Program Specifics for Eun Sun Kim’s Concert

SFO Music Director Eun Sun Kim (photograph by Kim Tae-hwan, courtesy of SFO)

Readers probably know by now that the two operas to be presented during the San Francisco Opera (SFO) Summer Season will be led by two guest conductors. Bertrand de Billy will make his SFO debut conducting Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 527 Don Giovanni, and Darrell Ang will make his SFO debut conducting Bright Sheng’s Dream of the Red Chamber. As a result, Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim will make her sole appearance in the one-night-only program Eun Sun Kim Conducts Verdi.

This will be a concert program developed by Kim to honor the work of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi by offering excerpts from three of his operas. Kim will conduct the SFO Orchestra and SFO Chorus, now under the direction of John Keene. There will be four featured soloists: soprano Nicole Car, tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz, baritone Etienne Dupuis, and bass Soloman Howard. Current Adler Fellows soprano Mikayla Sager, tenor Edward Graves, and bass Stefan Egerstrom will also contribute to the performance.

The program will begin with the overture to Luisa Miller, followed by excerpts from the first and third scenes of the opera’s second act. This will be followed by four selections from Il Trovatore. In “order of appearance” these will be taken from the second scene of the first act, the second scene of the second act, the first scene of the fourth act, and the second scene of the third act.

The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to selections from Don Carlo. This will include an instrumental performance of the ballet for the 1867 version of the score, which provides an interlude during the second scene of the third act. There will also be two finale performances. The more familiar of these is the auto-da-fé scene at the end of the third act. The other will be the conclusion of the fifth act. The selections will begin with the second scene of the second act.

[updated 6/25, 8:20 a.m.:

Yesterday, several changes to both personnel and program were announced. Tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz has developed a bilateral ear infection, which will prevent him from international air travel. As a result, he must withdrawn from the all-Verdi program. This means that the program itself will be updated. The featured soloists will still be soprano Nicole Car, baritone Etienne Dupuis, and bass Soloman Howard. However, the only participating Adler Fellow will be soprano Mikayla Sager.

The program will still begin with the overture to Luisa Miller, but it will be followed only by an excerpt from the first scene of the opera’s second act. The four selections from Il Trovatore will begin with the “Anvil Chorus” from the first scene of the second act. The remaining selections will be taken from the second scene of the first act, the second scene of the second act, and the first scene of the fourth act. The selections from Don Carlo will begin with the auto-da-fé scene at the end of the third act. This will be followed by an instrumental performance of the ballet for the 1867 version of the score, which provides an interlude during the second scene of the third act. The remaining selections will be the second scene of the fourth act and the first scene of the fifth act.]

The program will be performed at the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Avenue on Thursday evening, June 30. It will begin at 7:30 p.m. and last for two hours and 25 minutes, including one intermission. Ticket prices range from $29 to $249. They will be available at the Opera House Box Office or through a Web page. The program will also be livestreamed. Admission to the livestream will be a one time charge of $25 payable through a Web page.

Finally, there will be an After-Party in the Green Room on the second floor of the Veterans Building, located at 401 Van Ness Avenue, next door to the Opera House. All party tickets are being sold for $250. These have a separate Web page for online purchase and may also be ordered by calling the Box Office at 415-864-3330.

For all ticket purchases the Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; it is open on all performance days from 10 a.m. until the first intermission.