Streaming Next at San Francisco Opera

War Memorial Opera House Interior

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

Up next in the SF Opera streaming series; all performances start at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on the date indicated. They remain available to the public until 11:59 p.m. the following day; if you're a subscriber, you can log in to the SFO web site and watch the videos there.

No Elektra.....yet....but this is an interesting group. I was shocked at how much I liked Manon. I remember the Salome as sluggishly conducted, but I'll definitely watch. I missed Susannah live, because I'd caught an especially nasty bug that year and was sick for something like six weeks. (My partner inconveniently broke her ankle a couple of weeks into my being sick, sigh. Fun times.) But Patricia Racette and Brandon Jovanovich are a proven pairing at SFO, so you bet I'll watch this.

Salome — June 20

The 2009 presentation of Richard Strauss’ Salome is a co-production with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Opéra de Montréal directed and choreographed by Séan Curran with production designs by Bruno Schwengl and lighting by Christopher Maravich. Strauss’ 1905 one-act opera, featuring Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of Oscar Wilde’s 1891 play as the text, is best known for its shocking, intense situations based on Biblical literature and the composer’s extraordinary score, including the sensual “Dance of the Seven Veils.” German dramatic soprano Nadja Michael portrays the title role and bass-baritone Greer Grimsley is the object of her desire, Jokanaan (John the Baptist). The cast also stars tenor Kim Begley as Herod, mezzo-soprano Irina Mishura as Herodias and tenor Garrett Sorenson as Narraboth. San Francisco Opera’s former Music Director Nicola Luisotti leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. Salome is performed in German with English subtitles and has an approximate running time of 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Manon — June 27

San Francisco Opera’s most recent staging of Jules Massenet’s Manon in 2017, a new co-production with Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and the Israeli Opera, features the role debuts of soprano Ellie Dehn as Manon and tenor Michael Fabiano as Chevalier des Grieux. Opera News proclaims Fabiano’s portrayal of Manon’s lover “a powerhouse vocal performance.” The opera’s libretto, by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille based on the novel by Abbé Prévost, tells the story of a young woman whose plans to enter a convent are interrupted by her falling in love with des Grieux and attempting to evade the schemes of Guillot (Robert Brubaker). With stage direction and costume designs by Vincent Boussard, the production’s creative team also includes set designer Vincent Lemaire and lighting designer Gary Marder. French conductor Patrick Fournillier “[leads] the orchestra in a rigorous rendition” of Massenet’s popular 1884 work (San Francisco Classical Voice).  Baritone David Pershall is Manon’s cousin Lescaut, bass James Creswell is Chevalier des Grieux’s father, Comte des Grieux, and baritone Timothy Mix is De Brétigny. The San Francisco Opera Chorus is prepared by Chorus Director Ian Robertson. Manon is performed in French with English subtitles and has an approximate running time of 2 hours, 45 minutes.

Susannah — July 4

Set in New Hope Valley, Tennessee, Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah is one of the most frequently performed 20th-century works in the American operatic repertoire. Floyd’s libretto, loosely based on the story “Susannah and the Elders” from the biblical Apocrypha, centers on an innocent, teenage girl who is falsely accused as a sinner by her church community. This “brilliant,” “magnificent” (San Francisco Chronicle) 2014 Company premiere is a San Francisco Opera co-production with Lyric Opera of Chicago and Houston Grand Opera. Director Michael Cavanagh directs the cast starring soprano Patricia Racette in the title role; tenor Brandon Jovanovich as Susannah’s brother, Sam Polk; bass Raymond Aceto as the villain, Reverend Olin Blitch; tenor James Kryshak as Little Bat and mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook as Little Bat’s mother, Mrs. McLean. In her Company debut, Karen Kamensek conducts the cast, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus “with superb musical direction” (The Mercury News). The production features set designs by Erhard Rom, costumes by Michael Yeargan, lighting designs by Gary Marder, choreography by Lawrence Pech and fight direction by Dave Maier. Susannah is performed in English with English subtitles and has an approximate running time of 1 hour, 45 minutes.