Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Rigoletto, Santa Fe Opera

 


Duke Kim (Duke of Mantua) and Kayla Nanto (Countess Ceprano)
Rigoletto, Santa Fe Opera
Curtis Brown for Santa Fe Opera

In my review, I said that Duke Kim was made up such that he looked like a cross between Prince and Raul Julia as Gomez Addams. If you don't believe me, web search is your friend. Last year, Greer Grimsley, in The Righteous, looked like a cross between Barry Sonnenfeld, director of The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Maybe these pop culture references are a thing at Santa Fe.

Monday, August 18, 2025

House Debut


La Bohème, Act 1
Santa Fe Opera, July, 2025
 Soloman Howard (Colline), Long Long (Rodolfo), Efraín Solís (Schaunard), Szymon Mechliński (Marcello), photo by Curtis Brown for the Santa Fe Opera


Not at the Santa Fe Opera, which I've been attending since 2008, when I saw Adriana Mater, Billy Budd, and Radamisto, but at Parterre Box, which published my review of Santa Fe's La Bohème today. Grateful thanks to Harry Rose for the opportunity to write for Parterre Box, although it's bittersweet: Parterre Box's intended reviewer, Patrick Mack, died unexpectedly earlier this year.

I'm expecting more reviews. John Allison, editor of Opera Magazine, saw a different performance from the one I saw. Note that registration is required for Opera Now and a subscription is required to read Opera Magazine.
  • Lisa Hirsch, Parterre Box. Did the well-nigh perfect La Bohème at San Francisco Opera make me crankier than I otherwise would have been about this production? You bet. (NB: will get embarrassing errors, both mine, fixed post-haste.)
  • Thomas May, Memeteria; continues at Opera Now; he is much more positive about this production than I was.
  • John Allison, Opera Magazine (link to follow; his Santa Fe reviews will not be published for a while)
  • Heidi Waleson, Wall Street Journal (paywall)
  • William Burnett, Opera Warhorses 

Merola Grand Finale

 


Chea Kang as the Sandman
Hansel und Gretel
Photo: Kristen Loken, courtesy of Merola Opera

The Merola Grand Finale took place this past Saturday, August 16, at the War Memorial Opera House. As always, there was a ton of great singing. Chea Kang, above, was particularly wonderful as Humperdinck's Sandman, from Hansel and Gretel. Between her singing and Elio Bucky's canny direction, I couldn't take my eyes off her.

Media roundup, links to follow for the other writers:

Museum Mondays


The Angel of the Annunciation and The Virgin Annunciate
Spinello Aretino (c. 1350-1410)
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK
July, 2024


 

Friday, August 15, 2025

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Belated Museum Monday


Medieval stone doorway with painting beyond
Philadelphia Museum of Art
April, 2025



Virgin and Child Enthroned with a Servite Friar and Angels
Pietro Lorenzetti, early 14th centur
Philadelphia Museum of Art
April, 2025







 

Friday, August 08, 2025

More About the San Francisco Opera Archive


War Memorial Opera House
Not the actual site of the Archive



Earlier this year, San Francisco Opera's performance archive went back on line after an upgrade to modern technology. An anonymous donor provided funding for the upgrade.

San Francisco Opera provided some addition information to me. The donor's gift, of $1 million, came in the middle of 2024, and provides support in multiple areas:

  • The new Performance Archive Database.
  • The migration/digitization of at-risk legacy A/V formats that date from the 1970s-1990s/early 2000s.
  • The Oral History Program, done in collaboration with the Oral History Center at UC Berkeley.
  • The Archive more generally given that it takes a chunk of archivist Barbara Rominski's time to make the above happen.

Of the gift and the donor, Barbara Rominski said "I can’t begin to express just how grateful I am for this donor and their commitment to the Company, and particularly the Archives.  Through our conversations over the past years, they have really listened and understood how urgent it is to care for the items already in the archival collections, but that we also have a responsibility/role to play in creating content that captures the people of the Company and their stories, not just the artifacts left behind."

Friday Photo


Seen in Hatch, NM
Colors enhanced by phonecam software
July, 2025

 

Wednesday, August 06, 2025

New General Director at Opera Parallèle

Press release from the company, to which I will add that Tod Brody, now the executive director at the Marin Symphony, was Opera Parallèle's general director for several years before Nicole Paiement added the position to artistic director.

