Anna Caterina Antonacci Does Double Duty At San Francisco Opera

Anna Caterina Antonacci stars in two roles during the San Francisco Opera's June season, which opens Sunday, June 7, 2015. She will play the role of Cesira in the world premiere of Marco Tutino's Two Women and also portrays Cassandra in Hector Berlioz's Les Troyens. (Photo: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera)

"Anna Caterina Antonacci is an opera star who thrives on defying expectations. A mesmerizing performer with a supple and lustrous voice, Antonacci seems equally at home in roles written for soprano or for the lower-voiced mezzo-soprano. She has triumphed in one of the most popular of operas, Georges Bizet’s Carmen, but mostly she has sought out repertory off the beaten path. And while for many singers, appearing at the Metropolitan Opera represents the pinnacle of success, Antonacci has never sung there, and likely never will. But though her career is mainly in Europe, she has recently been making annual concert appearances in New York. In March, after she sang a program of French songs and Francis Poulenc’s monodrama La Voix Humaine, Zachary Woolfe wrote in The New York Times that 'her alertness to the texts and the unassuming grandeur of her presence made the night riveting.' Now she’s back in the United States again to headline the San Francisco Opera’s summer season, which opens Sunday, June 7. She will portray her touchstone role of Cassandra in Berlioz’s epic Les Troyens and also will star in the world premiere of an opera based on a classic book and film. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, the 54-year-old Italian singer talked about her unusual career and the roles she most responds to." [Source] Read the full interview, which covers how she chooses roles; creating the new operatic role of Cesira; interpreting the role of Cassandra in Les Troyens; why she infrequently performs in the United States; and what the future holds for her on the opera stage, by clicking here.

Bryan Hymel On Family, Santa Fe Opera, High Notes, "Les Troyens"

Shaken, Not Stirred: Bryan Hymel brings cool to opera with his heroic high notes. (Photo: Dario Acosta)

"French grand opera makes great demands on singers, with performances clocking in at times that rival Wagner and orchestras crowding the pit. New Orleans native, Bryan Hymel (pronounced ee-mel) will continue to embrace that repertoire in performances of epic works like Les Troyens in San Francisco next month and Les[sic] Damnation de Faust in Paris this coming December. In between, he’ll sing the roles of the Duke in Rigoletto and Don Jose in Carmen at Santa Fe and Washington National Opera respectively. His bow as Rodolfo at the Met last year earned him continued praise from the New York press, which had welcomed his triumph on short notice in 2012, stepping in for a save-the-day kind of performance in Les Troyens appropriate for someone whose voice type is most often described as heroic. His list of awards is long, and illustrious, and includes the Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Artist Award and first

San Franciso Opera Continues "First Kiss" Series With Stars

San Francisco has a second installment of their video series "First Opera Kiss," asking singers to recall their inaugural stage smooch. This round includes Diana Damrau, Ailyn Pérez, Ellie Dehn, Mary Dunleavy, Simon O'Neill, Nadine Sierra, and Karen Slack. Click here for the first set of videos. Watch the new videos after the jump. 

