Steve Jobs Opera is Coming to Opera House

Steve Jobs (Edward Parks) presenting the launch of one of his products (photograph by Ken Howard, from the Santa Fe Opera premiere performance of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs)

Following up on the season-opening performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore (the troubadour), the 2023–24 season of the San Francisco Opera (SFO) will continue with the Bay Area premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, composed by Mason Bates. SFO commissioned this opera in conjunction with the Seattle Opera and the Santa Fe Opera, which presented the world premiere performance on July 22, 2017. A little less than a year later, PENTATONE released the “original cast recording” of the Santa Fe production.

Those familiar with either (or both) of the films made about Jobs probably know that one of his product launches took place in the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House. (An earlier launch was held across the street at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall.) This may be the first time that a performance has, as a setting, the venue in which the work itself is being performed.

Kevin Newbury, who directed the world premiere, will return to the Opera House to stage the SFO production. He is no stranger to the venue, having previously directed productions of Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma and Mark Adamo’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. He will, once again, work with conductor Michael Christie, who had conducted both the performances and the recording of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

The SFO Chorus will be led by Chorus Director John Keene. Two of the members of the cast will repeat the roles they had taken in Santa Fe. One of them, bass Wei Wu, will be making his SFO debut in the role of Jobs’ spiritual advisor Kōbun Chino Otogawa. In addition, the role of Jobs’ wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, will again be taken by mezzo Sasha Cooke, whose visits to the Opera House are definitely too numerous to mention! Baritone John Moore will make his SFO debut in the title role, and tenor Bille Bruley will sing the role of his colleague, Steve Wozniak, also making his SFO debut.

This opera will be sung in English with English supertitles. The running time will be approximately 90 minutes, and there will be no intermission. There will be six performances. Five of them will take place at 7:30 p.m. on September 22, 27, and 30 and October 3 and 7. The remaining performance will be the 2 p.m. matinee on September 24. Ticket prices range from $26 to $378. All tickets may be purchased in the outer lobby of the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Avenue or by calling the Box Office at 415-864-3330. Box Office hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on Monday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday. There is also a single Web page for online purchase of tickets to all six of the performances. In addition, there will be a livestream beginning at 7:30 p.m. on September 27. The charge will be $27.50, and it may be purchased through a separate Web page.