Jay Hunter Morris / Reviews

Mintzer, who was making her debut in the role of Salome, was from start to finish extraordinary. This was a fearless, fully inhabited performance that required her to span her entire vocal range in addition to evoking all manner of dark emotions, and Mintzer sang with power, precision and nuance.

Patrick Summers conducted with tremendous sweep and subtlety, and Heggie's music registered with turbulence and disarming sweetness; the score is often borne aloft on woodwinds, and San Francisco's section sounded exemplary. So did the men of Ian Robertson's chorus, who sang with hearty, unflagging energy.