SF Opera announces 2009/2010 season

January 26, 6:28 PMSF Opera ExaminerCindy Warner

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Salome gets down and dirty

Will the San Francisco Opera surpass even itself with the 2009/2010 season?   Here's what the opera announces today, including the return of Mary Dunleavy, Paulo Gavanelli and Greer Grimsley who were on stage together in Rigoletto a few years ago.  

As for Greer Grimsley, I've always wanted to see Salome after my own SF stage debut  with, well, behind, him in Rigoletto.   Plus Salome comes from the Oscar Wilde story.   Salome debuted in Paris while Oscar served his prison sentence.  Speaking of prison sentences, Greer's character Jokanaan will again, like Count Monterone, be a victim of debauchery, imprisoned unjustly and put to death after standing his ground.  This time he's the target of lust rather than a protector of his daughter, his name and his station.  Composed by Strauss not Verdi.

Mary Dunleavy returns in The Abduction from the Seraglio.  As did Gilda in Rigoletto, the beloved young girl needs rescue but this time it's a young and lighthearted tale of love by Mozart.  It's exuberance not debauchery.

Paulo Gavanelli, who played Rigoletto last time he was on the stage in San Francisco, returns in another  tale of heart wrenching tragedy with moments of comic relief.  Joining him will be Patricia Racette, so memorable as Butterfly.  Indeed, this time it's Puccini not Verdi.  Il Trittico.

As for such tragedies, Tosca will be simulcast on Friday, June 5, 2009 at AT&T Park.  Last year my acting buddy Kent Coddington, my straight man, shared his picnic blanket with me.  Remember singing along?  How about Take me out to the op-er-a?  Do the lucky ones that made it inside that warm evening remember Lucia di Lammermoor hitting it out of the park?  Seagulls floated on warm currents as Lucia's mind left her body. 

Plus, as is the American style of David Gockley, one classic opera will be set in California's Gold Rush.  Well done, Mr. Gockley.  Puccini's The Girl of the Golden West.

Here is the opera's official announcement today.

FREE SIMULCASTS AT AT&T PARK

San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Giants partner with Webcor Builders to present two free live simulcasts at AT&T Park in 2009. Puccini’s Tosca will be simulcast live from the War Memorial Opera House to AT&T Park’s high definition scoreboard on Friday, June 5 as part of the Company’s Summer 2009 season. On Saturday, September 19 the Company celebrates the opening of the Fall 2009 season with a simulcast of Verdi’s Il Trovatore, conducted by Music Director Nicola Luisotti. Baseball and opera fans alike have the rare opportunity to enjoy glorious opera in the beautiful and convivial outdoor setting of AT&T Park. Webcor Presents Opera at the Ballpark is made possible through the extraordinary technology of the Koret-Taube Media Suite. The Company’s previous simulcasts in September 2007 and June 2008 were enjoyed by more than 38,000 attendees. [ See related news release for further details. ]

OPENING WEEKEND FESTIVITIES

San Francisco Opera’s 87th season opens on Friday, September 11 with Verdi’s Il Trovatore conducted by Music Director Nicola Luisotti and featuring an illustrious cast, including Marco Berti, Dmitri Hvorostovky, Sondra Radvanovsky and Stephanie Blythe. A highlight of the City’s cultural and philanthropic season, the opening night gala festivities include Opera Ball 2009, presented by San Francisco Opera Guild and benefiting San Francisco Opera and the Opera Guild’s education outreach programs, and BRAVO! CLUB’s Opening Night Gala, geared especially toward young professionals.

The season-opening weekend culminates with San Francisco Opera in the Park on Sunday, September 13 in Golden Gate Park’s Sharon Meadow. A beloved San Francisco tradition, the free annual concert features acclaimed artists from the Company’s Fall 2009 season and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra conducted by Maestro Luisotti.

