San Francisco Classical Voice

Although the basic interior structure is still that of a hangar, everything has been fixed, providing dramatic architectural features outside, uniformly flawless sightlines inside, clear, crisp acoustics, and creature comforts galore for both artists and audiences. (Jenkins' attention to detail includes the building of pastel-colored women's restrooms, adding up to 100 stalls, surely a national — perhaps world — record for an opera house.) Deborah Sussman's interior designs reflect the great vistas of the Northwest, in shape, color, texture. As glass and metal mesh curtains dominate the outside, wondrous "Magelite" strips hold attention in the lobby, colors subtly changing as you walk by them

Mark Reddington, the LNM Architects partner in charge of the project, working with Jaffe Holden Acoustics, interior designers, color consultants, and many artists, has created a new space for music theater that is likely to serve as inspiration and a standard in the industry. With all the drastic changes in the interior — ranging from "red-zone" reverberation chambers to new side balconies, and superb production technology equipment — seating in the hall has dropped only by 100 from its original 3,000-seat size, while picking up, for the first time, a standing-room section.

The house can be used for all kinds of productions, but Jenkins pledged — unequivocally and heatedly — that no amplification will be used in opera performances. "It will be all acoustic, even for off-stage choruses," he said.

Sound, of course, is the most important component of a new opera house, and this one is a beauty. Under Asher Fisch's baton, the Parsifal Prelude floated gently from the new, spacious and newly-air conditioned orchestra, not a single note missing even when heard from way back in the hall. Stephen Milling's mighty Gurnemanz conquered instantly, with a combination of bel canto Wagner and perfect diction, Fisch providing support and an exactly right balance. As a listener in the same hall in years past, I couldn't quite believe my ears. Except for a slight dryness (lack of palpable warmth), the new Seattle Opera House sound is as good as in the best of halls.

Fisch's work, acoustical excellence, and precise work by Beth Kirchhoff's Opera Chorus resulted in consistently admirable balances throughout the long evening. Singers in principal and minor roles could be heard clearly at all times — an experience extremely rare in Parsifal.

Milling's sonorous-but-"real" Gurnemanz was in good company. Christopher Ventris in the title role and Linda Watson as Kundry contributed vital, striking, satisfying performances. Greer Grimsley sang a beautiful Amfortas in quiet passages, the voice not entirely comfortable where more power was needeed. Kevin Langan's Titurel was exceptional, Richard Paul Fink's Klingsor believable, vocally acceptable. Secondary roles all came through, there wasn't a weak link in the cast — another rarity in a Parsifal.

Robert Israel's production (sets, costumes and Digital Projector backdrop designs) is full of ideas and experimentation, but respectful of the work. A platform rises at an angle across the stage (rather than the usual upstate-downstage rake), a large portion of which rises straight up, revealing a large door on the stage floor from which the knights emerge. The projected backdrops range from servicable to spectacular, among the latter a picture of dark, blood-red mountains, with reflected light on the peaks — dramatic and beautiful. To Israel's great credit, he doesn't play around with the projections too much (the temptation must have been great), and when there are changes in the pictures, most of the time, the visuals contribute to the music or, at least, don't take away from it.

The set for Act 2 is stunning. The mountains in the backdrop go to a puzzling but eventually meaningful black-and-white (to become abstract briefly and then resolve into a curiously appropriate out-of-focus landscape) on either side of a huge object dominating the middle of the stage. A 70-foot tower first appears as that black slab in "2001" but when lit, it reveals Klingsor's castle as a staircase with a Victorian feel. When Parsifal destroys the structure, the tower sinks swiftly, leaving only a 20-foot upper portion visible, with a skylight and a ladder for the hero to make his exit. Fascinating. Michael Chyubowski's light designs contribute well to the production.

Francois Rochaix's stage direction presents some head-scratchers. Raising the curtain just a couple of feet during the Prelude may mean something, but who knows what? (A mechanical malfunction or a philosophical statement?) Having Amfortas and the knights upstage and only partially visible in an "extended (20-minute) tableau" is hard on the artists and distracting to the audience.

Stressing the universality of the work's spiritual message with a spot of Hasidic trance dance during the Good Friday Spell, perhaps a cool idea on paper, didn't work well in real life. The "action" in Act 3 is paint-drying dead, lacking in energy, well beyond Wagner's own dramatic shortcoming here. In spite of pre-opening protestations from Jenkins and the production team that there is no emphasis on Christianity in this Parsifal, the finale is somewhat deadened with sanctimonious, lifeless religiosity.

Those — and other staging puzzles or shortcomings — do not detract from the joy of experiencing a splendid new house, an interesting physical production, and, above all, sustained vocal and orchestral excellence. To modify the cautious "US regional" modifier at the beginning of this report: the combination of this new house and production is among the best of all possible opera experiences anywhere.