As in the past, this is the month in which the schedule for the Schwabacher Recital Series is announced. This series, which is presented by the the San Francisco Opera Center and the Merola Opera Program, is now in its 39th year. The series is named after James Schwabacher, who was a co-founder of the Merola Opera Program; and it provides an opportunity to showcase the talents of the exemplary artists who have participated in the training programs of the Merola Opera Program and/or the San Francisco Opera Center.
Once again, the season will consist of four concerts. These will distributed over the months of March, April, and May, with the first two performances taking place at the beginning and near the conclusion of March. As was the case last year, one of the programs will feature multiple vocalists; and in this season that will be the second March concert. The other programs will be solo recitals. The final performance will take place in the Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), preceded by three concerts in the Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater. All performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. Specifics are as follows:
Wednesday, March 1: Pianist John Churchwell will accompany soprano Meigui Zhang. Her program will include songs by three Chinese composers: Ding Shan De, Yi Zhou, and Qing Zhu. These will be followed by the “Villanelle” composed by Eva Dell’Acqua. The earlier selections will all be by more familiar composers: four songs by Franz Schubert, three by Reynaldo Hahn, Alban Berg’s “Nacht,” and two songs by Richard Strauss.
Wednesday, March 22: This will be the program that features four vocalists: soprano Mikayla Sager, mezzo Gabrielle Beteag, and tenors Victor Cardamone and Edward Graves. They will be accompanied at the piano by Marika Yasuda. The program will be curated by tenor Nicholas Phan, who has conceived a “time-line” of eight episodes, each represented by from one to four songs. The episodes are Sunset, Night’s Desires, Dreaming, Things that go bump in the night, Midnight, The Moon, Night Terrors, and Sunrise. (Those familiar with Eugene O'Neill may think of the program as a long night’s journey into day.)
Wednesday, April 12: Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen has prepared a program that will dwell on relatively recent compositions. (The most notable exception will be four songs from Clara Schumann’s Opus 13 collection.) The “relatively recent” will include both Errol Garner and Cole Porter. Cohen’s pianist will be Carrie-Ann Matheson.
Thursday, May 18: Mezzo Erin Wagner has prepared a program entitled Everything must change. This will also be the title of her final selection, a tune by songwriter and jazz singer Bernard Ighner. She will perform a version prepared for her by her accompanist, Shawn Chang. Chang will also serve as one of the composers, accompanying Wagner in his “mini-cycle” of three songs collectively entitled Us Now. Chang will also precede his arrangement of “Everything Music Change” with another arrangement, this time of the Radiohead tune “Everything in its right place.” Wagner will also sing more “recital-based” selections by Franz Schubert, Viktor Ullmann, and Stefania Turkewich.
The Taube Atrium Theater is part of the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera, which is located in the Veterans Building (on the fourth floor) at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. SFCM is located at 50 Oak Street, a short walk from the Van Ness Muni station. General admission will be $30. Tickets may be purchased in advance online through an event page on the San Francisco Opera Web site. Note that it is possible to select the option of Wheelchair Accessible seats for both performance venues. In addition, subject to availability, student rush tickets will go on sale at 7 p.m. at the reduced rate of $15. There is a limit of two tickets per person, and valid identification must be shown.
Subscriptions for the entire four-recital series are available for $100. However, these are not available online. They may be purchased in person at the San Francisco Opera Box Office, located in the outer lobby of the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Avenue, on the northwest corner of Grove Street. They may also be purchased by calling 415-864-3330
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