San Francisco Opera, 2020-21

San Francisco Opera announced the 2020-21 season today. Some of the news was already out there, owing to giveaway biographies, news items in Opera Magazine, and the announcement of Eun Sun Kim as the incoming music director.

Here's the short version, shamelessly copied from Joshua Kosman's Chronicle article on the season.

FIDELIO (Ludwig van Beethoven) Sept. 12-Oct. 1. Elza van den Heever, Simon O’Neill, Falk Struckmann, Eric Owens, Alfred Walker. Eun Sun Kim, conductor; Matthew Ozawa, director; Alexander V. Nichols, set and projection designer; Jessica Jahn, costume designer; Jax Messenger, lighting designer; Ian Robertson, chorus director.

RIGOLETTO (Giuseppe Verdi) Sept. 13-Oct. 4. George Gagnidze, Nina Minasyan, Pene Pati, Zanda Svede, Alfred Walker, Reginald Smith, Jr. Sir Mark Elder, conductor; Mark Lamos, production; Jose Maria Condemi, revival director; Michael Yeargan, set designer; Constance Hoffman, costume designer; Justin Partier, lighting designer; Lawrence Pech, choreographer; Ian Robertson, chorus director.

COSÌ FAN TUTTE (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Oct. 6-28. Jennifer Davis, Irene Roberts, Frederic Antoun, John Chest, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Hera Hyesang Park. Speranza Scappucci, conductor; Michael Cavanagh, director; Erhard Rom, set designer; Constance Hoffman, costume designer; Jane Cox, lighting designer; Ian Robertson, chorus director.

THE HANDMAID’S TALE (Poul Ruders) Oct. 29-Nov. 22. Sasha Cooke, Michaela Martens, Sarah Cambidge, James Creswell, Abigail Levis, Katrina Galka, Rhoslyn Jones, Nicole Birkland, Sara Couden, Brenton Ryan, Matthew DiBattista. Thomas Søndergård, conductor; John Fulljames, production; Chloe Lamford, set designer; Christina Cunningham, costume designer; Fabiana Piccioli, lighting designer; Will Duke, projection designer; Ian Robertson, chorus director.

LA BOHÈME (Giacomo Puccini) Nov. 15-Dec. 6. Maria Agresta/Aurelia Florian, Michael Fabiano/Arturo Chacón-Cruz, Amina Edris/Janai Brugger, Artur Rucinski/Anthony Clark Evans, Soloman Howard, Dale Travis. Nicola Luisotti, conductor; John Caird, production; Shawna Lucey, revival director; David Farley, production designer; Michael James Clark, lighting designer; Ian Robertson, chorus director.

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (Gioachino Rossini) April 25-May 16, 2021. Lucas Meachem, Daniela Mack, Stephanie Lauricella, Levy Sekgapane, Lawrence Brownlee, Maurizio Muraro, Simon Lim, Catherine Cook. Roderick Cox, conductor; Emilio Sagi, director; Llorenç Corbella, set designer; Pepa Ojanguren, costume designer; Gary Marder, original lighting designer; Ian Robertson, chorus director.

DER ZWERG (Alexander Zemlinsky) April 27-May 15, 2021. Clay Hilley, Heidi Stober, Sarah Cambidge. Henrik Nánási, conductor; Darko Tresnjak, director; Ralph Funicello, set designer; Linda Cho, costume designer; David Weiner, original lighting designer; Ian Robertson, chorus director.

If you're counting or mentally tracking this on a calendar, you'll have noticed two oddities:

• There are only seven operas.
• The two operas in 2021 run from April 25 to May 16 only.

The season is shrinking to seven for this year only, and it's because of the seat replacement project, which starts in late May. Matthew Shilvock has assured various people that it really is a one-time deal. (Some of us remember not only nine- and ten-opera seasons, but twelve- and thirteen-opera seasons. Sigh.)

Not listed above:

• The season opens on Friday, September 11, with a gala concert, conducted by Kim, with Pene Pati and Albina Shagimuratova, who is otherwise not appearing.
• Opera in the Park moves to October and will star Sondra Radvanovsky, who is otherwise not appearing (alas).
• Apparently substituting for the third summer opera is a concert of Verdi and Wagner arias that will be given three times, sung by Lianna Haroutounian and Irene Theorin. Okay, I'm there.

Of note:

• Elza van den Heever (Fidelio) returns for the first time in more than ten years.
• Der Zwerg is 85 minutes long and has no companion piece. C'mon, how hard would it have been to get a semi-staged Bluebeard's Castle or Erwartung on stage?
• I love that Rigoletto production, but this is also the sixth bring-up since 1997-98. C'mon.
• I can't tell you offhand how many times they're done Barber, because I haven't seen it since 1996.
• And I can't tell you offhand how many times they've done Boheme....as much as I love it.
• Jennifer Davis and Maria Agresta were both scheduled to make their SFO debuts in the past and both withdrew.
• It looks as though the company is making an active effort to get more Black singers on stage and women in the pit, both good things.
• I have to sigh at the fact that, really, the only adventurous programming is Der Zwerg and Handmaid's Tale.