Ailyn Pérez Headlines San Francisco Opera’s Opening Night ‘Tosca’

By Francisco Salazar
(Credit: Walter Hill/Chris Singer/Jiyang Chen)

San Francisco Opera is set to inaugurate its 99th season and first under the baton of Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim, with “Tosca.”

The company will present five performances of Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece and it will represent the first opera staged in the War Memorial Opera House since the pandemic shutdown.

The opera will star Ailyn Pérez in the title role, Michael Fabiano as Cavaradossi, and Alfred Walker as Scarpia. Director Shawna Lucey’s production will be reprised. The production will mark the second time Kim conducts Puccini’s 1900 score since leading performances in the composer’s native Italy at the Macerata Festival in 2014.

Meanwhile, this set of performances will mark Pérez’s role debut as the iconic diva and Fabiano’s return to the role of Cavaradossi after productions in Paris and Madrid. OperaWire raved about his recent interpretations in Madrid, stating he sang with “passion” and was the “star of the night.” Walker will also make his role debut as Scarpia.

The cast of Tosca will be rounded out by bass-baritone Dale Travis as the Sacristan, tenor Joel Sorensen as Spoletta, bass Soloman Howard as Angelotti, current San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows baritone Timothy Murray as Sciarrone, bass Stefan Egerstrom as the Jailer, and soprano Elisa Sunshine as a Shepherd Boy.

Tosca opens on August 21 and runs through Sept. 5.

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