San Francisco Opera 2024-25

War Memorial Opera House

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

[This blog post was already overdue and about 1/3 written when the Salonen announcement landed, and that's been distracting me for the last 10 days or so.]

San Francisco Opera announced its 2024-25 season on February 20, roughly a month after its typical announcement date, as in, the third week of January. The season announced is shockingly short, which makes me wonder whether the extra month was spent cutting the season from eight operas to six. To do this, you'd have to contact all of the artists involved, and very likely reschedule them or pay a cancellation fee built into the contracts.

A six-opera season feels like some kind bellwether, and not a good one, for the company. It's been at eight operas for a number of years, and that was a reduction from ten, and that was a reduction from twelve or thirteen back in the 1980s. Six operas feels like a huge reduction in ambition and scope, because it's a 25% reduction over the last many seasons. (With the archive still offline, I can't easily check when the reduction from 10 to 8 happened.) 

I find the reduction especially sad coming after the centennial season and the 101st season, where the company produced five new operas out of sixteen, drew in new audiences (particularly with Omar and Frida y Diego), and had some great concerts as well. The upcoming season does include two one-off concerts and Opera in the Park, but the two concerts absolutely don't make up for losing two operas. Beethoven's 9th will take much less rehearsal time than an opera requires and there's no staging or scenery involved, no juggle of schedules and locations and coaching and the orchestra.

I chatted with Matthew Shilvock before the season announcement and asked what was going on. I should have been more precise in my questions; what I heard about the length of the season wasn't specific to SFO's financial situation. He provided general information about music org finances; the reduction over decades in the percentage of income from ticket sales, issues in the financial model; and so on.

The reduction seems strange to me because the company is in good financial condition, as far as can be told from their 990 forms. It is true that on the most recent 990, the size of the endowment is down from its peak, but it's also considerably higher than it was before the pandemic. And from watching my own 401Ks, I would bet that the SFO endowment has gone up from the period covered by the most recent. 990, which was filed last summer. I mean, do I get better investment advice than SFO? I doubt it.

Here are some numbers from the last three 990 forms:

FY Ending July 2020 (filed 2021)

Revenue
$88,254,131
Expenses
$70,437,595
Net Income
$17,816,536
Net Assets
$269,322,430

Endowment: $244.7 million

FY Ending July 2021 (filed 2022)
Revenue
$79,158,489
Expenses
$52,174,556
Net Income
$26,983,933
Net Assets
$340,907,354

Endowment $312 million

FY Ending July 2022 (filed 2023)
Revenue
$88,376,102
Expenses
$68,630,368
Net Income
$19,745,734
Net Assets
$314,499,971

Endowment $281.2 million

This is not the picture of a company on the brink. As I noted, it's likely that the next 990 - look for it in maybe August - will show the endowment and net assets back up. But the endowment is still tens of millions up from where it had been, even in the most recent 990.

I asked about the cutback, and, as noted, Shilvock's comments did not get very specific about the company's finances. I believe that when an organization that appears to be in perfectly good financial health makes these kinds of cuts, it should show its work. That is, provide as much detail as possible about the finances and the reasoning behind the cuts. 

Shilvock did mention long-term trends in the arts in the United States. Only 16% of revenue comes from ticket sales, down from 60% in the 1960s. That means gigantic fundraising efforts are necessary (he didn't say this, but clearly it's part of what goes on, so if you're wondering why orchestras and opera companies have big development departments....). I was somewhat alarmed by his comment that "something fundamental needs to change about how the American arts work." There is no reason to expect an increase in government funding, given that one of the major parties looks on the arts with more than suspicion. And given how Arts Council England is gutting the English National Opera and other arts organizations in the UK, we need to keep that risk in mind as well. What the government gives, they can take away.

When I talk with people about arts funding, folks in the Bay Area often mention tech money, that is, all the people who have gotten rich, sometimes obscenely rich, from IPOs and running extremely successful companies. Shilvock made the point that everybody is different and has different interests. They need to be approached and brought in over a long period of time. It's a delicate process.  Said Shilvock, "We have some new relationships in this post-pandemic era. It takes time to build those relationships, up to a decade before people reach their full philanthropic potential."