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA’S 2009–10 SEASON

Il Trovatore – Giuseppe Verdi

San Francisco Opera’s 2009–10 season opens September 11, 2009 with Nicola Luisotti on the podium in his first production as the Company’s music director. Italian tenor Marco Berti stars in the title role of this suspenseful story of a corrupt count, a dashing warrior and a Gypsy who plots to avenge her mother’s wrongful death. Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky returns to the Company as Count di Luna and Sondra Radvanovsky, whose exquisite soprano voice has thrilled audiences from Vienna to New York, makes her San Francisco Opera debut as Leonora. They are joined by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, recently named Musical America’s 2009 “Vocalist of the Year,” who makes her first appearance in a fully staged San Francisco Opera production in these performances as Azucena. Blythe shares the role with Malgorzata Walewska in this visually striking production by David McVicar directed by Walter Sutcliffe. Il Trovatore has been a staple of the Company’s repertoire since 1926, and San Francisco audiences have witnessed the role debuts of Leontyne Price (1958) and Joan Sutherland (1975) as Leonora and the first Manrico of Luciano Pavarotti’s career (also in 1975).

Il Trittico – Giacomo Puccini

A triptych that runs the gamut from heart-wrenching tragedy to sparkling comedy, Puccini’s masterwork returns to the War Memorial stage in its entirety after an absence of more than fifty years. Soprano Patricia Racette makes role debuts in each of these three one-act operas—Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. Italian baritone Paolo Gavanelli and tenor Brandon Jovanovich return to San Francisco Opera in this inventive production, and celebrated contralto Ewa Podle? makes her long-awaited Company debut. Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Summers leads these performances, and James Robinson directs this contemporary production from New York City Opera.

The Abduction from the Seraglio (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

A Spanish nobleman sets out to rescue his beloved from the clutches of a tenacious Turk in this witty tale set to Mozart’s exuberant score. Mary Dunleavy and Matthew Polenzani head a world-class cast with Anna Christy, Peter Rose and Adler Fellow Andrew Bidlack. Exciting young conductor Cornelius Meister makes his U.S. operatic debut in this charming co-production with Lyric Opera of Chicago directed by Chas Rader-Shieber.

The Daughter of the Regiment (La Fille du Régiment) – Gaetano Donizetti

A rambunctious tomboy raised by a group of soldiers is forced to assume the airs of an aristocrat in this delectable soufflé of an opera. Making her Company debut, acclaimed soprano Diana Damrau sings the title role of Donizetti’s classic opera for the first time and joins the roster of luminaries that have sung this role at San Francisco Opera, including Lily Pons and Beverly Sills. Damrau is joined by Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez, who made the New York Times front page when he encored his rendition of the opera’s most challenging aria—hitting all nine high Cs not once but twice. Renowned director Laurent Pelly and conductor Michele Mariotti make their Company debuts in a production that has delighted audiences in New York, London and Vienna.

Salome – Richard Strauss

Set in biblical times, this erotically charged opera adapted from Oscar Wilde’s scandalous play of the same name centers on a tangled triangle: the imprisoned John the Baptist, a lecherous King Herod and the monarch’s pathologically seductive stepdaughter, Salome. German soprano Nadja Michael is “indolent, sexy, [and] scary” in the title role, giving a performance that “blazes with dramatic intensity” according to London critics. She makes her San Francisco Opera debut as Salome opposite returning artists Kim Begley (Herod) and Greer Grimsley (Jokanaan). Music director Nicola Luisotti leads this opera for the first time in a production directed by Seán Curran and James Robinson.

Otello – Giuseppe Verdi

In Verdi’s masterful adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, a great warrior encounters the one enemy against which he has no defense—his own jealousy. South African tenor Johan Botha makes his Company debut as the ill-fated Moor, joining the roster of previous San Francisco Opera Otellos that includes Lauritz Melchior, Mario Del Monaco, and Plácido Domingo. Svetla Vassileva (Desdemona) and Marco Vratogna (Iago) also make their San Francisco Opera debuts. Stephen Barlow directs this Lyric Opera of Chicago production conducted by Maestro Luisotti.

