San Francisco Opera Association

THE WORLD-RENOWNED SAN FRANCISCO OPERA IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT OPERATIC ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. GREAT SINGING, OUTSTANDING CONDUCTING AND PRODUCTIONS SENSITIVE TO THE MUSIC ARE CORE VALUES OF THE OPERA. THE OPERA PERPETUATES ITS LEGACY THROUGH THE TRAINING OF YOUNG ARTISTS, ARTS EDUCATION, AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT.

PRODUCTION AND ARTISTIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS - ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO OPEN IN SEPTEMBER 2020, SAN FRANCISCO OPERA'S 98TH YEAR BEGAN WITH THE CANCELLATION OF ITS FALL SEASON DUE TO THE GLOBAL COVID-19 PANDEMIC. WITH THE LOSS OF ALL OF ITS SCHEDULED MAINSTAGE PRESENTATIONS OF FIDELIO, RIGOLETTO, COSI FAN TUTTE, THE HANDMAID'S TALE, LA BOHEME, AND THE FREE OPERA IN THE PARK CONCERT, THE COMPANY'S PIVOT TO DIGITAL PROGRAMMING PROVED TO BE AN INVALUABLE STRATEGY FOR REMAINING CONNECTED TO SUPPORTERS AND TO SERVE ITS COMMUNITY OF MUSIC LOVERS THROUGHOUT THE CRISIS. FREE WEEKLY STREAMS OF OPERA TITLES FROM THE COMPANY'S VIDEO ARCHIVES CONTINUED AND SELECT TITLES WERE SCREENED AS DRIVE-IN ATTRACTIONS AT SAN FRANCISCO'S FORT MASON CENTER UNDER STRICT SANITIZATION, SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND FACE COVERINGS SAFETY GUIDELINES. ADDITIONALLY, THE COMPANY PRODUCED CELEBRATING THE VOICES OF SAN FRANCISCO OPERA, A DIGITAL EVENT OF INTERVIEWS AND PERFORMANCES STREAMED ON DECEMBER 4. THROUGH ITS WORK WITH A GROUP OF UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO (UCSF) DOCTORS, SAN FRANCISCO OPERA DEVELOPED HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR A SAFE RETURN TO LIVE PERFORMANCE IN 2021. IN FEBRUARY 2021, THE COMPANY ANNOUNCED A REIMAGINED SPRING 2021 SEASON INCLUDING AN ONLINE RING FESTIVAL, A RETURN TO LIVE PERFORMANCES WITH ROSSINI'S THE BARBER OF SEVILLE AT THE MARIN CENTER DRIVE-IN, THREE DRIVE-IN CONCERTS FEATURING THE COMPANY'S RESIDENT ARTISTS THE ADLERS: LIVE AT THE DRIVE-IN AND A TRIO OF NEW DIGITAL CONTENT RELEASES: THE VIDEO PORTRAIT SERIES IN SONG, INTIMATE SHORT-FORM VIDEO PERFORMANCES OF SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ARTISTS TITLED ATRIUM SESSIONS AND A NEW, BEHIND-THE-SCENES PODCAST, NORTH STAGE DOOR. THE COMPANY MADE HEADLINES AS ONE OF THE FIRST MAJOR OPERA COMPANIES TO RETURN TO LIVE PERFORMANCES WITH THE BARBER OF SEVILLE AND ITS DRIVE-IN PERFORMANCE WHICH WERE ATTENDED BY HOUSEHOLDS IN MORE THAN 2,100 VEHICLES.THE VIRTUAL EVENT, CELEBRATING THE VOICES OF SAN FRANCISCO OPERA, WAS CO-HOSTED BY GENERAL DIRECTOR MATTHEW SHILVOCK AND INCOMING MUSIC DIRECTOR EUN SUN KIM, AND INCLUDED PERFORMANCES BY JANAI BRUGGER, ASHLEY DIXON, AMINA EDRIS, SONDRA RADVANOVSKY, MICHAEL FABIANO, PENE PATI, ARTUR RUCINSKI, ALFRED WALKER, NICOLA LUISOTTI AMONG OTHERS.THE ONLINE RING FESTIVAL ENCOMPASSED THE COMPANY'S FIRST-EVER SHOWINGS OF ITS 2018 PERFORMANCES OF