The announcement of plans for the next season of the San Francisco Opera (SFO) seems to have occurred about one month later than it did last year. The full subscription will account for six main-stage productions; and regular subscribers will quickly note that this is two fewer than those being produced during the current season. The first four operas will be performed during the fall and the remaining two in the summer. However, the season will consist of several concert/recital events, all of which will be given a single performance. In “order of appearance,” the operas to be presented are as follows:
Un ballo in maschera, Giuseppe Verdi: This opera was last performed by SFO in October of 2014, but it was one of the productions that was offered for free streaming during the pandemic. Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim will conduct, continuing her commitment to present one opera by Verdi and one by Richard Wager during each SFO season. The production will staged by Leo Muscato, who created it for a performance by the Rome Opera. San Francisco will see two familiar faces in the leading roles, tenor Michael Fabiano as Gustavo, the King of Sweden, and soprano Lianna Haroutounian as Amelia, who is in love with Gustavo even though she is married to Count Anckarström. The third “side of the triangle,” Renato, will be sung by baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat, making his SFO debut. Also of note will be the role debut of Gustavo’s page, Oscar, taken by Chinese soprano Meigui Zhang.
The Handmaid’s Tale, Poul Ruders: This will be the West Coast Premiere of an opera by Danish composer Ruders based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. It was co-produced by SFO and received its world premiere in Copenhagen in 2000. The libretto was written in English by Paul Bentley. Atwood wrote her novel in the first person, requiring Bentley to reframe the narrative with a third-person perspective. The premiere by the Danish Royal Opera was staged by Phyllida Lloyd, but staging in San Francisco will be by John Fulljames (another SFO debut), former head of the Danish Royal Opera. SFO had originally scheduled its performance for 2020, one of the productions that had to be postponed due to the pandemic. The title character will be sung by mezzo Irene Roberts, who will be making her role debut. The conductor will be Karen Kamensek, who made her SFO debut in 2014, when she conducted that season’s production of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah.
Tristan und Isolde, Richard Wagner: This will be Kim’s Wagner selection for the season. I must confess that I never tire of this opera and have consistently enjoyed my past encounters with it in the Opera House! SFO has been presenting it since September of 1927; and it was last performed in October of 2006. I was just beginning to flex my muscles as a writer at that time, which is when SFO was still reviving the Los Angeles production with sets designed by David Hockney. This will be a new production by Paul Curran, which he originally staged for La Fenice in Venice. The Production Designer will be Robert Innes Hopkins, whose previous work was seen most recently in last season’s performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore (the elixir of love). The title roles will be sung by Anja Kampe, who made her SFO debut during the 2010 Ring cycle in the role of Sieglinde, and Simon O’Neill, who sang the title role in Wagner’s Lohengrin, which was Kim’s selection for last season. SFO debuts will be taken by baritone Wolfgang Koch as Kurwenal and mezzo Annika Schlicht as Brangäne.
Carmen, Georges Bizet: This is a production shared with the Washington National Opera. Staging will be by Francesca Zambello, originally created by Opera Australia and based on a co-production shared by the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Norwegian National Opera. Mezzo Eve-Maud Hubeaux will be making her American debut in the title role. Also making her American debut will be soprano Louise Adler in the role of Micaëla. The ill-fated Don José will be sung by tenor Jonathan Tetelman, while bass-baritone Christian van Horn will take the role of the toreador Escamillo. The conductor will be Benjamin Manis, making his SFO debut.
La bohème, Giacomo Puccini: For those that really like this opera, the month of June will satisfy those pleasures and then some. There will be nine performances between June 3 and 21; and, if that were not enough, Pocket Opera will present its production on July 28 at the Gunn Theatre! Furthermore, in the SFO production, all four of the leading roles (Rodolfo, Mimi, Marcello, Musetta) will be double-cast. In addition, it will revive the staging by John Caird, making it another production that was selected for free streaming during the pandemic. The conductor at the Opera House will be Ramón Tebar.
