Ancillary events to prepare for Mark Adamo’s new opera about Mary Magdalene

Last June, when I announced the commencement of single-ticket sales by the San Francisco Opera, I observed that the Summer 2013 Season would be distinguished by the world premiere of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, composed by Mark Adamo, who also wrote his own libretto. This opera will be given seven performances on June 19, June 22, June 25, June 28, July 2, July 5, and July 7, each of which will be preceded by a 25-minute overview in a talk presented by pianist and KALW radio host Sarah Cahill and followed by a post-performance discussion by cultural historian and mythologist Kayleen Asbo. With an approximate running time of two hours and 40 minutes, performances will begin at 8 p.m. except for the June 19 and July 2 evenings, which will start at 7:30 p.m., and the Sunday matinee on July 7, which will begin at 2 p.m. Like the opera itself, all events before and after the performance will take place in the War Memorial Opera House (301 Van Ness Avenue). In addition the San Francisco Opera Guild will host an Insight Panel discussion involving members of the cast and artistic and creative teams. This will take place prior to opening night on June 17 at 6 p.m. at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. This is one of the free benefits for members and subscribers, but the general public may be admitted for a charge of $5. The Opera Guild will also sponsor a free in-depth preview discussion by Lynne Morrow, which will take place in San Francisco on June 12 at noon in the Koret Auditorium on the lower level of the Main Library branch of the San Francisco Public Library (100 Larkin Street).

This opera has inspired a host of ancillary events, including seminars, lectures, and post-performance discussions, concerned as much with scholarship about Mary Magdalene as with Adamo’s music or the opera itself. One of the best ways to learn about Adamo will be through a fully-staged production of his best-known opera Little Women. This will be given two performances by the Conservatory Opera Program in the Concert Hall of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (50 Oak Street), both of which will be free and will require no ticket in advance. Music will be provided only by piano accompaniment; and the performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 3, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 5.

The most active host for ancillary events will be Grace Cathedral (1100 California Street). Two of these will be held in conjunction with the Forum at Grace Cathedral series, which takes on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. in Gresham Hall:

June 2: Mary Magdalene in Text and History will present a discussion of the non-canonical Gospel of Mary, hosted by The Very Reverend Doctor Jane Shaw, Dean of Grace, and featuring presentations by Professor Rebecca Lyman and Professor Kate Cooper.
June 9: In Mary Magdalene in Arts and Culture Shaw will discuss Magdalene’s “operatic character” with Adamo and soprano Sasha Cooke, who will be singing the role in the San Francisco Opera production.

Grace will also host a Grace Cathedral Class about Magdalene, consisting of four sessions meeting on Sunday afternoon’s at 4:30 p.m. Individual topics will be as follows:

May 19, Who is Mary Magdalene?: an overview of Magdalene’s place in text, tradition, and history.
May 26, The Textual Magdalene: Apostle or Prostitute?: a comparative examination of the portrayal of Magdalene across a variety of literatures.
June 2, The Power Struggle over Mary Magdalene: a discussion of how and why many of the Magdalene texts, including the Gospel, were rejected from the New Testament
June 9, Becoming Mary Magdalene: The Evolving Tradition of Mary Magdalene in the West: the evolution of contemporary thinking about Magdalene

Both Forum and Class events are free and open to the general public, although a donation of $10 is suggested. However, Asbo will also lead a one-day workshop at Grace beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 15, entitled Finding the Light Within: Mary Magdalene and the Labyrinth. This event will require registration and a tuition fee of $150. Online registration has been enabled through an event page on the Veriditas Web site. In addition, Asbo will present an Internet-based teleseminar series about Magdalene on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., beginning on May 1 and running through June 12. The introductory session is free. Remaining sessions require a fee, but the viewer is free to choose the amount. Asbo has created a home page for the series for registration and viewing.

A more modest effort comes from the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco, which will host two two-hour lectures about the role of women in early Christianity. Both lectures begin at 6:30 p.m. with the following speakers and topics:

Wednesday, April 24, Kirsti Barrett Copeland: Women in Early Christianity
Tuesday, May 7, Barbara Pitkin: The Magdalene Figure in Religion, Art and Culture

The admission fee is $10 for Club members and $15 for the general public. Registration is required for the individual events, but there is a single event page on the Stanford Alumni Web site with hyperlinks for each of the lectures.

Two other organizations will host preview events:

May 5, 2 p.m.: The C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco will host a three-hour discussion about Mary Magdalene led by Jungian analysts Karlyn Ward and Janet Robinson. The scope of this presentation will include not only Adamo’s opera but also John Adams’ recent The Gospel According to the Other Mary. This will be free to members of Friends of the Institute with $20 admission for the general public and a $10 rate for students and Institute interns. Registration is required and is being handled by an Eventbrite Web page. Admission includes a wine and cheese reception following the presentation.
May 19, 7 p.m.: The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco will host a preview discussion with Adamo moderated by Clifford Cranna. This will include musical excerpts featuring the leading singers Cooke and Nathan Gunn (Yeshua). Admission is $22 for members and $25 for the general public.

Finally, the Sunday matinee (and last performance) will be followed by one of San Francisco Opera’s Opera on the Couch events. Members of the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis will lead a discussion to provide a psychoanalytic perspective on the opera’s narrative and character personalities. The discussion about The Gospel of Mary Magdalene will take place a Books Inc. (601 Van Ness Avenue, just up the street from the War Memorial Opera House) on July 7, beginning at 5 p.m.