Soprano Lucine Amara Celebrates 90th Birthday Today

Lucine Amara in the title role of Aida

Lucine Amara turns 90-years old today. She began her career as a chorister with the San Francisco Opera. After starting out as a contralto, she switched to soprano and by 1946 was making her debut at the War Memorial Auditorium. The biggest part of her career was on the East coast at The Metropolitan Opera where she sang from 1950-1991 in 748 performances. She debuted as the Celestial Voice in Verdi's Don Carlo with a cast that included Jussi Björling, Delia Rigal, Robert Merrill, Fedora Barbieri, Cesare Siepi, and Jerome Hines. Her roles at the beginning of her career in New York tended to be mostly comprimario: First Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Ines (Il Trovatore), Wellgunde (Götterdämmerung), Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Priestess (Aida), Countess Ceprano (Rigoletto), Frasquita (Carmen), Serving Woman (Elektra), Leaders of the People (Alceste), Flower Maiden (Parsifal), Annina (La Traviata). Rare exceptions in the first two years of performing at the MET were the roles of Nedda in I Pagliacci and Micaela in Carmen. By 1953 she was singing Mimì in La Bohème under the baton of Alberto Erede. She would go on to sing Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Countess Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Desdemona (Otello), Antonia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Leonora (La Forza del Destino), Liù (Turandot), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Eva (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos), Marguerite (Faust), Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes), Luisa (Luisa Miller), Maddalena (Andrea Chénier),  Alice Ford (Falstaff), Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly), Elsa (Lohengrin), Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera), and the title roles in Aida and Tosca. Her final roles at the MET were Mother Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites), Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), Gertrude (Hänsel und Gretel), and Madelon (Andrea Chénier). [Source] Be sure to visit the birthday tribute page for more photos and audio clips. More images after the jump.

San Francisco Opera Asks Stars About First Onstage Opera Kiss

Just in time for every lover's favorite holiday, Valentine's Day, San Francisco Opera has posted videos asking singers to recall their first onstage kiss in opera. Watch Heidi Melton, Brandon Jovanovich, Laquita Mitchell, Chauncey Packer, Eva-Maria Westbroek, and Charles Castronovo recount everything from enchanted to downright hilarious memories, after the jump.

San Francisco Gala Beauty Captured By Photographer Jason Henry

With couture by Lela Rose, Tom Ford, Pierre Cardin, Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci, Badgley Mischka, Marchesa, Herve Leger, and Oscar de la Renta, dominating the scene at the 2014 San Francisco Opera Gala, it's likely the real star was photographer Jason Henry who captured much of the festivities for the Chronicle. The San Francisco Opera opened its 92nd season with a cocktail reception, dinner, a performance of Bellini's Norma and an after party. An important element to major events is to document the evening with images that show who attended and which designer they chose to wear for the occasion. However, it takes true talent to give the viewer a real sense of being taken on a journey and truly feel the atmosphere of a room through a camera lens. Jason Henry does exactly this through his impeccable photos that feel whimsical, artistic, and focused, all at the same time. Below is a sampling from the evening [click images to enlarge]. Unfortunately the gallery lacks photos of the singers Jamie Barton (Adalgisa), Marco Berti (Pollione), and Sondra Radvanovsky (Norma) who performed in the opera and surely attended the post-performance festivities in their own regal garments. Go here to see the full gallery of 115 photos of attendees. More about photographer Jason Henry after the jump.

Opera Crowd Taking ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Around The World

Post by Debbie Voigt.

OPERA America Conference Breaking Records For Attendance

"OPERA America, the national nonprofit service organization for opera, is pleased to announce details of Opera Conference 2014: Audiences Reimagined, to be held in San Francisco, CA from June 20-23. Hosted by San Francisco Opera, in association with Opera Volunteers International, this largest annual gathering of opera professionals in North America will convene at venues in Union Square and the Civic Center. It marks the first time the Conference will be held in San Francisco in 25 years. With registration still open, Opera Conference 2014 has already broken OPERA America's all-time attendance record, previously held by the 2010 conference in Los Angeles. OPERA America's annual conference presents a unique opportunity for industry leaders to examine issues affecting

Marc A. Scorca

the opera community from a variety of perspectives. With the theme Audiences Reimagined, conference attendees will explore how opera companies and artists can benefit from an increasingly broad, diverse and engaged audience through innovative technologies and exciting alternative performance offerings. Topics planned for opera conference attendees cover all facets of the art form and address the concerns of creators, administrators, trustees and supporters." [Source] For the full schedule of events, click here.