SFO is starting to have some success. Of the people who are clearly big donors, which we know because they are season or production sponsors, I call to your attention Dr. and Mrs. William Coughran. Bill Coughran was an important, high-ranking VP or SVP at Google for many years. It's great to see his name associated with SFO. Will more tech folks follow? I can't say, obviously. Of the younger generation, it's common to see donations to health care research and organizations: Sergey Brin and Parkinson's; Mark Benioff and children's hospitals; Mark Zuckerberg & Priscilla Chan, SF General.

So I worry about "something fundamental needs to change about how the American arts work." Does that mean breaking unions to reduce performer pay? That would be a disastrous turn of events, a huge step backward for large opera companies and symphony orchestras. (I point here to events across Grove St., where SFS management has bungled things so badly that they made major artistic cuts and now they're losing their music director.)

All that said, Shilvock is excited about the future. He said that it's "a transitional moment for the art form, making sure that the financial model will sustain the company. It’s important to reconcile the financial model but we have to also sustain the artistic goals." He mentioned these four points:

• The company must keep producing "transporting emotional experiences" and remember "the power of the art form to create all-consuming experiences." They have to maintain the level of artistry.
• They must keep building repertory with new works and productions, connecting to the deeper arc of humanity, and connection to communities.
• They must sustain creative excellence and the caliber of the arts in SF. 
• They must keep pushing boundaries. "We can’t retreat, we must keep things moving forward.  We have initiatives like the encounters, out of the box, livestreams."

I asked that can be done to get back to eight operas. He said that the board and management are working together to figure out the future." My questions are what they’re asking themselves. He is optimistic about finding a way forward.  He also mentioned that what they're doing goes beyond  "...the work on stage, to how we frame it with the company and with the audiences. People living with a mass shooting day in and day out. Kaija [Saariaho, composer of Innocence] talked with the company about what it was like to live with it for three years while she composed the opera."

All of that said, the season is smaller and less adventurous than either of the last two seasons. It does have Tristan und Isolde, not seen here since Donald Runnicles last conducted it, in 2007; Un ballo in maschera, not seen for a decade; Idomeneo; and Poul Ruders' The Handmaid's Tale, based on Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel of the same name. The casting throughout the season is strong and attractive, enough so that I'll have to see both casts in La bohème. (Fortunately it's one of my favorite operas.) The new productions all look attractive.

Season casting is below the cut.

Livestream dates:

UN BALLO IN MASCHERA Sunday,, September 15, 2024 at 2 PM THE HANDMAID’S TALE Friday, September 20, 2024 at 7:30 PM BEETHOVEN 9 Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 7:30 PM (live only) TRISTAN AND ISOLDE Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 2 PM CARMEN Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 7:30 PM LA BOHÈME Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 7:30 PM IDOMENEO Friday, June 20, 2025 at 7:30 PM PRIDE CONCERT Friday, June 27, 2025 at 7:30 PM (live only)

UN BALLO IN MASCHERA (Verdi)

September 6 (8 p.m.), 11 (7:30 p.m.), 15 (2 p.m.), 18 (7:30 p.m.), 21 (7:30 p.m.), 24 (7:30 p.m.) 27 (7:30 p.m.), 2024

Amelia Lianna Haroutounian
Gustav III Michael Fabiano
Renato Amartuvshin Enkhbat *
Ulrica Judit Kutasi
Oscar Meigui Zhang ♪+
Samuel Adam Lau ♪+
Chief Magistrate Christopher Oglesby ♪^+

Creative Team:
Conductor Eun Sun Kim
Director Leo Muscato *
Set Designer Federica Parolini *
Costume Designer Silvia Aymonino *
Lighting Designer Alessandro Verazzi *
Chorus Director John Keene

OPERA IN THE PARK: Sunday, September 8, 2024

THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Poul Ruders

September 14 (7:30 p.m.), 17 (7:30 p.m.), 20 (7:30 p.m.), 22 (2 p.m.), 26 (7:30 p.m.), 29 (7:30 p.m.);
October 1 (7:30 p.m.), 2024

