NICK MAKES ROLE DEBUT AS YONAS IN KAIJA SAARIAHO'S 'ADRIANA MATER' WITH THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
KAIJA SAARIAHO’S ADRIANA MATER IS HARROWING AND BEAUTIFUL AT SF SYMPHONY
“The four singers…were superb as individuals and as an ensemble...Tenor Nicholas Phan sang and acted brilliantly as the impulsive Yonas, who slowly matures as he comprehends the generosity and hope behind his mother’s behavior.”
REVISITING A KAIJA SAARIAHO OPERA DAYS AFTER HER DEATH
“…But she does worry: Will the child be more like Tsargo or like her? Cain or Abel? Act II, set 17 years later, puts that uncertainty to the test when her son, Yonas (an agile, heldentenor-like Nicholas Phan) learns his father’s identity and sets out to kill him…”
Photo: Brittany Hosea-Small
SAARIAHO’S ADRIANA MATER AT THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
“…Mr. Phan brought striking artistic finesse to this very complex role — raging at his mother, berating her sister, threatening his father.…”
SAARIAHO’S ADRIANA MATER GETS A ROUGH BUT REWARDING RIDE FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
“…The Yonas-Adriana scenes crackled, the underlying orchestral music drawing a sound picture of the push and pull between the son’s energetic desire for revenge and his mother’s wish to forgive and move on…A ball of energy, Phan spun out his music with restless abandon…”
Photo: Brittany Hosea-Small
SF SYMPHONY’S ADRIANA MATER CARRIES A SPECIAL POIGNANCY
“…All four singers were first rate…Tenor Nicholas Phan was properly intense as Yonas…”
S.F. Symphony’s operatic triumph is a posthumous tribute to composer Kaija Saariaho
“…From a purely musical standpoint, Thursday’s performance was a triumph…All four of the vocal soloists, meanwhile, took the measure of their assignments superbly”