Workshop: The Opera in You | San Francisco Public Library era: Opera director was gambling man", "San Francisco Opera's 75th Anniversary Gala", "Runnicles Won't Renew Contract with S.F. Eventually, as seen in the 1961 SFO season, eleven operas were given five or six performances each on average while the season ran to late November. Given his expertise and background in understanding opera and the wonders of the human voice, it is not surprising that his approach in his early years was away from the theatrical side and more focused on singers. Opera", "Pamela Rosenberg's time at the Opera was as full of drama as any production", Joshua Kosman, "David Gockley seeks to overhaul S.F. 601 Van Ness Ave #623, San Francisco, CA 94102 - Redfin Paiement has served as the Artistic Director of the BluePrint Project at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) where she has commissioned, premiered, and recorded works from many living . Books Inc. - The West's Oldest Independent Bookseller A gem in San Franciscos architectural crown, the 3,146-seat War Memorial Opera House is a California Historical Landmark. S.F.'s Opera in Park attracts attention - SFGATE He took on more and more administrative details as Merola's health and energy diminished, but Adler was not the board's natural choice to replace Merola at the time of his death in 1953. Partenope is the queen of the Paris social scene, her salon a magnet to the eras surrealist artists as they vie for her hand in a laugh-out-loud comedy. See below for the livestream schedule. Click here to access our new Future of Opera subscription built exclusively for you. To begin the first season of its second century, San Francisco Opera will introduce a new, multi-season initiative where Kim will conduct works by both Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner every season while the Company simultaneously reaffirmed its commitment to expanding the repertoire with three co-commissioned new works by leading composers of today. FROM HARLEM TO JUILLIARD Born in New York City on January 30, 1928 to parents who emigrated from Barbados in the West Indies, Elayne Jones considers herself a "New Yorkerof African origin." . The worlds of silent film, 1920s cabaret and animation collide in Barrie Kosky and Suzanne Andrades internationally acclaimed production which originated at Komische Oper Berlin and makes its Bay Area premiere. Sean Martinfield, "SF OPERA Announces audited financial results for Fiscal Year 2010/11", Rita Moreno to Host KQED's San Francisco Opera Broadcasts, TheaterMania.com, "San Francisco Opera appoints Nicola Luisotti as Music Director beginning in 200910 season", "Nicola Luisotti named Opera's music director, starting in 2009", "3 Generations of Chinese Women Find Voice in Opera". And the underworld heeds his call. SF Opera's Don Giovanni - The Opera Tattler [11], As part of his future plans, Gockley stated "I want nothing less than to have the greatest stars of the opera world perform here regularly. By introducing his young singers to the great voices of the past, inviting them to rehearsals, and giving tickets to current productions McEwen hoped to create rounded performers who could appear in the regular Fall season. She returned to SFO with a background of operatic productions in Germany and, specifically, as head of the Stuttgart Opera.[8]. San Francisco Opera General Director Kurt Herbert Adler (third from left) is honored by members of the opera supporters' group Il Cenacolo at a Christmas dinner in 1969. The San Francisco Opera House is located on Van Ness Avenue, near SF City Hall and the Davies Symphony Hall. Eun Sun Kim said: The works of Wagner and Verdi are cornerstones of the operatic repertoire as we know it. Sign up to attend a performance below. SAN FRANCISCO Wagner was the worst. For 100 years, S.F. Opera has flourished with dedication of patrons and Box Office (415) 864-3330 Mon 10am-5pm Tue-Sat 10am-6pm. It was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. Layered in Masonic symbolism and occult mysteries, Mozarts The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflte) is, above all, one of operas most joyous and accessible masterworks. Each composer blazed new trails in his dayand each changed the world of opera forever. In addition, the opera will be available on-demand for 48 hours after the performance. Mansouri's feelings on the effects of titling was that the audience would be more engaged in the performance. Dagmar Dolby said: "100 years ago, San Francisco Opera was born through the confluence of bold ideas, great artistry, and passionate support. About Employment | Auditions Press Room Blog Visit Performance Archive. Originally built in 1888 by the San Francisco Masonic Lodge No. SF Opera announces transitional 99th season - sfexaminer.com San Francisco Opera's recent commissions include Dream of the Red Chamber by Bright Sheng and David Henry Hwang in the fall of 2016, based on the work of the same name by 18th-century Qing Dynasty writer Cao Xueqin. These free, live performances of an abridged version of Giacomo Puccinis La Bohme will travel to outdoor locations throughout the Bay Area