As usual, next month will see the return of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) to Davies Symphony Hall to kick off its 2022–23 Season, which was announced this past March. Once again Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen will take an innovative approach to programming. The entire program will be organized around William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Members of the African-American Shakespeare Company in a 2017 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (photograph by Jay Yamada, courtesy of SFS)
As will probably be expected, the program will begin with Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 21 overture inspired by Shakespeare’s play. After that things will start to get different. The remainder of the program will present the members of the African-American Shakespeare Company, which was established in 1994 by Sherri Young with the goal of bringing diversity and inclusivity to theater for communities of color. Following Mendelssohn’s overture, the members of this company will perform enough excerpts from Shakespeare’s play to capture and embody the overall narrative. The incidental music from Mendelssohn’s Opus 61 will be performed to reproduce the ways in which it enhanced both the text and the emotional dispositions behind the words. The result will be a full-evening performance of about 90 minutes that will provide the appropriate balance of Mendelssohn’s music with Shakespeare’s words.
As usual, because this is the Opening Night Gala, there will be additional celebratory events. At 5:30 p.m. there will be dinner served in the Wattis Room, preceded by a Red Carpet Welcome. Those attending the concert but not this dinner will be admitted to Davies Symphony Hall beginning at 6 p.m., and the concert will begin at 7 p.m. Two more options for dinner will be available after the performance, one at the Pavilion and the other in the BlackBox Lounge. Those not dining or who have already dined will be invited to an After-Party held on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street. The entire event will conclude at 11 p.m.
All of these events will take place on Friday, September 23. For those attending only the concert, tickets are available only in the 1st Tier ($360) and the 2nd Tier ($225). They may be purchased through the Web page for this event. There is a single price of $2500 for those attending the Wattis Room dinner. However, the post-performance dinners have different levels of seating with different prices, all of which include a tax deduction. Individual tickets for the Pavilion range between $2500 and $10,000, and those for the BlackBox Lounge are between $750 and $1500. All options may also be sold for parties of ten. All further information can be found on a single Web page, which also indicates how much of the expense is tax-deductible. (Those visiting this Web page should be advised that viewing the different options will require a generous amount of scrolling!)
Finally, as was the case last year, the evening prior to the Gala will be the annual All San Francisco Concert. This will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 22. This annual event is offered to community groups and social service organizations by invitation only. Those interested in being invited should send electronic mail to allsf@sysymphony.org.
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