Siegfried 7-1-11 San Francisco Opera

Gordon Hawkins was less buffoonish than past Siegfried's I've seen, though I still don't think any of them have quite captured Siegfried's heroism. He's more like a bully than a force of nature. The sets were mostly disappointing with one exception, the opening of Act III, in which Wotan/Wanderer confronts Erda was very impressive and mysterious, like the entrance to a mountain Wotan was indeed guarding. The final scene, in which Siegfried learns fear upon approaching Brunnhilde, paled in comparison to the rock formations from the SF0 1999 Ring. Although Fafnir as the dragon was replaced by a futuristic 'death-tank' as part of this quasi-post-modern Ring, it was still captivating as the machine blew steam (a nice variation on the smoke-breathing dragon) at Siegfried and he battled with Notung until Fafnir was slain. David Cangelosi's Mime seemed more like a pagliacchio than a twisted Niebelung. Stacey Tappan was suitably enchanting as the forest bird that guides Siegfried to his final showdown with Wotan and awaking Brunnhilde. The sword vs spear confrontation was awkwardly staged, but the explosion as Wotan's spear breaks was a kick. I didn't love the chemistry between Hawkins' Siefried and Nina Stemme's Brunnhilde, not like she had with Mark Delavan (Wotan).  The second act is one of my favorite acts of the Ring, musically speaking and Runnicles and the orchestra were up to the challenge.  Three down, one to go as we prepare bid farewell to Wagner's eternally magical world and compelling characters. I give this Siegfried 2.75 pints of Fafnir's blood out of 5.