This year the schedule for the 2019 Summer Festival of the Merola Opera Program will be slightly different than usual. That is because the highlight of this year’s programming will be the World Premiere of the first-ever work to be commissioned by Merola. The result of that commission has been If I Were You, a full-length opera by Jake Heggie working with a libretto by Gene Scheer. The libretto is loosely based on a novel by the American writer, who was born to American parents in Paris and spent much of his mature life living in France and writing in French. Si j’étais vous… (the French title of the novel) was written in 1947 and involves a Faustian pact through which the spirit of the protagonist can inhabit the bodies of other people in his life. This will be the only full-length opera to be performed this summer with four performances scheduled between the Schwabacher Summer Concert showcase and the Grand Finale. The basic summary of these events is as follows:
Thursday, July 11, 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, July 13, 2 p.m.: The Schwabacher Summer Concert will launch the Merola season with its usual program format structured around staged scenes from five operas. Those scenes will be selections from the first act of Giacomo Puccini’s La rondine (the swallow), the fourth scene of the first act of Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (the bride of Lammermoor), the third and fourth scenes of the second act from Richard Strauss’ comic opera Die schweigsame Frau (the silent woman), the last four scenes of the fourth act of Charles Gounod’s Faust, and the final scenes from the fourth act of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore (the troubadour). Staging will be by Merola alumnus Jose Maria Condemi. All scenes will be sung in the original libretto with translations projected as supertitles. The Conductor will be Craig Kier.
Thursday, August 1, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, August 3, and Sunday, August 4, 2 p.m., and Tuesday, August 6, 7:30 p.m.: If I Were You will be double-cast. The “Pearl” cast will perform on August 1 and 4; and the “Emerald” cast will perform on the other two dates. The production will be staged by Director Keturah Stickann, and Nicole Paiement will conduct.
Saturday, August 17, 7:30 p.m.: Details for the Grand Finale are not announced until later in the summer. As is always the case, the production will be staged by the current Merola Apprentice Stage Director, Greg Eldridge. The Conductor will be George Manahan. Also as always, the performance will be followed by a reception for which separate tickets will be required. The price of those tickets will be $75. They will be sold by the San Francisco Opera (SFO) Box Office and may be purchased online through a separate Web page.
The Schwabacher Summer Concert will take place in the Concert Hall of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The entrance is at 50 Oak Street, halfway between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street and a short walk from the Van Ness Muni station. All performances of If I Were You will take place in Herbst Theatre at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. The Grand Finale will be performed at the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Avenue, on the northwest corner of Grove Street. Each of the above hyperlinks connects to a Web page with ticket price information and options for online purchase. All ticket sales are being handled through the SFO Box Office. For those not purchasing tickets online, the Box Office may be reached by telephoning 415-864-3330. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.
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