San Francisco Opera "Show Boat" Cast Garners Excellent Reviews

Morris Robinson lets loose with his booming voice for the role of Joe at the War Memorial Opera House.

"A couple of highlights: There's granite-voiced bass Morris Robinson, as the stevedore Joe, pacing himself through 'Ol' Man River,' aligning with the show's African-American chorus to build this iconic number -- part spiritual, part dirge -- into a majestic cry for justice. There's actor and comic Bill Irwin, as Cap'n Andy Hawks, who is all fluid motion and spark-plug energy: clowning, moon-walking or floating like Fred Astaire. His face is plastic. He is pure expression and heart -- an unforgettable performance. Not that Show Boat is light fare. What it is is an intensely American hybrid, celebrating vaudeville, jazz, opera, spirituals and popular song. It addresses distinctly American themes: racism against African-Americans and opposition to inter-racial marriage, especially. These themes play out aboard the Cotton Blossom, a floating theater -- a showboat with its own troupe, led by Cap'n Andy. His daughter, Magnolia Hawks (soprano Heidi Stober, perfect as the ingenue), is the story's pivot. We follow her through her ill-fated marriage to gambler Gaylord Ravenal (baritone Michael Todd Simpson) in the 1880s, and then through single motherhood and her resolute fashioning of a career in the 1920s New York theater. A subplot involves Magnolia's best friend, Julie La Verne (soprano Patricia Racette), who is bi-racial and has been 'passing' for

MET Sirius XM Radio Tonight: "La Fanciulla del West"

Listen to the Metropolitan Opera perform Puccini's La Fanciulla del West live tonight at 8:00 PM EST on Sirius XM radio. Intermission guests: Morris Robinson, Marco Armiliato and Carl Tanner (see video).