WAGNER'S RING OF THE NIBELUNG. THE FOUR RING CYCLE OPERAS - DAS RHEINGOLD, DIE WALKURE, SIEGFRIED, AND GOTTERDAMMERUNG - WERE STREAMED SEQUENTIALLY OVER THE FOUR WEEKENDS IN MARCH 2021, WITH A HOST OF LIVE ONLINE EVENTS PRESENTED THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. GUESTS FOR THE LIVE ONLINE RING FESTIVAL EVENTS INCLUDED CONDUCTOR DONALD RUNNICLES, DIRECTOR FRANCESCA ZAMBELLO, AND VOCAL SOLOISTS BRANDON JOVANOVICH, KARITA MATTILA, IRENE THEORIN, GREER GRIMSLEY, JAMIE BARTON, RONNITA MILLER, JANE EAGLEN, NINA STEMME, GRACE BUMBRY, KENNETH OVERTON, MUSICIANS FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ORCHESTRA, AND WRITERS SUCH AS JOSHUA KOSMAN, TONY KUSHNER, ALEX ROSS, CLIFFORD CRANNA, NAOMI ANDRE, KIRSTEN PAGE, PAUL THOMASON, ANNIKA ENGLEHART, BARBARA ROMINSKI, JEFFERY MCMILLAN, CRAIG KAUSEN, PETE DOCTER AND JOHN MORRIS.THE COMPANY'S APRIL-MAY 2021 PRESENTATIONS OF ROSSINI'S THE BARBER OF SEVILLE AT THE MARIN CENTER DRIVE-IN FEATURED A NEW STAGING BY DIRECTOR MATTHEW OZAWA AND A CAST OF SAN FRANCISCO OPERA FAVORITES INCLUDING LUCAS MEACHEM AS FIGARO, ALEK SHRADER AS THE COUNT, DANIELA MACK AND LAURA KRUMM AS ROSINA, PHILIP SKINNER AS DOCTOR BARTOLO, KENNETH KELLOGG AS DON BASILIO AND CATHERINE COOK AS BERTA. THE ONSTAGE AND BACKSTAGE ACTIVITY WERE GOVERNED BY STRICT ADHERENCE TO COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS AND A REGULAR TESTING CADENCE FOR ALL PERSONNEL. CONDUCTOR RODERICK COX MADE HIS COMPANY DEBUT LEADING THE SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ORCHESTRA IN A SEPARATE ORCHESTRA TENT AND WAS VISIBLE TO THE SINGERS THROUGH A SERIES OF MONITORS. THE MUSIC MADE BY THE SINGERS AND ORCHESTRA WERE MIXED LIVE AND BROADCAST TO THE CAR RADIOS OF ALL DRIVE-IN ATTENDEES.THE ADLERS: LIVE AT THE DRIVE-IN INCLUDED ALL 11 OF THE COMPANY'S RESIDENT ARTISTS, THE ADLER FELLOWS - SOPRANOS ANNE-MARIE MACINTOSCH, ELISA SUNSHINE, ESTHER TONEA, MEZZO-SOPRANO SIMONE MCINTOSH, TENORS ZHENGYI BAI, CHRISTOPHER COLMENERO, CHRISTOPHER OGLESBY, BARITONE TIMOTHY MURRAY AND BASS STEFAN EGERSTROM - PERFORMING ARIAS, ENSEMBLES AND SCENES IN COLLABORATION WITH PIANISTS KSENIIA POLSTIANKINA BARRAD AND ANDREW KING.THE COMPANY'S DIGITAL INITIATIVES LAUNCHED ON MARCH 11 WITH IN SONG: J'NAI BRIDGES, A 14-MINUTE VIDEO PORTRAIT OF THE MEZZO-SOPRANO THAT TAKES VIEWERS TO HER HOMETOWN OF TACOMA, WASHINGTON TO MEET HER "VILLAGE," THE ELDERS AND MEMBERS OF HER COMMUNITY WHO GUIDED BRIDGES' WAY. IN THE VIDEO, BRIDGES PERFORMS A MEDLEY OF SPIRITUALS AND SCHUMANN'S "WIDMUNG." IN SONG: PENE PATI FOLLOWED ON MAY 27 WITH A FEATURE FILMED ON LOCATION AT THE TENOR'S FAMILY HOME IN NEW ZEALAND AND INCLUDING PERFORMANCES OF A TRADITIONAL SAMOAN SONG AND TOSTI'S "SERENADE." ON JULY 24, THE THIRD FILM, IN SONG: JAMIE BARTON FEATURING BANJO VIRTUOSO BELA FLECK, WAS RELEASED. PROFILING THE MEZZO SOPRANO IN HER NATIVE GEORGIA, THE FILM CONTAINS PERFORMANCES CAPTURED IN NASHVILLE OF BARTON AND FLECK PERFORMING