Elizabeth DeShong Returns To SFO For New "Madama Butterfly"

"San Francisco Opera audiences have twice had the opportunity to enjoy the rich mezzo-soprano of Elizabeth DeShong: first in her company debut as the Page in Salome in 2009, and more recently in the trouser role of Maffio Orsini in Lucrezia Borgia in 2011. The native of central Pennsylvania currently lives near her husband’s family in Akron, Ohio, though, like many singers in great demand, most of her year is spent on the road. Currently, she is in town for her third role with SFO, as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, which she will sing opposite Patricia Racette’s Cio-Cio San June 15–July 9. Earlier this year, she sang the role with the Metropolitan Opera, garnering stellar reviews such as this one in The New York Times: 'The mezzo Elizabeth DeShong was outstanding as Butterfly’s servant Suzuki. With her deeply resonant low register, she created a character who is tragically prescient about the unfolding disaster.'" Read the full interview that covers a range of topics including why she identifies as a mezzo-soprano rather than contralto; keeping the flexibility in the voice without getting pegged as a Rossini-only artist; how to avoid focusing on gender in pants roles; an in-depth analysis of Suzuki's character; and if Verdi's Amneris is a role she will take on down the road. [Source] For more about Elizabeth DeShong, click here. A colorful image of the Jun Kaneko production of Madama Butterfly, that will be performed at the San Francisco Opera, is after the jump.

San Francisco Opera "Show Boat" Cast Garners Excellent Reviews

Morris Robinson lets loose with his booming voice for the role of Joe at the War Memorial Opera House.

"A couple of highlights: There's granite-voiced bass Morris Robinson, as the stevedore Joe, pacing himself through 'Ol' Man River,' aligning with the show's African-American chorus to build this iconic number -- part spiritual, part dirge -- into a majestic cry for justice. There's actor and comic Bill Irwin, as Cap'n Andy Hawks, who is all fluid motion and spark-plug energy: clowning, moon-walking or floating like Fred Astaire. His face is plastic. He is pure expression and heart -- an unforgettable performance. Not that Show Boat is light fare. What it is is an intensely American hybrid, celebrating vaudeville, jazz, opera, spirituals and popular song. It addresses distinctly American themes: racism against African-Americans and opposition to inter-racial marriage, especially. These themes play out aboard the Cotton Blossom, a floating theater -- a showboat with its own troupe, led by Cap'n Andy. His daughter, Magnolia Hawks (soprano Heidi Stober, perfect as the ingenue), is the story's pivot. We follow her through her ill-fated marriage to gambler Gaylord Ravenal (baritone Michael Todd Simpson) in the 1880s, and then through single motherhood and her resolute fashioning of a career in the 1920s New York theater. A subplot involves Magnolia's best friend, Julie La Verne (soprano Patricia Racette), who is bi-racial and has been 'passing' for

Lotfollah "Lotfi" Mansouri June 15, 1929 – August 30, 2013

Read more about the loss of this great man by clicking here and  here.

San Francisco Opera Turns On Rainbow Lights In Honor Of Equality

Cite as: 570 U. S. ____ (2013)
Opinion of the Court
The power the Constitution grants it also restrains. And though Congress has great authority to design laws to fit its own conception of sound national policy, it cannot deny the liberty protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. What has been explained to this point should more than suffice to establish that the principal purpose and the necessary effect of this law are to demean those persons who are in a lawful same-sex marriage. This requires the Court to hold, as it now does, that DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the liberty of the person protected by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. The liberty protected by the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause contains within it the prohibition against denying to any

Anne Midgette Breaks News of Scheppelmann Leaving Post

"The other shoe has dropped at the Washington National Opera: Christina Scheppelmann, the company’s director of artistic operations, announced Thursday that she will step down at the end of November. She is taking on a new position, although she cannot announce what it is until her new employer makes it official at the end of the month." [Source]

