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The line between classical and pop music was appealingly blurred Monday night at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco when Elvis Costello opened his 2006 tour with a stirring program.
In a San Francisco Symphony presentation, the show opened with Costello’s 2000 full-length orchestral composition, “Il Sogno” (“The Dream”), a piece commissioned by Italian dance company Aterballetto for its ballet adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Later, Costello, with the help of San Francisco’s Michael Tilson Thomas, revised the score for a 2004 Deutsche Grammophon recording featuring MTT leading the London Symphony Orchestra.
MTT wasn’t in the house, though. In perhaps the only rock concert moment of the evening, someone in the audience yelled, “Where’s MTT?” to no response. Conducting duties went to the New Zealand-born Alan Broadbent, who has served as touring musical director for Costello’s wife Diana Krall.
Before the orchestra began, Costello thanked MTT and briefly greeted concertgoers in the sold-out hall with a modest disclaimer: They wouldn’t be hearing a symphony, but rather a “series of episodes” linked to certain characters. And with a nod to fans most familiar with his prolific pop career, he gave the OK for people to clap — whenever.
“Don’t wait until the end to applaud. Knock yourself out,” he said. “It’s San Francisco. Take your clothes off.”
But the audience, which looked to be a mix of open-minded symphony subscribers (who apparently got first dibs on the tickets) and die-hard Costello followers, took a short while to get with the program. It wasn’t until the second or third pause in the 30-minute piece did people feel moved to clap.
Although detailed program notes outlined scenes of the ballet giving listeners markers for enjoying the music, the piece’s varied landscape didn’t really benefit from the explanations. “Il Sogno” represents a pleasing, if not revolutionary, blend of influences from Debussy to Stravinsky to Bernstein to Bacharach.
Not all 24 “episodes” on the recording were played. Eighteen were presented, featuring amiable melodies sprinkled throughout, with special attention given to the saxophone, vibraphone, cimbalom and jazz drum. The ending, however, came quite abruptly.
Wearing a tux for the second half of the concert, Costello took the stage to sing 13 pop songs, most fantastically dressed up in full orchestral arrangements. Just three tunes into the show, the experience began to feel like something you’d want to go on forever, hearing Costello go through his entire huge repertoire with new, evocative interpretations. He’s so good, he probably could even pull off a symphonic version of “Pump It Up.” (He didn’t play that one.) The lineup was rich, beginning with “Still” from the 2003 album, “North,” a collection of moody, bittersweet ballads. Next came the ballad “Upon a Veil of Midnight Blue” written for Charles Brown and arranged by Bill Frisell.
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