Richard Wagner fell in love with the story of Lohengrin. How could he not? A handsome knight, with a golden disposition of purity, nobility and generosity. The son of Parsifal. The leader of the Grail. Destined to rescue, save and uplift all who needed rescuing and salvation. With soaring and beauteous romantic melodies, rich choral support, dazzling duets between glorious {…}
Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” conjures up fire from the outset like firelight. It burns and blazes with passion. It smolders. The more Verdi wrote, the more his imagination leapt into flames. One magnificent, powerful and engaging aria, duet, trio, quartet and chorus, emerging after the other. Dazzling. And what a story – an Italian troubadour with love affairs and babies tossed {…}
Remarkable. Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites” opened at the San Francisco Opera War Memorial Opera House for the first time since the 1980s. We were strangers as the curtain rose, far away in time and belief, conviction, and the Reign of Terror after the French Revolution. Yet we were also familiars, who knew in our hearts and minds the {…}
(Credit: Cory Weaver) “I am fire and air; my other elements I give to baser life.” So sings Cleopatra in John Adams’ “Antony and Cleopatra.” The baser life about which Cleopatra sings is everything that is not she and everything that was not Antony. So Adams tells us in the latest from his roster of remarkable operas. San Francisco Opera {…}
(Credit: Evan Zimmerman) Met audiences love “La Bohème.” The company has staged the opera 1,356 times over the past 122 years and has presented the Zeffirelli production for the last 40. The years-long affair with Puccini’s story of Parisian bohemians centers on one of the most potent motivating forces in our lives: love, and we like to see romance play {…}
San Francisco Opera is set to present “The Future is Now: Adler Fellows Concert” on Dec. 10, 2021. The showcase, which marks the culmination of the 2021 Adler Fellows will feature Anne-Marie MacIntosh, Elisa Sunshine and Esther Tonea; mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh; tenors Zhengyi Bai, Christopher Colmenero and Christopher Oglesby; baritone Timothy Murray; bass Stefan Egerstrom and pianists Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad and Andrew King. Audiences will hear a wide array of opera scenes, arias, {…}
On Nov. 17, 2021, the Metropolitan Opera presented the third performance of its 2021-22 run of Puccini’s seminal “La Bohème.” Franco Zeffirelli’s production is celebrating its 40th anniversary and is arguably the company’s most iconic. There was something quite uplifting about seeing the curtain rise on this expansive set, brimming with life and energy, especially after the time period we {…}
Set design by Alexander V. Nichols Virtual tickets for San Francisco Opera’s new production of Beethoven’s “Fidelio” are now on sale. The fresh staging by Matthew Ozawa is set to open on Oct. 14, 2021. SFO’s first-ever virtual option enables audiences from around the world to experience Beethoven’s only opera from the comfort of their homes. Audiences will have three {…}
(Credit: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera) Sunlight on the water, fog hovering. Homecoming at the Opera House, San Francisco September 2021. “Finalmente! Finally.” Masked and vaccinated we arrive at the doors of the War Memorial Opera House and are welcomed as if we are the stars. In a way we were: the ones who up until tonight, could not enter. The {…}
San Francisco Opera is set to present “Live and In Concert: The Homecoming” on Sept. 10. The concert will feature Music Director Eun Sun Kim alongside soloists Rachel Willis-Sørensen and Jamie Barton. The concert will be held at the War Memorial Opera House and will be simulcast at Oracle Park. Kim, Willis-Sørensen, and Barton first performed together in the company’s 2019 production of {…}
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, San Francisco’s Merola Opera Program has announced that it will be offering online coaching and instruction for the students of the 2020 program, along with a series of public “master chats” with prominent industry professionals. The instructors for this year’s program include Lyric Opera of Chicago vocal coach Alan Darling, international director Chuck Hudson, {…}