LIEDER ALIVE!’s 2026/27 Liederabend Series

LIEDER ALIVE! now has a Web page that provides the dates for its Liederabend Series, which will run from November of 2026 through May of 2027. There will be four recitals, all taking place on Sunday afternoons at 4 p.m. The first of these will be the Autumn Opening Concert followed by three “Anniversary Concerts” celebrating twenty years of presenting vocalists and their respective repertoires. As in the past, all performances will take place as part of the Old First Concerts (O1C) series at Old First Presbyterian Church (1751 Sacramento Street on the southeast corner of Van Ness Avenue). All of them will be on Sunday afternoons, beginning at 4 p.m. Hyperlinks for purchasing tickets will be attached below to the specific dates. In all likelihood there will also be hyperlinks for live streams of the performances. Specific dates are as follows:

November 8: The season will begin with a performance by baritone Olivier Zerouali, accompanied at the piano by Ji Youn Lee. Both of them are San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows. Program details have not yet been finalized; but the contributing composers will be Franz Schubert, Richard Strauss, and Gabriel Fauré (often known as “the usual suspects!”).

January 17: Dramatic soprano Heather Hjelle will make her LIEDER ALIVE! debut with a program devoted entirely to Richard Wagner. Her accompanist will be John Parr. She will begin with WWV 91, the five songs the Wagner collected for female voice and piano often given the title Wesendonck Lieder. This will be followed by the “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde with piano accompaniment arranged by Franz Liszt. The program will conclude with the piano transcription of the funeral march from Götterdämmerung; and, as many readers will expect, Hjelle will perform the entire concluding Immolation Scene of that opera.

February 28: Two vocalists will make return appearances: soprano Charlotte Kelso and tenor Thomas Kinch. They will perform selections from Ludwig van Beethoven, Giuseppe Verdi, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Once again, details (including accompaniment) have not yet been finalized.

Peter Grünberg accompanying soprano Esther Rayo at the piano (from their LIEDER ALIVE! Web page)

May 16: Just as familiar will be the return of soprano Esther Rayo with her accompanist Peter Grünberg. Her selections will include works by Schubert, Enrique Granados, Joaquín Turina, and Giacomo Puccini. Specifics will, again, be forthcoming.