(Credit: Johan Persson)

This week the San Francisco Opera is set to present Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites,” a work that received its U.S. premiere in the city. This season’s presentations will mark the first time the work is presented in French in San Francisco and will mark the first time the company showcases the work since 1982.

With the revival, the San Francisco Opera has enlisted a number of singers making major debuts including Heidi Stober.

Stober made her debut with the company in 2010 and has performed many roles including Sophie in Massenet’s “Werther,” with which she debuted. She has since performed in “Don Pasquale,” “Showboat,” “Un Ballo in Maschera,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Falstaff,” “Xerxes,” and “Le nozze di Figaro.” Now for the first time in her career, the American soprano will take on the role of Blanche de la Force, one of Poulenc’s fearful heroines and one of opera’s most iconic roles.

In addition to a strong relationship with the San Francisco Opera, Stober has performed in many of the great operatic houses in the world including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro Real, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Houston Grand Opera, many others. The soprano’s repertoire has also been varied expanding from Italian, baroque, and Mozart to musicals and 20th and 21st composers. With her versatility, Blanche is sure to be another important role in her repertoire.

For audiences not in San Francisco, the opera will be livestreamed for US and Canadian audiences through the company’s streaming platform. The soprano is also set to perform at the Staatsoper Hamburg, Semperoper Dresden, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Recordings 

For audiences not familiar with the soprano, Stober has a recording of Ricky Ian Gordon’s “The House Without a Christmas Tree.” 

Here she is in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4.

Here she is performing in “Don Pasquale” from the San Francisco Opera.