SAN FRANCISCO (July 22, 2025) — The Opera Parallèle Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Daniel Harvey as the company’s next Executive Director, effective August 1, 2025. Harvey, a highly successful and respected Bay Area arts administrator with a portfolio of more than 14 years of effective non-profit management credentials, first joined Opera Parallèle in 2017 and at present, serves as the company’s Artistic Producer & Community Director. His selection is the result of a competitive national search.

 

In his new capacity as Executive Director, Daniel Harvey will lead the nationally renowned opera company in partnership with Founder and Artistic Director, Nicole Paiement, who, after five years, relinquishes her dual role as Artistic & General Director. Harvey will report directly to the Opera Parallèle Board of Directors and will steer the company’s strategic direction while overseeing the development, marketing/PR, finance, administration and community engagement departments.  

 

Peggy Otum, Opera Parallèle Board Chair-elect said, “Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone as Opera Parallèle enters its 16th season with a restructured leadership model. As the next Executive Director, Daniel, with his expertise and understanding of the arts landscape, will collaborate closely with Nicole Paiement, who continues her visionary role as founder and artistic director. Together, this dynamic management team—enhanced by award-winning Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel—is poised to propel the company to new artistic heights. The Board is confident that Daniel’s thoughtful guidance, vision and strong business values will contribute to Opera Parallèle’s continued success. We look forward to working with Daniel.”

 

Daniel Harvey commented, “It is a distinct privilege and honor to be selected as the next Executive Director at Opera Parallèle, a company that has been my artistic home for the past eight years. I have been fortunate to grow, personally and professionally, alongside OP during this time of bold innovation and remarkable boundary-pushing creativity. Supporting the visionary work of my esteemed colleagues, Nicole and Brian, and the remarkable artists we bring together continues to be a source of deep inspiration. I look forward to building on the strong local and national partnerships I have helped forge, as we further expand OP’s presence and impact in the Bay Area and nationwide.”

 

“This moment comes at a time of significant challenge for the arts,” Harvey continued, “but the drive to create meaningful work that reflects our world—and to offer spaces of joy, reflection, and connection—feels more vital to me than ever. I wish to express my gratitude to the Board for their confidence in my ability to lead the company with Nicole, and to acknowledge the extraordinary work of my predecessors, the OP staff, board, and enthusiastic donors whose collective dedication and creativity have laid a strong foundation for our future.”

 

Nicole Paiement said, “Daniel Harvey embodies the values and forward-thinking spirit that Opera Parallèle stands for. His multi-faceted experience with the company, his success in building deep and meaningful community relationships and his exceptional administrative skills will ensure OP’s continued creative excellence.  I am excited by this new chapter for the company and am confident that together, we will lead Opera Parallèle into a vibrant and sustainable future. I would also like to commend the Board for selecting Daniel as it underscores the company’s commitment to fostering leadership from within and maintaining its innovative edge in the opera world.”

 

About Daniel Harvey

Daniel Harvey brings over 14 years of experience in artistic, administrative, and production roles to his new position as Executive Director of Opera Parallèle, building on his eight years of work as a key staff member with the organization. Most recently serving as Artistic Producer & Community Director, Harvey has played a central role in shaping and expanding OP’s identity as a champion of contemporary opera—pushing the boundaries of how opera is created, experienced, and shared.

 

In collaboration with Founding Artistic Director Nicole Paiement and Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel, Daniel Harvey has been instrumental in developing national partnerships and co-productions, helping secure presentations of OP’s innovative work with companies such as Cal Performances, Portland Opera, Hawai’i Opera Theatre, Opera Omaha, and Utah Opera. These efforts have not only expanded OP’s national reach but also established new revenue streams and important long-term institutional relationships. In the Bay Area, he has led collaborations with the California Academy of Sciences, YBCA, KQED, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, and the Bayview Opera House.

 

In his role as Community Director, Harvey spearheaded the redesign of OP’s community programming aligning it with civic practice models under the banner of The Bullhorn, including the creation of Expansive, a bold showcase of transgender classical artists, now in its fourth year in partnership with The Transgender District and the American Conservatory Theater. His work in this area has attracted new funding for the organization and helped redefine what it means for OP to serve, reflect, and engage with its community in meaningful ways.

 

A trained set and costume designer with a degree from the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia, Harvey approaches his work with the eye of an artist and the discipline of a producer. His work at OP has included overseeing production budgets, internal operations, and fostering a supportive, values-driven workplace culture.

