Streaming the First Century, Session 4

War Memorial Opera House and Veterans Building

Van Ness Ave., SF

Hand-colored photo-postcard from the author's collection

The fourth session of Streaming the First Century was posted earlier today on SF Opera's web site. The new performance items are:

Salome (1974) by Richard Strauss. Austrian diva Leonie Rysanek is Salome in one of the most entrancing performances of her long, distinguished career. This preserved San Francisco Opera broadcast, conducted by Otmar Suitner, also features legendary Wagnerian soprano Astrid Varnay as Herodias. Writer Paul Thomason introduces this audio memento, recalling Rysanek’s unique onstage presence and her special connection with audiences in San Francisco.

 

Die tote Stadt (2008) by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The heart and soul of Korngold’s resplendent score come to life in this 2008 performance featuring Torsten Kerl, Emily Magee and Lucas Meachem under the assured leadership of then Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles. Writer Larry Rothe introduces this compelling work, which after decades of neglect, is being rediscovered by music lovers.

 

Excerpts: An only-in-San-Francisco cast of operatic legends assembled for Wagner’s Die Walküre (1936); Kurt Herbert Adler conducts a brisk account of Mozart’s Così fan tutte (1960); Amy Shuard and Regina Resnik bring frightening intensity to Strauss’ Elektra (1966) and Gwyneth Jones is definitive as Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio (1978), a performance that also introduced Sheri Greenawald to San Francisco Opera audiences.