SFO Announces Casting Change for Mozart Opera

Soprano Nicole Heaston (photograph by Fadil Berisha, courtesy of San Francisco Opera)

This afternoon San Francisco Opera (SFO) announced a cast change for its production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 492 opera The Marriage of Figaro, whose first performance will take place on Friday evening, October 11. As was announced on this site this past Wednesday, the role of the Countess Almaviva was to be performed by Irish soprano Jennifer Davis, who was due to make her American opera debut with this role. Sadly, a lingering virus and persistent cough have prevented her from participating fully in rehearsals, leading her to withdraw from the production and recuperate at home. She will be replaced by American soprano Nicole Heaston, who will be making her SFO debut and has built up an impressive résumé of opera and concert performances in both the United States and Europe.

To review the schedule specifics, there will be eight performances that will take place at 7:30 p.m. on October 11, 16, 19, 22, and 25, and November 1, and at 2 p.m. on October 13 and 27. As has already been reported, this will mark the beginning of a three-opera cycle, which will unfold over the course of three seasons, presenting the operas that Mozart created with libretto texts by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Michael Cavanagh will prepare new stagings, all organized around a common setting, whose appearance somewhat suggests Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.

All performances will take place at the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Avenue, on the northwest corner of Grove Street. Single tickets are priced from $26 to $398. There is also a facility fee added to the price of the tickets: $2 for all Balcony sections and $3 for all other tickets. Tickets may be purchased online through an event page on the SFO Web site that provides hyperlinks for each performance. Tickets may also be purchased at the Box Office in the outer lobby of the Opera House. Standing room tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on the day of each performance. They are sold for $10, cash only.