Offred Irene Roberts ♪
Serena Joy Lindsay Ammann *♪
Aunt Lydia Sarah Cambidge ♪^+
The Commander John Relyea ♪^+
Offred Double Simone McIntosh ♪^+
Luke Christopher Oglesby ♪^+
Nick Brenton Ryan ♪
Janine / Ofwarren Katrina Galka *♪
Offred’s Mother Gabrielle Beteag ♪^+
Rita Sara Couden *♪
Doctor Matthew DiBattista *

Creative Team:
Conductor Karen Kamensek
Production John Fulljames *
Associate Director Lucy Bradley *
Set Designer Chloe Lamford
Costume Designer Christina Cunningham *
Lighting Designer Fabiana Piccioli *
Projection Designer Will Duke *
Chorus Director John Keene

TRISTAN AND ISOLDE by Richard Wagner

October 19 (7:30 p.m.), 23 (7:30 p.m.), 27 (2 p.m.); November 1 (7:30 p.m.), 5 (7:30 p.m.), 2024

Tristan Simon O’Neill +
Isolde Anja Kampe
Kurwenal Wolfgang Koch *
Brangäne Annika Schlicht *
King Marke Kwangchul Youn

Creative Team:
Conductor Eun Sun Kim
Production Paul Curran *
Production Designer Robert Innes Hopkins
Lighting Designer David Martin Jacques *
Chorus Director John Keene

BEETHOVEN’S NINTH SYMPHONY

Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

Eun Sun Kim, conductor
San Francisco Opera Orchestra
San Francisco Opera Chorus
Soloists: Jennifer Holloway, soprano; Annika Schlicht, mezzo-soprano
Russell Thomas, tenor; Kwangchul Youn, bass

CARMEN by Georges Bizet

November 13 (7:30 p.m.), 16 (7:30 p.m.), 19 (7:30 p.m.), 22 (7:30 p.m.), 24 (2 p.m.), 26 (7:30 p.m.), 29
(7:30 p.m.); December 1 (2 p.m.), 2024

Carmen Eve-Maud Hubeaux **
Don José Jonathan Tetelman ♪ (except 11/26)
Micaëla Louise Alder **♪
Escamillo Christian van Horn
Dancaïro Christopher Oglesby ^+
Remendado Alex Boyer ♪+

Creative Team:

Conductor Benjamin Manis *
Production Francesca Zambello
Associate Director & Choreographer Annamaria Bruzzese *
Production Designer Tanya McCallin
Original Lighting Designer Paule Constable
Revival Lighting Designer Justin A. Partier
Original Choreographer Arthur Pita
Fight Director Dave Maier
Chorus Director John Keene

LA BOHÈME by Giacomo Puccini

June 3 (7:30 p.m.), 7 (7:30 p.m.), 10 (7:30 p.m.), 12 (7:30 p.m.), 13 (7:30 p.m.), 15 (2 p.m.), 18 (7:30 p.m.), 19 (7:30 p.m.), 21 (7:30 p.m.), 2025

Rodolfo Pene Pati ^+ (June 3, 7, 10, 12, 15, 19); Evan LeRoy Johnson (June 13, 18, 21)
Mimì Karen Chia-ling Ho ♪+ (June 3, 7, 10, 12, 15, 19); Nicole Car (June 13, 18, 21)
Marcello Lucas Meachem ^+ (June 3, 7, 10, 12, 15, 19); Will Liverman * (June 13, 18, 21)
Musetta Andrea Carroll * (June 3, 7, 10, 12, 15, 19); Brittany Renee (June 13, 18, 21)
Colline Bogdan Talos *

Ramon Taber conducts.

IDOMENEO by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

June 14 (7:30 p.m.), 17 (7:30 p.m.), 20 (7:30 p.m.), 22 (2 p.m.), 25 (7:30 p.m.), 2025

Idomeneo Matthew Polenzani
Idamante Daniela Mack ^+
Ilia Ying Fang *
Elettra Elza van den Heever ^+

Creative Team:

Conductor Eun Sun Kim
Production Lindy Hume *
Set Designer Michael Yeargan
Costume Designer Anna Cordingley *
Lighting Designer Verity Hampson *
Projection Designer David Bergman
Set Design Consultant Richard Roberts *
Cinematographer Catherine Pettman, Rummin Productions *
Chorus Director John Keene

Pride Concert: works and performers TBA. Friday, June 27, 2025; 7:30 PM