this spring. Calendar | Merola Opera Program Box Office (415) 864-3330 Mon 10am-5pm Tue-Sat 10am-6pm. The audience roared as he got down on one knee, video from KQED's Gabe Meline shows, and Perez . Since 1982, the Opera Center has welcomed the finest young artists from around the world into its celebrated programs. San Francisco Opera is a member of. Tickets for each livestream performance are $27.50. PURPOSE: To help coordinate systems and logistics for facilities items, production rentals and theatrical technical work related to the construction, transport, mounting, and running of San Francisco Opera productions in a . The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs by Bay Area composer Mason Bates and Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Mark Campbell had its world premiere in 2017 and has since enjoyed a Grammy-winning recording and multiple productions around North America. Edwin MacArthur led the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in several 78-rpm recordings for RCA Victor in the late 1930s, including performances by soprano Kirsten Flagstad. It was launched with the commissioning of the following operas: Summing up his years at the SFO, the San Francisco Chronicle noted: "He's never been interested in the succs d'estime, the daring intellectual or theatrical coup that dazzles culture mavens but leaves the general public alienated or bewildered. These included more Russian operas with the highlight being Valery Gergiev's conducting of Prokofiev's War and Peace and a firm link established with the Kirov Opera. San Francisco Opera's Second Century Dawns with New Music and Fresh Explorations, Music Director Eun Sun Kim To Lead Annual Presentations of Works by Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner Beginning with IL TROVATORE and LOHENGRINCompany Premieres of Repertoire-Expanding Co-Commissions:THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS by Mason Bates and Mark CampbellOMAR by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael AbelsINNOCENCE by Kaija Saariaho, Sofi Oksanen and Aleksi Barrire, Other 202324 Season Highlights Include:New Co-Production of Gaetano Donizettis THE ELIXIR OF LOVE by Daniel SlaterBarrie Kosky and Suzanne Andrades Staging of Mozarts THE MAGIC FLUTEReturn of Handels PARTENOPE in Christopher Aldens ProductionOPERA BALL Headlined by Roberto Alagna, Aleksandra Kurzak and Eun Sun KimOther Special Events Include Free Opera in the Park and The Elixir of Love EncounterThird Performance of Each Mainstage Opera Will Be Livestreamed. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. San Francisco Opera's centennial season opens with Opera Ball 2022, a benefit gala hosted by San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Opera Guild to . After three months of acting as artistic director, and with the assistance of its president, Robert Watt Miller, Adler was confirmed as general director. Soprano Angel Blue, who made her Company debut in 2009 as Clara in Porgy and Bess, returns as Leonora, one of Verdis greatest heroines. The San Francisco Opera and San Quentin Prison Team Up - Hyperallergic San Francisco Opera's 2022-23 Centennial Season Announced Fittingly, the concert featured operatic greats of the past, present and future. The complete cycles in June 2011 were conducted by Donald Runnicles and featured cycle role debuts of Mark Delavan (Wotan) and Nina Stemme (Brnnhilde) as well as Jay Hunter Morris (making his role debut in the title role of Siegfried) and Ian Storey[es] (making his role debut as Siegfried in Gtterdmmerung. Led by experienced teachers, workshops will explore the unique experiences within us all as participants build storytelling literacy skills in a creative and collaborative environment. Among those who were offered new and exciting challenges were Geraint Evans, the Welsh baritone, Leontyne Price, and Luciano Pavarotti. Learn More. The updated setting for this funny and heart-warming 1832 romance, which includes Donizettis cherished aria Una furtiva lagrima (A furtive tear), takes place on the Italian Riviera during the 1950s. 212 to serve as an entertainment hall for its members, the Bayview Opera House was designed by prominent German architect Henry . About Press Room Blog Visit Performance Archive. Icelandic bass Kristinn Sigmundsson, who was the Water Gnome in Dvoks Rusalka under Kims baton in 2019, returns as King Heinrich. SFCM Student Brings Opera into the Metaverse | SFCM The first official performance given by San Francisco Opera was La bohme, with Queena Mario and Giovanni Martinelli, on September 26, 1923, in the city's Civic Auditorium. Position Type : Full Time . Gaetanos Donizettis The Elixir of Love (LElisir dAmore) returns to the War Memorial Opera House stage in a co-production with Lyric Opera of Chicago from Opera North in the UK by director Daniel Slater and choreographer Tim Claydon. In this gripping one-act drama by composer Kaija Saariaho, librettist Sofi Oksanen and dramaturg Aleksi Barrire, a harrowing story of emotional shock and surprise unfolds in which the understanding of innocence and guilt is continually upended. With the company