The San Francisco Opera has canceled the fall portion of its 2020-21 season due to the continued challenges faced by the country regarding COVID-19. Among the productions affected by the cancelation are “Fidelio,” “Così fan tutte,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Rigoletto,” and “La Bohème.” The season is expected to resume in the summer of 2021. “It is heartbreaking to have to {…}
(Credit: Cory Weaver / Terrence McCarthy / San Francisco Opera) The San Francisco Opera has announced its upcoming slate of operas on its “Opera is ON” streaming service. First up, the company will present “Salome” in a production starring Nadja Michael, Greer Grimsley, Kim Begley, Irina Mishura, and Garrett Sorenson. Nicola Luisotti conducts the Strauss opera. Streaming Date: June 20, {…}
San Francisco Opera has announced the official dates for its “Opera is On” Streaming service. This weekend on May 16, the company will broadcast Bellini’s “The Capulets and the Montegues” in a production headlined by Nicole Cabell and Joyce DiDonato. Riccard Frizza conducts a cast that also includes Saimir Pirgu, Ao Li, and Eric Owens. On May 23, audiences can {…}
Mayors from around the United States are sending a letter to Congress in which they ask that the governmental body provide funding and support for the arts and culture sector. The effort was spearheaded by the San Francisco Arts Alliance with support from San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed. Other mayors who have signed on to support include Steve Adler (Austin, {…}
The good news? Some countries are starting to slowly opening up their doors as they transition out of the lockdown. But that’s not to say that everyone is rushing outside (nor should they). This means that there’s still a lot of time to stay indoors and a lot of opera to fill in those hours. As with the last few {…}
San Francisco Opera’s Department of Diversity, Equity, and Community is launching a new online program aimed at families, adults, and educators. The program will be headlined by “Family Fun Fridays,” which features lyric videos of original, student-created operas, will launch on the company’s YouTube channel on May 8. On May 10, the organization will present “Opera Aficionado,” a weekly lecture {…}
(Credit: Cory Waver/San Francisco Opera) The San Francisco Opera has announced that it will stream performances from its archives beginning Saturday, May 9. The company will begin with a recent performance of Boito’s “Mefistofele.” The production stars Ildar Abdrazakov in his staged role debut as Mephistopheles, Ramón Vargas as Faust and Patricia Racette in the dual roles of Margherita and {…}
The San Francisco Opera has canceled its 2020 Summer Season due to the continued practice of social distancing around the world. The festival, which was slated for June 7-July 3, was set to feature 18 total performances of operas such as Verdi’s “Ernani,” Handel’s “Partenope,” and the Bay Area premiere of Mason Bates and Mark Campbell’s “The (R)evolution of Steve {…}
San Francisco Opera has kicked off its “Opera is ON” online project aimed at providing respite to all those engaged with social distancing throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. As such, the company has a series of programs that it will be sharing via all of its social media platforms including the company’s official blog. Among the projects it is sharing are {…}
The Merola Opera Program has announced its 2020 program, which is scheduled between July 9 and August 22, 2020. The program, which will feature 29 artists from six countries and across the U.S., will include two concerts and two opera performances. “We are eagerly anticipating another group of outstanding young artists this summer at Merola,” said Jean Kellogg, Executive Director {…}
The San Francisco Opera Center has announced that Sheri Greenawald is set to retire at the close of 2020. She has been the director of the Opera Center since 2002. Prior to that, she had a career as a soprano for over 30 years, singing leading roles with such companies as the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Venice’s La {…}