Faust – Charles François Gounod

A forlorn philosopher regains his youth by making a dubious deal with the Devil in this ever-popular opera that has been performed in 18 previous San Francisco Opera seasons and featured such legends as Jussi Björling, Ezio Pinza, Licia Albanese, and Samuel Ramey. Stefano Secco stars in the title role in his first fully-staged Company production opposite Patricia Racette (Marguerite) and John Relyea (Méphistophélès). Conductor Maurizio Benini leads his first production at San Francisco Opera and Stephen Barlow directs.

The Girl of the Golden West (La Fanciulla del West) – Giacomo Puccini

A love triangle set during the California Gold Rush, the work Puccini considered “the best of my operas” returns home for the first time in three decades in celebration of its 100th anniversary. Nicola Luisotti conducts a stellar cast led by Deborah Voigt, making her role debut as Minnie, and Roberto Frontali as Sheriff Jack Rance, with Salvatore Licitra making his Company debut as the bandit Dick Johnson.

Die Walküre – Richard Wagner

A powerful god finds himself torn by conflicting loyalties as the second installment of Wagner’s majestic Ring cycle comes to San Francisco in this new co-production with Washington National Opera. San Francisco Opera Artistic Adviser and director Francesca Zambello gives this epic tale of an emotionally volatile father and his disobedient children a distinctly American touch while honoring its mythic roots. Donald Runnicles leads an all-star cast headed by Nina Stemme as Brünnhilde, Eva-Maria Westbroek as Sieglinde (in her Company debut) and Christopher Ventris as Siegmund, with former Adler Fellow Mark Delavan returning as Wotan. This production of Die Walküre will be part of the complete Der Ring des Nibelungen—in addition to Das Rheingold, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung—presented in three cycles in June 2011.

TICKETS AND INFORMATION

Subscriptions for San Francisco Opera’s 2009–10 Season are priced from $120 to $2,700 for Full Series and $60 to $1,500 for Half Series; these prices reflect discounts of up to 30% over single ticket prices. The Company is also offering Mini Series of 3- and 4-opera packages, priced from $45 to $1,060, with 10% discounts in many areas. Subscriptions go on sale to renewing subscribers on January 26, 2009. Patrons interested in new subscriptions may call or visit the Opera Box Office starting January 27, 2009. New subscriptions will be available online at sfopera.com beginning March 17, 2009. Single tickets for San Francisco Opera’s 2009–10 season performances range from $15 to $360 and will go on sale July 12, 2009 at 10am. Please visit sfopera.com for further details, or call the Opera Box Office at (415) 864-3330. San Francisco Opera Box Office winter hours: Monday 10am–5pm; Tuesday through Friday 10am–6pm. All casting, repertoire and dates are subject to change.

All War Memorial Opera House performances (except the September 11 season opening) feature an informative Pre-Opera Talk 55 minutes prior to curtain. Pre-Opera Talks are presented free of charge to patrons with tickets for the corresponding performance.

Opera Guild Preview Lectures are scheduled in communities throughout the greater Bay Area by local Guild chapters. Renowned musicologists lead presentations to familiarize the audience with repertoire from the current season. Admission prices vary.

Opera Guild Insight Panel Discussions feature renowned artists and personalities from the world of opera, who share their insights and experiences during informal panel discussions. Free to Opera Guild members, $5 for non-members.

The War Memorial Opera House is located at 301 Van Ness Avenue. Patrons are encouraged to use public transportation to attend San Francisco Opera performances. The War Memorial Opera House is within walking distance of the Civic Center BART station and near numerous bus lines, including 5, 21, 47, 49 and the F Market Street. For further public transportation information, visit bart.gov and sfmuni.com. 
 

Photos courtesy of San Francisco Opera

Tosca

Rigoletto

Salome and Oscar Wilde tribute

Salome unveiled 2009