PURCELL'S "MUSIC FOR A WHILE AND THE BLUEGRASS ANTHEM "BURY ME BENEATH THE WEEPING WILLOW."THE NORTH STAGE DOOR PODCAST LAUNCHED IN APRIL WITH AN EPISODE CENTERED AROUND THE BARBER OF SEVILLE AND THE COMPANY'S RETURN TO LIVE PERFORMANCE. A SECOND EPISODE FOCUSED ON SAN FRANCISCO OPERA'S MOZART-DA PONTE TRILOGY FOLLOWED IN JULY. PODCAST GUESTS INCLUDED LUCAS MEACHEM, PATRICIA RACETTE, PETE DOCTER, CRAIG KAUSEN, NICOLE HEASTON, MICHAEL SUMUEL, CHARLES MC NEAL, MICHAEL CAVANAGH, KRISTI BROWN-MONTESANO, SHAWNA LUCEY, KATHLEEN SCHILTZ, AND DANIEL HANDLER.

OPERA CENTER (TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT) - THE OPERA SUPPORTS AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, THE ADLER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. THE ADLER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM IS A PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED RESIDENCY OF TWO YEARS OFFERING ADVANCED YOUNG ARTISTS INTENSIVE INDIVIDUAL TRAINING, COACHING, PROFESSIONAL SEMINARS, AND A WIDE RANGE OF PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES. ADLER FELLOWS GAIN VALUABLE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE BY PERFORMING ROLES OF INCREASING IMPORTANCE IN THE OPERA'S MAIN-STAGE SEASON. IN ADDITION TO PERFORMANCES ON THE MAIN STAGE, SELECTED ADLER FELLOWS ARE FEATURED IN THE SCHWABACHER RECITAL SERIES. THE ADLER SEASON CULMINATES IN AN ADLER FELLOWS CONCERT. ALUMNI FROM THE ADLER PROGRAM INCLUDE: SOPRANOS LEAH CROCETTO, NANCY GUSTAFSON, PATRICIA RACETTE, NADINE SIERRA, RUTH ANN SWENSON, ELZA VAN DEN HEEVER, AND DEBORAH VOIGT; MEZZO-SOPRANOS ZHENG CAO AND DOLORA ZAJICK; TENORS BRIAN JAGDE, SEAN PANIKKAR, AND NOAH STEWART; COUNTERTENOR BRIAN ASAWA; BARITONES MARK DELAVAN AND LUCAS MEACHEM; AND BASS-BARITONES MONTE PEDERSON AND JOHN RELYEA. THE SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ALSO SUPPORTS THE MEROLA OPERA PROGRAM FOR ASPIRING PROFESSIONALS, OFFERING UP-AND-COMING SINGERS, COACH-ACCOMPANISTS AND STAGE DIRECTORS THE OPPORTUNITY OF INTENSE STUDY AND PERFORMANCE DURING AN ELEVEN-WEEK SUMMER PROGRAM.THE OPERA'S COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING MUSIC EDUCATION AND ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES TO STUDENTS, TEACHERS, YOUNG AUDIENCES, AND ADULTS CONTINUED IN A MYRIAD OF SCHOOL AND FAMILY PROGRAMS AND ONLINE RESOURCES. THE SAN FRANCISCO OPERA AND OPERA GUILD BRING OPERA AND MUSIC EDUCATION TO STUDENTS AND INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

ELECTRONIC MEDIA - THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS INITIATIVE IS TO EXTEND THE COMPANY'S AUDIENCE THROUGH TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTS, HOME VIDEO PRODUCTS, LOCAL SIMULCASTS, CINEMA PRESENTATIONS, WEB VIDEOS, AND IN-HOUSE HD COVERAGE. THE COMPANY'S PIONEERING LOBBYVISION PROVIDES AUDIENCES A VIEW OF THE STAGE FROM VARIOUS LOCATIONS FRONT OF HOUSE WITH SCREENS SHOWING REAL-TIME HD VIDEO AND SUBTITLES.