David Hockney's "Turandot" Gets Invigorated in San Francisco

Foster as Puccini's Icy Princess

"Making her company debut in the title role, soprano Susan Foster revealed a powerful and intermittently well-controlled instrument, one that carried effortlessly and with steely intensity above the clamor of the orchestra and rang out clearly in more exposed passages. Foster had a harder time locating the lyrical vein in this role, and the potency of her singing often shaded into stridency; her account of the opening 'In questa reggia' sounded blunt and lurid. But she came into her own nicely in Act 3, managing Turandot's improbable emotional turnaround with flair. Tenor Walter Fraccaro's performance as Calaf also improved as the evening progressed, though he had further to go. Throughout Act 1, Fraccaro's singing - a few well-placed, clarion high notes aside - was tonally ragged and beset

Crocetto as Liù

by intonation problems. But the Act 2 Riddle Scene had a sturdy heft to it, and although his 'Nessun dorma' at the start of Act 3 sounded stiff and ill tuned, his performance flourished from there on. Christian Van Horn was a solid, if uninspiring, Timur. The rest of the performances evoke happy memories of opening night. Soprano Leah Crocetto, an Adler Fellow, remains a brilliant Liù, vocally lustrous and dramatically assured, and the Opera Chorus sang superbly throughout." [Source]

Successful "Xerxes" Production Thrives at San Francisco Opera

Susan Graham (l) in the title role and Lisette Oropesa as Romilda in San Francisco (Photo: Cory Weaver)

"This seems to be San Francisco Opera’s season for premiering major operas of earlier centuries that it has heretofore overlooked. On the heels of its first mounting of Donizetti’s 1834 opera, Lucrezia Borgia, comes the first production of Handel’s 1738 opera Xerxes. Company General Manager David Gockley could not have assembled a finer cast, nor chosen a more consistently delightful production for an opera that SFO’s superb Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Summers considers one of Handel’s 'thorough masterpieces.' Director Michael Walling’s revival of Nicholas Hytner’s marvelous production, which won England’s Laurence Olivier Award in

David Daniels as Arsamenes (Photo: Cory Weaver)

1985 for 'Outstanding New Opera Production of the Year,' assigns Handel’s male castrato role of Xerxes to mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, and the female soprano role of Arsamenes (Xerxes’ brother) to countertenor David Daniels. It also brings to the fore the many camp elements of the convoluted plot, which seem right at home in David Fielding’s whimsical setting. The results seem ideal for Handel’s one and only operatic comedy....The cast and conducting are extraordinary. Graham, as gifted in Baroque coloratura as she is in Romantic lyricism, tosses off her many interpolated embellishments with the warm, seductive sound for which she is prized. Her instrument may not be ideally suited to Xerxes most furious outpourings — her smooth phrasing would ideally be more biting and brilliant — but her voice and artistic commitment sweep all before them. Daniels has an equally smooth, astoundingly fluent voice whose size is a fine match for Graham. As with many members of the cast, his embellishments bring out the craziness of the crazy libretto. Both stars invest their long-breathed, roller coaster lines with the surfeit of emotion essential to conveying their characters’ inner feelings." [Source]

"Lucrezia Borgia" with Renée Fleming at SFO Gets Reviewed

"Ask Miss Manners and I'm sure she'll agree: When a company like the San Francisco Opera adds a work to its repertoire specifically as a vehicle for your return, it's only right to pitch in and give a fiercely committed performance, one that will justify the decision. Yet here was Donizetti's implausible tragedy Lucrezia Borgia, taking the stage of the War Memorial Opera House on Friday night for the first time. And here was soprano Renée Fleming, returning to the company for her first opera in a decade, and turning in a lazy, theatrically vacuous performance in

the title role. Seriously? Is that how the game is played in the big leagues? Permit me to doubt it. Fortunately, there was enough strong vocalism on display from the rest of the cast to make Friday's opener seem like more than just a misguided vanity vehicle. And in the pit, a brisk, responsive company debut by conductor Riccardo Frizza helped give the evening a sense of streamlined momentum that was otherwise absent. But Fleming - swanning about distractedly as if reprising her role of Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire - added little to the mix, and director-designer John Pascoe's nonsensical and unsightly production, imported from the Washington National Opera, only made the evening more dispiriting." [Source]