now entering its second century, we want to invite people of all ages and backgrounds around the Bay Area to experience the art produced by this dynamic institution their opera company. War Memorial Opera House301 Van Ness AvenueSan Francisco, CA 94102-4509, (415) 864-3330Mon 10am-5pmTue-Sat 10am-6pm, Performance days: 10am through first intermission, AboutEmployment | AuditionsPress RoomBlogVisitPerformance Archive, Opera ShopStreaming the First CenturyBohme Out of The Box, SF Opera GuildMerola Opera ProgramOpera Center, San Francisco Opera is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Rhiannon Giddens' new opera, 'Omar,' is headed for San Francisco Box Office (415) 864-3330 Mon 10am-5pm Tue-Sat 10am-6pm. Your support helps us fulfill our mission to bring the transformative power of musical storytelling to our community. Performance days: 10am through first intermission. Janos Gereben, "Music News: 22 November 2011". Dulcamara, the miracle worker whose elixir provides the liquid courage Nemorino needs to express his true feelings, is performed by Italian baritone Renato Girolami. In January 1982 McEwen was running the SFO. Company-wide cuts pared 14 percent from the company's $67 million budget in 2003. S.F. Opera delivers a 'Sweeney Todd' that's a cut above - SFGATE Eun Sun Kim, continuing her annual exploration of the operas of Verdi which she initiated in 2022 with La Traviata, takes on the composers spirited classic, which abounds in turbulent passions and hit tunes like the famous Anvil Chorus. In collaboration with the San Francisco Opera ("Opera"), the City of Dublin will be hosting the Opera's free performance of " Bohme Out of the Box ," from March 31 through April 2, at the Emerald Glen Park Amphitheater. . He is joined by several exciting artists making their first engagements with the Company. Board Member Bay Area Girls Rock Camp Jan 2023 Arts and Culture More activity by Vivienne . San Francisco Opera 2021-22 season. As part of an announcement of the 2006/2007 season and the future of the company on 11 January, Gockley noted that "this season we debut a new visual identity and logo in keeping with a new artistic philosophy. I am so proud that we are telling so many new stories this season, and Im excited to continue our innovation explorations as we chart a course for the future of opera. SAN FRANCISCO OPERA GUILD OPERA PREVIEW: LA TRAVIATA. Pamela Rosenberg[de]'s first connection with the San Francisco Opera was as a standee while attending the University of California, Berkeley. . Same day tickets, starting at 11:00 am at the box office. I believe that it speaks of glamour, sophistication, tradition and innovation all things that infuse our plans for the future of San Francisco Opera. A Night at the SF Opera; beauty, magic and music. We will have a world premiere for you in 2007, and the Wagner lovers among you will be happy to hear that we expect to commence a Ring Cycle in 2008. Besides his work for SF Ballet and Opera (usually in the Orchestra), he also proudly volunteered for the San Francisco SPCA. in Wagner's Ring Cycle alone, we spend 14 hours together in the dark, sharing our love for extraordinary music. [31], In order to consolidate its various office and work spaces scattered throughout San Francisco, SFO took over the fourth floor of the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in February 2016, following the completion of the building's $156-million seismic retrofit and renovation. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. San Francisco Opera press release announcing 2014/15 season https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vt9V1uo0c4 Interview with Bright Sheng and David Henry Hwang about Opera. San Diego Opera Guild was founded in 1950 to present San Francisco Opera productions in the San Diego community. She immediately drew attention with a lavishly acclaimed company debut in the title role of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" and went on to sing . Countertenor Carlo Vistoli makes his American opera debut as Arsace, and countertenor Nicholas Tamagna joins the Company as Armindo. Supertitles are now used for all San Francisco Opera productions and SFO also rents its supertitles internationally to other opera companies. Joshua Kosman Joshua Kosman is The San Francisco Chronicle's music critic. In this, he was greatly supported by his long relationship with Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, the often-controversial stage director and designer who began his association with SFO in 1957. All employment is conditioned upon providing timely and satisfactory evidence of the ability New Zealand-born heldentenor Simon ONeill is Lohengrin and American soprano Julie Adams, a recent San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, portrays Elsa. ", In May 2011, it was announced that Gockley's contract was to be extended through SFO's 201516 season. War Memorial Opera House 301 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102-4509. Our federal tax ID is 94-0836240. Following Adler's retirement announcement in June 1979, Terence A. McEwen (19291998) was Adler's hand-picked