As has already been announced, next month will mark the return of San Francisco Opera (SFO) to live performances, beginning on April 23. However, those performances will be preceded by three Opera is ON free opera streams. These will take place during the first three weekends of April. As in the past, the selection for each weekend will become available on Saturday at 10 a.m.; and free access will expire at the end of the following day. Each video will then be added to the archive available to subscribers and those that have donated $75 or more. Specifics for the four April offerings are as follows:
April 3: The month will begin with another comic opera by Gaetano Donizetti, Don Pasquale. While L’elisir d’amore is about a hopelessly lovesick young man who finally wins the love of his life, Don Pasquale is about a crusty old bachelor determined to take a young wife (who happens to be in love with his nephew). This production, shared with the Santa Fe Opera and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, was performed by SFO in 2016. Staging was by Laurent Pelly, who also designed the costumes; and the SFO performances were directed by Daniel Dooner. Former SFO Resident Conductor Giuseppe Finzi conducted, and Ian Robertson prepared the choral work by the SFO Chorus. The title character was sung by bass Maurizio Murano, his hopeful bride-to-be Norina was sung by soprano Heidi Stober, and her sweetheart Ernesto (Pasquale’s nephew) was sung by tenor Lawrence Brownlee in his SFO debut. Running time is approximately two hours.
Set design for Poe’s House of Usher (photograph by Cory Weaver, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera)
April 10: The Fall of the House of Usher was a “double bill” program of two one-act operas, both based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe and both about one hour in duration. The composers were, in order of performance, Gordon Getty (“Usher House”) and Claude Debussy (“La chute de la maison Usher”). Getty’s version made Poe a leading character (sung by tenor Jason Bridges, making his SFO debut); and almost the entirety of the libretto is a dialogue between Poe and Roderick Usher (baritone Brian Mulligan). Mulligan returned in the same role in the Debussy version, as did Adler Fellow Jacqueline Piccolino in the role of Usher’s sister Madeline. However, the character of Poe is replaced by “a friend,” sung by baritone Edward Nelson, another Adler Fellow. The production, directed by David Poutney, was shared with the Welsh National Opera and staged in San Francisco by Polly Graham. The Debussy score was reconstructed and orchestrated by Robert Orledge; and this performance, concluding the 2015 fall season, was its American premiere. Both operas were conducted by Lawrence Foster.
April 17: The final offering of the month will be the 2016 revival of Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlos utilizing the composer’s 1886 five-act Modena version of the score. (With an overall duration of about three and one-half hours, this should be a walk in the park after this month’s Wagner streamings!) This tangled web of politics and love was directed by Emilio Sagi. Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducted; and, once again, the SFO Chorus was prepared by Robertson. The title character was sung by Michael Fabiano. Puerto Rican soprano Ana Maria Martinez sang the role of his beloved Elisabetta, who is obliged, for political reasons, to marry his father, King Philip II of Spain (bass René Pape). Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecień took the role of Carlos’ close friend Rodrigo; and the sinister Princess Eboli (who expects to marry Carlos) was sung by Bulgarian mezzo Nadia Krasteva.
Access to free streaming is enabled through the SFO home page. For those interested in viewing any of the Opera is ON productions after free access has been terminated, there is a log-in Web page for donors and subscribers. There is also a Web page for those interested in becoming donors in order to benefit from full access to all available videos.
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