, that is (and this columnist, being of foreign descent still has trouble wrapping her tongue around them). Other Supers "happened to find themselves" downstage right, where Debbie Voigt and Anna Cristy were singing out from behind the Stage Manager's console. The pre-overture onstage buzz reminded chorister Tom Reed of the Adler years and how the Great Man would come around at moments like that scolding “Not zo loud, pleeeze. Ze curtain eez SOOO thin!”

Any gripes this column has had in the past were forgiven upon seeing the tribute to the late Katherine Brazaitis on page 12 of the Ballo program, and the acknowledgment, on page 65, of a donation in Katherine’s name made by Super Susan Anderson Norby and her husband, Doug. Katherine would be amused, I’m sure, to find herself sharing a page with the great Marschallin, Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.

Ballo Supers’ Opening Night treats were augmented by lovely handwritten notes from incoming Super Coordinator April Busch (below left). Although it was a much appreciated gesture, April, we’ll understand if writer's cramp kicks in and you have to resort to a rubber-stamped message by the time Carmen comes around. And speaking of rubber stamps, cheers to Renee de Jarnatt for doing the witty First Night cards once again. Openings just wouldn’t be the same without them.
Renee was photographed last year with son, Daniel, and granddaughter Dominique on the set of Norma, in which Dominique was then appearing (above right).

Saturday morning found U! with a Glamour Hangover — a result of the cumulative effect of fumes from so many French fragrances, the repetitive glare of flash reflected off real, but rented, rocks, the lingering lilt of languid laughter, and the intoxication of a billion bursting champagne bubbles.

Barely able to go through her morning ablutions, U! declined to attend Orlofsky’s Ball that evening. Our man on the Fledermaus scene, Charlie Lichtman, reports:

The only not-really-unexpected thing that happened during Fledermaus was that the dogs got applause when Prince Orlofsky trotted them out in the second act. We continue to marvel at the sophistication (or perhaps the indiscreet charm) of the San Francisco Opera audience.

Dogs, or any other animal, on stage always reminds U! of the production of Suor Angelica a few seasons ago, which involved an onstage donkey who, on at least one occasion, refused to leave the stage and got a conspicuous erection when his nun-attendant tried to drag him off.

U! wisely waited until Sunday to re-appear, heavily veiled, at Opera in the Park. Supers, though sadly absent from the stage, were visible throughout the crowd. Kimberly Thompson and Walt Thorpe — one in floor-length black satin and a mantilla, the other in figure-hugging BDUs and a chic new (black) SFO tee — were out pushing subscription brochures.

(BDU = Battle Dress Uniform, a.k.a. camouflage)

Spearhead-er Lynn Meinhardt, and boyfriend Sheldon hung out with fellow Supes Charlie Lichtman and Andrew Korniej — who was shamelessly trying to seduce April with home-made chocolate cake in a misguided attempt to get better roles next season.

The concert was, as always, delightful, with forthcoming SFO Gilda (and former Queen of the Night) Mary Dunleavy truly outstanding in "Cara Nome" and the "Libiamo" finale. U! is baffled why this extraordinary singer isn’t more feted than she is; her SFO Traviatas of recent seasons bringing to mind the divine Claudia Muzio.

Fledermaus was amply represented throughout the concert, with arias about laughter and champagne conspiring to remind U! of Opening Night’s excesses, and thereby bringing on another wave of nausea. Our Rosalinda, Christine Goerke, sang a thrilling "Dich, teure Halle," whilst General Director David Gockley (in an "‘orange is the new black" baseball cap) let slip that Tannhäuser and Andrea Chenier are on the books for future seasons, meaning, of course, lots of Super ops in both. Who can forget 1994’s triple-X antics during the opening scenes of the former, or the parade of dignitaries, sans-culottes, and condemned women of the 1992 production of the latter.

The MC, Chronicle editor Phil Bronstein, went slightly astray with his jokes about the taut faces of some of Opening Night’s leading benefactors, right before introducing two of them, and Mr. Gockley seemed genuinely overcome by the enthusiasm of the huge crowd.

One passing thought: why hasn’t Die Fledermaus suffered the indignities of a translated title à la “A Masked Ball” or “The Force of Destiny”? Perhaps “The Bat” sounds somewhat less appealing than the title auf Deutsch.

Super Recognition

The charming Jessica Wan (below, left) of the SFO Marketing Department met with a group of Supers (including Jim Bowes, center, and Gilbert Martinez, right. and below left to right, Kimberly Thompson, Traude Albert, Bradly Hamilton, Rob Wonder, Tom Carlisle, and Andrew Melomet) last week to get a feel for what it is, exactly, that we do. They tried their best to explain. The interview is for the September issue of the Opera E-Newsletter so keep an eye open for it (if you don't already subscribe, here's the link). We’ve been promised a link from the E-Newsletter to The Spearhead, so who knows who will be wandering through these pages.
Suggestions to remove unflattering content about SFO would, I’m afraid, result in the excision of the entire Ulrica oeuvre, which some may not regard as a bad thing.

The Performing Arts Library and Museum, meanwhile, was only able to offer us “a tiny little corner of a lobby exhibit – not large enough for a scrapbook,” which is quite in keeping with our level of expectation.

Finally, here’s a tout for the soon-to-be-available, soon-to-be-a-collectible, hot-off-the-presses, gold-on-black Super Logo Tee Shirt.

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