successor. San Francisco Opera created a memorable performance out of Verdi's "La Traviata," a work That once heard, will always im[act you deeply. CO-COMMISSION AMERICAN PREMIEREINNOCENCE music by Kaija Saariaho, libretto by Sofi Oksanen, text dramaturgy and multilanguage translations by Aleksi BarrireJune 121, 2024, Kaija Saariaho; Sofi Oksanen; Aleksi Barrire; Ruxandra Donose; Lucy Shelton; Vilma J; Clment Mao-Takacs. The fundraising campaign was a success. He heard Leontyne Price on the radio, and offered her a role in Dialogues of the Carmelites in 1957, thus providing her with her first performance on a major operatic stage. The production used imagery from various eras of American history and had a feminist and environmentalist viewpoint. [2], Mansouri introduced many new operas to the SFO repertory. It became clear to Merola that a more solid financial base was needed, so he set about fundraising for a full season of opera in the fall of 1923. We have been thrilling audiences in San Francisco since 1923. San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco Opera and Washington National Opera began a co-production of a new Ring Cycle in 2006 directed by Francesca Zambello. San Francisco Ballet enchants with a winning Giselle Along with Eun Sun Kims multi-season Verdi and Wagner cycles and the repertoire expanding co-commissions, San Francisco Operas 202324 Season will witness the Company debuts of many exceptional artists on stage and in the pit. S.F. Opera review: 'Partenope' a fizzy, free-associative delight - SFGATE Bass Soloman Howard proposes to Ailyn Perez during curtain call of Tosca at San Francisco Opera. San Francisco Opera Orchestra After being approached by Adler regarding the San Francisco opera job, he moved to the city in 1980 and involved himself totally in learning the running of an opera company. San Francisco Opera's Spring 2015 Donor Newsletter . San Francisco Opera | SF Opera . The "Most Likely Range" represents values that . Education: Tickets are sold on an individual, group, and rush basis, with two shows daily, including a matinee performance. The San Francisco Opera Chorus was the subject of the 1992 Oscar-winning feature-length documentary In the Shadow of the Stars . San Francisco Opera Announces Jack Calhoun as New Board President-Elect Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the nation's largest and most influential opera company, posted a 45-second video on Instagram boasting about the company's new COVID safety . Providing a coordinated sequence of performance and study opportunities for young artists, the San Francisco Opera Center included the "Merola Opera Program", "Adler Fellowship Program", "Showcase Series", "Brown Bag Opera", "Opera Center Singers", "Schwabacher Recitals", and various Education Programs. You, as our audience, complete the cycle; one that begins with the . However, until well after Merola's death on August 30, 1953 while conducting an open-air concert at Stern Grove, the main San Francisco season rarely extended beyond late October. San Francisco Opera Board Member Annette Campbell-White Honored For Viewers watch the projected "La Traviata" at Oracle Park for San Francisco Opera's "Opera at the Ballpark." Photo: Ando Caulfield/Drew Altizer Photography In addition to an audience of 2,700 in the War Memorial Opera House, the performance was projected at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, for a crowd of at least 5,000 . Review: S.F. Opera introduces a beautiful new 'Traviata' meant to last These included Plcido Domingo flying with no notice from New York City to San Francisco albeit three hours after curtain time to replace the ailing Carlo Cossutta on the opening night of Otello and the last-minute substitution by Leontyne Price for Margaret Price in the role of Aida. Our relationship is passionate and committed. From 2004 to 2007, Keith Cerny served as the chief financial officer of the San Francisco Opera. The legendary tenor Lauritz Melchior conducted the orchestra, rather than sing, in a performance of the famous Radetsky March by Johann Strauss I; it was possibly his last public appearance. Music Director Eun Sun Kim and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus inaugurate the Companys 101st season with a program of arias and scenes featuring tenor Roberto Alagna and soprano Aleksandra Kurzak. As a singer, Sayo was forever to remain his passion, one which was accentuated by seeing her in Manon performances in Montreal. During the 1983 fall season, the student/family matinee performances of La traviata were presented with supertitles. This was a momentous change in the world of opera. If You Go. For the complete press release, including cast and calendar, open the PDF version above. Can't make it to the Winspear? In May 2006 Gockley oversaw SFO's first simulcast, a live broadcast of a mainstage performance of Madama Butterfly to San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza for a crowd of 8,000. The project included repairs of damage caused by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, improvements for the audience and performers, seismic strengthening and a general cleanup that left the 65-year-old Opera House gleaming."