(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, {…}
San Francisco Opera is set to showcase a virtual event entitled “Celebrating the Summer Season” on Friday, July 10, 2020. The 90-minute program will be headlined by the artists and operas that were programmed during the originally scheduled summer season, which was canceled due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Such artists as Michelle Bradley, Louise Alder, Sasha Cooke, Jakub Jósef {…}
The San Francisco Opera has a announced a cast change for its upcoming production of Verdi and Piave’s “Ernani.” The company announced that the Caroline H. Hume Music Director Designate Eun Sun Kim will conduct Verdi’s “Ernani,” replacing James Gaffigan who has withdrawn from the production due to family reasons. Sun Kim, who was appointed San Francisco Opera’s Caroline H. {…}
The San Francisco Opera has announced that Eun Sun Kim has been appointed to be its next music director starting on August 1, 2021. Kim will be the fourth music director in the company’s history and will work with other members of the company’s leadership to shaping the San Francisco Opera’s artistic direction and developing its young artist programs. She {…}
Chapman University’s Musco Center for the Arts has announced its 2019-20 season. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on opera and other vocal performances. The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra and Chapman University Big Band, directed by Scotty Barnhart, will “serve up that signature, feel-good Basie sound: foot-stomping swing, soaring dynamic contrasts and very, very danceable rhythms.” Carmen {…}