Group portrait of the 2010 Merolini, taken in the lobby of the War Memorial Opera House
(from the Merola Web site)
The Merola Opera Program presents the Merola Grand Finale on Saturday, August 21 at 7:30 PM at the War Memorial Opera House. What began in 1957 as both a concert and an audition for San Francisco Opera’s General Director has evolved into a spectacular public concert, showcasing the progress and artistry each Merola participant has made throughout the summer-long training program. This year’s Grand Finale will star all 20 singers from Merola 2010 in a mixed production featuring arias and ensembles from Stravinsky, Handel, Donizetti, Britten, Strauss, Wagner, Mozart, Gounod, and more. Conductor Dean Williamson will lead the San Francisco Opera Orchestra members, and Merola Apprentice Stage Director Ted Huffman will stage the performances.
Program details are as follows:
The Rake’s Progress, Stravinsky
Ann Truelove, Janai Brugger-Orman
Tom Rakewell, Alexander Lewis
Father Truelove, Kevin Thompson
I Puritani, Bellini
Riccardo, Ao Li
La Fille du Régiment, Donizetti
Marie, Abigail Santos-Villalobos
Tonio, Eleazar Rodríguez
Samson, Handel
Samson, Kevin Ray
Mignon, Thomas
Mignon, Robin Flynn
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Britten
Tytania, Hye Jung Lee
Bottom, Thomas Florio
Peaseblossom, Valentina Fleer
Cobweb, Nadine Sierra
Moth, Robin Flynn
Mustardseed, Abigail Santos-Villalobos
Thaïs, Massenet
Thaïs, Rebecca Davis
Norma, Bellini
Adalgisa, Renée Rapier
Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti
Lucia, Valentina Fleer
Enrico, Sidney Outlaw
Die schweigsame Frau, Strauss
Sir Morosus, Kevin Thompson
Hamlet, Thomas
Ophélie, Abigail Santos-Villalobos
Hamlet, Dan Kempson
Ariadne auf Naxos, Strauss
Zerbinetta, Hye Jung Lee
Composer, Colleen Brooks
Don Pasquale, Donizetti
Norina, Janai Brugger-Orman
Malatesta, Benjamin Covey
Tannhäuser, Wagner
Wolfram, Ryan Kuster
Roméo et Juliette, Gounod
Juliette, Nadine Sierra
Roméo, Daniel Montenegro
Le nozze di Figaro, Mozart
La Contessa di Almaviva Rebecca Davis
Susanna, Valentina Fleer
Cherubino, Robin Flynn
Barbarina, Hye Jung Lee
Marcellina, Renée Rapier
Basilio , Eleazar Rodríguez
Don Curzio, Kevin Ray
Il Conte di Almaviva, Sidney Outlaw
Figaro, Ryan Kuster
Bartolo, Thomas Florio
Antonio, Kevin Thompson
Servitori, tutti Merolini
This imaginative compilation of scenes will make for an excellent complement to the Schwabacher Summer Concert that introduced the "Merolini" last month. Indeed, the "all hands" performance of the final scenes from the third act of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Figaro not only parallels the music lesson scene from Gioacchino Rossini's Barber of Seville, which concluded the first half of the Schwabacher program, but also may well have inspired Rossini's conception of that scene, where one absurd revelation ensues after another with increasing rapidity. Furthermore, the idea of beginning the Finale with an opening scene is a clever one, all the more admirable for being one of a healthy selection from the twentieth-century opera repertoire. However, if I were personally pressed to name the favorite selection I most anticipate, it would be extremely difficult for me to choose between the Midsummer scene (which will probably include "Be kind and courteous," perhaps the most fascinating offering at the BASOTI master class conducted by Patricia Craig) and Zerbinetta's seduction of the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos.
Tickets for the Grand Finale concert are affordably priced at $45 (Orchestra premium and Grand Tier premium), $35 (Orchestra and Grand Tier), $25 (Dress Circle) and $15 (students). There are also a limited number of tickets available for a post-event reception in the Lower Level Café for $45. Call San Francisco Opera Box Office at (415) 864-3330 to purchase tickets Monday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM or Tuesday-Friday 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. The War Memorial Opera House is located at 301 Van Ness Avenue. Student tickets must be purchased in person at the Box Office window, located inside the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Ave. Valid student ID is required.
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