[6]. Our federal tax ID is 94-0836240. While it was a popular and critical triumph, the five-day season was not a financial success. In her American opera debut, French soprano Julie Fuchs portrays the title role, a queen who is pursued by wildly different suitors. On October 15, 1932 the company inaugurated the new opera house with a performance of Tosca on with Claudia Muzio in the title role. The overwhelmingly favorable response prompted the company to introduce the practice in increasing numbers of performances in subsequent seasons. Then, on Tuesday, September 12, Kim will lead the Company in the first full opera of the season, Verdis Il Trovatore. Adler conducted most of the program, which featured performances by many of the surviving singers who had appeared with the company during its history. Other operas new to the SFO's repertoire during her directorship include Busoni's Doktor Faust, Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre and Janek's The Cunning Little Vixen. San Francisco (/ s n f r n s s k o /; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California.The city proper is the fourth most populous in California, with 815,201 residents as of 2021, and covers a land area of 46.9 square miles (121 square kilometers), at the end of the San . Then head of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, Mansouri had received an education in medicine in Los Angeles, but gave it all up upon becoming fixated on opera, first as a young tenor with UCLA's Opera Workshop, and then with opera in general. Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, who radiantly personified (Dallas Morning News) Laurene Powell Jobs at the world premiere, and bass Wei Wu, role creator of Jobs spiritual advisor, Kbun Chino Otogawa, reprise their respective parts. War Memorial Opera House 301 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102-4509. Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera Show More Show Less . San Francisco Opera is a member of. Taube Atrium Theater and Osher Recital Hall. We Shall Be Free, We Shall Find Peace: An exhibition of art . 271: 1953-1956 Seems to have begun during the 1953-1954 season, succeeding Irving Steffen: Djokic, Michelle After much controversy surrounding her management of the SFO, which included deficits created after the "dot-com" collapse in 2000 and the effects of September 11 on arts attendance, she announced in 2004 that she would not renew her contract with the company when it ended in late 2005. The union of Elsa and Lohengrin is opposed by the scheming Ortrud, performed by Romanian-Hungarian mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi in her American debut, and the Telramund of baritone Brian Mulligan. violin I. violin II. The building was designed by Arthur Brown Jr., the architect who conceived Coit Tower and City Hall. [3], Another innovation was "Opera in the Park" which, since 1971, has been an annual free concert in Golden Gate Park on the Sunday following opening night of the Fall Season. Make a gift that's meaningful to you today and start enjoying the perks of membership! Elayne Jones - PAS In SFO's September 2009 program magazine, David Gockley announced that bringing on Luisotti as the company's music director was a large part of his goal to "reinvigorate the core Italian repertory that is San Francisco Opera's birthright." Soprano Brittany Renee makes her house debut as Julie, a friend to Omar amid the trials of their lives under enslavement. 75% of our revenue comes from donations. Bud Cary San Francisco opera collection. Continued visits over the next decade convinced him that an opera company in San Francisco was viable. viola. A short time later in the same season, she was to step into the role of Aida at short notice to replace Antonietta Stella, a role which gave her long-lived international acclaim. Miles Mykkanen portrays the Groom, bass Kristinn Sigmundsson is the Priest and Lucy Shelton is the teacher. You can expect in coming seasons to hear Rene Fleming, Anna Netrebko, Thomas Hampson, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Marcello Giordani, Ramn Vargas, Marcelo lvarez, Juan Diego Flrez, Ben Heppner, Natalie Dessay, and Angela Gheorghiu, among many others. Ft. 601 Van Ness Ave #608, San Francisco, CA 94102. In 1975, Kurt Herbert Adler was in charge of the San Francisco Opera, and . The Team - Opera Parallle - San Francisco Contemporary Opera Make a gift that's meaningful to you today and start enjoying the perks of membership! San Francisco Opera - Wikipedia [32], Parts of this article (those related to General and music directors since 2016) need to be, Auditorium of the War Memorial Opera House at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, Stage, curtain, and proscenium corner ornamentation in the auditorium. Alumni of the program have made important debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and English National Opera, to name just a few. . The San Francisco Opera Orchestra performs "Dio, che nell'alma infondere " from "Don Carlo" (Giuseppe Verdi) during the Opera Ball on Sept. 9.