Many readers probably already know that, as part of its Summer Festival, the Merola Opera Program presents a fully-staged production of a full-length opera. This year that opera will be the two-act Le comte Ory (Count Ory), composed by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. It was composed for performance at the Paris Opera with a French libretto by Eugène Scribe and Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson. The text was adapted from a dramatic comedy, which they had written in 1817.
Tenor Minghao Liu, who will be singing the title role in Le comte Ory (from the Web page for the Merola Opera Program events)
The plot involves the efforts of the title character to win the heart of the Countess Adèle. It goes without saying that Ory has to contend with at least one rival, who happens to be his page. Nevertheless, he has a “cunning plan” (as Edmund Blackadder’s servant Baldrick would put it) of his own. Needless to say, there is an abundance of disguises, which lead to mistaken identities. Those wondering whether or not Ory’s machinations succeed will just have to watch the opera through to the end of the second act!
Le comte Ory will be given two performances, the first 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, followed by a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 2. The venue will be the Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall on the ground floor of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music at 50 Oak Street, a short walk from the Market Street stations for both BART and Muni. Ticket prices will be $68 and $80 for general admission with a special rate of $18 for those 25 and under. All tickets are being sold through the Box Office for the San Francisco Opera, which is at the entrance to the War Memorial Opera House at the northwest corner of Grove Street and Van Ness Avenue. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday. The telephone number is 415-864-3330, and Saturday transactions are limited to the phone.
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