Idomeneo, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The only thing that Idomeneo, Re di Creta, Mozart’s K. 366 opera, has in common with La bohème is that both are sung in Italian. According to my records, this was last performed by SFO in the fall of 2008, back when Donald Runnicles was the Music Director. As a result, I am particularly interested in how Kim will conduct this score, given the insights she has brought to the music of Verdi and Wagner. The title role of the King of Crete will be sung by tenor Matthew Polenzani, while the role of his son, Idamante, will be taken by soprano (and alumna of both the Merola Opera Program and the Adler Fellowship) Daniela Mack. The other major roles are both princesses. Ilia is the daughter of King Priam of Troy; and her part will be sung by soprano Ying Fang, who will be making her SFO debut. The role of Elettra, the Princess of Argos, best known for her flamboyant “rage” aria in the final act, will be taken by Elza van den Heever (another graduate of both the Merola program and the Adler Fellowship).
All six of the operas will have a single performance that will also be available for live-stream with dates and times as follows:
- Un ballo in maschera: Sunday, September 15, 2 p.m.
- The Handmaid’s Tale: Friday, September 20, 7 p.m.
- Tristan und Isolde: Sunday, October 27, 1 p.m.
- Carmen, Tuesday, November 19, 7:30 p.m.
- La bohème, Tuesday, June 10, 7:30 p.m.
- Idomeneo, Friday, June 20, 7:30 p.m.
There will also be several additional SFO events, most of which will take place in venues other than the Opera House. Many of them will be familiar, while others will be “novel ventures.” Here a brief summary for those wishing to save the dates sooner, rather than later:
- Friday, September 6, 5 p.m.: The SFO Guild will join forces with SFO to host the annual Opera Ball, which will take place in City Hall both before and after the opening night performance of Un Ballo in Maschera.
- Sunday, September 8, 1:30 p.m.: The more “public” celebration of the new season will take place, as usual, in Robin Williams Meadow in Golden Gate Park. Kim will conduct the SFO Orchestra, and several of vocal artists from the Fall season will sing both arias and ensemble settings. Those in the audience tend to bring either picnic blankets or deck chairs; and, for many, picnicking is part of the fun.
- Saturday, October 26, 7:30 p.m.: Sets will be cleared from the Opera House stage to allow the SFO Orchestra to play on that stage. They will be conducted by Kim in a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 125, his ninth (sometimes known as the “Choral”) symphony in D minor. The vocal soloists will be soprano Jennifer Holloway, mezzo Annika Schlicht, tenor Russell Thomas, and bass Kwangchul Youn. The event will honor the 200th anniversary of the symphony’s composition.
- Thursday, November 21, 7:30 p.m.: Carmen Encounter will be an immersive evening of multi-sensory experiences inspired by the Bizet opera currently being performed on the Opera House stage. This event will involve not only the stage (where the first act of the opera will be performed) but also the lobby areas, which will serve as venues for dancing, interactive experiences, and a festive party. Last year the Encounter was structured around the ongoing performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore (the elixir of love). SFO has created a Web page with photographs of that past event.
- Friday, November 15, 7:30 p.m.: The Future is Now is the final concert of the year for the 2024 class of Adler Fellows. The program will present both scenes and arias, accompanied by the SFO Orchestra. The performance will be held in Herbst Theatre, which is adjacent to the Opera House.
- Sunday, November 17, 2 p.m.: SFO Chorus Director John Keene will lead the members of his ensemble in the annual intimate choral event. The vocalists will be accompanied at the piano by SFO Associate Chorus Master Fabrizio Corona. The program is seldom limited to the opera repertoire.
- Friday, June, 27, 7:30 p.m.: This will be a special celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community. The performance will bring music together with immersive projections. The evening will include a special host, who has not yet been identified.
Further information can be found on the “exploration” Web page on the SFO Web site. Currently, only subscription orders are being processed. A Web page has been created that summarizes both subscriber benefits and the diversity of subscription plans.
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