"A few strange things happened to Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia on the way to its first performance Friday at the San Francisco Opera, a mere 178 years after its La Scala premiere. First is that Renée Fleming in the title role of this star vehicle picked up a dozen hitchhikers, who sang gloriously. Costumed sensationally, La Fleming looked gorgeous and sang in a range from fine to diva-great. Yet she had lots of company

in that department. Second, that the star and passengers - the whole thing - sank. John Pascoe’s clueless direction drained whatever life the work - three hours of generic Donizetti and melodrama in the class of The Drunkard - might have offered. The sets were impressively professional, if needlessly moving, and the costumes opulent. Yet the stage direction recalled the “Amateur Hour,” with goose-stepping "troops" of four or five, fascist salutes, Roman salutes, Etruscan salutes, lighting striking every time something of significance happened, and plentiful awkward or ridiculous mechanical movements." [Source]

[Above images feature Renée Fleming in the title role of Lucrezia and tenor Michael Fabiano as Gennaro. Photos: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera]

San Francisco Opera Gala Opening Night Event One Week Away

Iréne Theorin will portray
Puccini's icy princess.

"It’s not too late to part-take in of the most prominent events in the San Francisco musical and social scene. On September 9th, join Encore!, the San Francisco Opera’s club for opera aficionados, as they host the opening night gala at City Hall. As the second largest opera company in North America, the San Francisco Opera has been host to opera’s jewels like conductor Sir Georg Solti, director Francis Ford Coppola and lirico-spinto soprano Renata Tebali. The 2011/12 season will feature John Adams’ Nixon in China, a long sought after program. This magical evening will begin with cocktails at 5PM, followed by an elegant seated dinner at 6PM in City Hall and then attendees will head to the War Memorial Opera house and enjoy a performance of Puccini’s Turandot. The festivities continue back at City Hall at around 11PM after the performance with dessert and dancing into the wee hours of the night. One must first join Encore! and then purchase tickets for the gala which at this point start at $425 for Dress Circle Rear placement. A table for 10 Patron tickets is $6,000 (call (415) 621-4403 for orders and use this form) and if you can only make the performance, tickets are still available starting at $129." [Source]

Check out an image from the Hockney production and watch a clip of Iréne Theorin singing the "Riddle Scene" from Turandot at Covent Garden after the jump.

Are Domestic Opera Companies Beginning Their Final Descent?

How many are standing around watching the
collapse of opera houses across the United States?

Seems as though New York City Opera was the first company in the United States to really yell "Fire!" loud enough for people to start paying attention to their imminent collapse. Now other companies are following suit, beginning with Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera and Austin Lyric Opera.

San Francisco Opera Announces Wagnerian Cast Change

Tenor replacement: Jay Hunter Morris

"David Gockley, General Director of San Francisco Opera, has announced a casting change in the Company’s upcoming presentation of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). American tenor Jay Hunter Morris will now sing the title role of “Siegfried” replacing acclaimed Wagernian tenor Ian Storey, who was originally announced to sing the role in both Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, the third and fourth operas of the composer’s epic four-opera cycle. Mr. Storey will only sing in Götterdämmerung, a performance that will mark both his Company and role debuts. The premiere of Siegfried is slated for Sunday, May 29th followed by the premiere of Götterdämmerung a week later on Sunday, June 5th. Three complete cycles of the Ring will be presented at the War Memorial Opera House from June 14th to July 3rd, 2011." [Source]

Journey To The San Francisco Opera

"Journey of the Bonesetter’s Daughter follows the creation of the San Francisco Opera’s celebrated production of The Bonesetter’s Daughter, composed by Stewart Wallace with a libretto by bestselling novelist Amy Tan. Based on Tan’s book of the same name, the opera is an ambitious, cross-cultural tour de force that brings together artists from China and the U.S. to tell the deeply moving story of Tan’s family history." [Source]

The documentary is set to air May 8 on PBS and will feature singers Qian Yi, Zheng Cao, Ning Liang and Tian Hao Jiang.