 

Just a Reminder


Photo by Lisa Hirsch

The San Francisco Symphony, which bills itself as one of the most innovative orchestras in the world, came up with this for its opening gala:

Jaap van Zweden conductor

Yuja Wang piano

San Francisco Symphony 


JOHN ADAMS Short Ride in a Fast Machine  


PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1  


OTTORINO RESPIGHI Pines of Rome  


Because there's nothing that says "innovative" like performing Pines of Rome for the third time since 2022.


Furthermore, here's a list of the composers they're performing in 2025-26 and the number of works by each. 


Ellington1
Bach, JS4
Berlioz1
Bartok1
Beethoven5
Berg1
Brahms1
Bruch1
Bruckner1
Debussy1
Dutilleux1
Dvorak4
Gershwin2
Ginastera1
Grieg1
Handel1
Haydn1
Hindemith1
Holst1
Ibert1
Korngold1
Mahler2
Mozart8
Prokofiev3
Poulenc1
Rachmaninoff1
Ravel2
Respighi1
Rimsky-Korsakov1
Saint-Saens3
Shostakovich2
Sibelius1
Tchaikovsky4
Turina1
Vaughan Williams1
Vivaldi1
Wagner, R.1
Weber, von1
Strozzi1
Simon, C1
Taylor1
Lopez1
Habibi1
Adams, JC1
Connesson1
Higgins1
Mustonen1
Macens1
Tarkiainen1

Key: light green background is dead men, one of whom, Ellington, is Black. Pink background is dead women. Dark green is living men, several of whom are men of color. Blue is living women.

Of the 49 composers above, 46 are men. Eight of the men are alive; the other 38 are dead. There are works by three women, of whom one has been dead for a few hundred years, while the other two are alive. Two of the deceased men are American (Ellington, Gershwin) and several of the deceased spent a significant amount of time in the U.S. (Bartok, Korngold, Rachmaninoff, and Hindemith, of whom the first three died in the United States). 

There's nothing that says "innovative" like a season with 53 works by dead white men and 12 works by everybody else. I'm reminded of the season that had four works by MTT and 1 by a living woman, or maybe it was 2 by living women.

I'm sure we can expect an onslaught of Bernstein, Copland, and other dead American men in 2026-27. Maybe SFS will take a look at the NY Phil's Project 19 and pick up a few works by living women commissioned by that orchestra.


Tuesday, August 05, 2025

Recent Articles

I've published a couple of articles in SFCV that I never posted specifically about:

Monday, August 04, 2025

Museum Mondays


David Ghirlandaio
Virgin and Child, with Saints Apollonia and Sebastian, 1490s
Philadelphia Museum of Art
April, 2025

Friday, August 01, 2025

Eroica Award to Christian Rudolf Riedel

From MOLA: An Association of Music Performance Librarians, comes the news that they've awarded their 2025 Eroica Award to Christian Rudolf Riedel, an editor at Breitkopf & Härtel, the publisher. Their press release says:

MOLA: An Association of Music Performance Librarians is pleased to present the 2025 Eroica Award for Outstanding Service to Music to editor Christian Rudolf Riedel at its 43rd annual conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 
“Christian Riedel has set the gold standard in editorial excellence for decades,” said Christopher Blackmon, president of MOLA and senior librarian of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. “Defined by his many years of experience as a musician and a devoted scholar, Christian’s editorial work displays a deep respect for composers and a thorough understanding of what librarians and musicians need to perform their best. On behalf of all of us at MOLA, we are thrilled to honor him with the 2025 Eroica Award for Outstanding Service to Music.” 
MOLA is the premier professional association for music performance librarians who acquire, prepare, catalogue and maintain music for their institutions. With more than 550 members, the international nonprofit represents 347 organizations, including 255 orchestras, 40 opera and ballet companies, 40 music academies, 8 professional bands and ensembles across the world. 
Riedel has worked for more than 30 years in the editorial department at Breitkopf & Härtel in Wiesbaden, Germany, where he supervised the first critical edition of Beethoven’s symphonies, numerous volumes of the Sibelius Complete Edition, and other major orchestral works. His own editions of orchestral works by Mozart, Beethoven, Dvořák, Mendelssohn, Lalo, Robert Schumann, and Mahler are widely respected for being source-critical and practical-use driven. 
In recent years, Riedel has received the Presto Music Award for his editions of Mahler Symphony No. 4 (2020) and Symphony No. 9 (2024). He is currently serving as project manager and editor for “Gustav Mahler — The Symphonies” edition, despite retiring from his position as in-house editor.

In a video, Riedel reflected on what receiving the 2025 Eroica Award means to him.

 

“It makes me happy and proud at the same time,” Riedel said. “Happy because I’ve learned so much from this helpful organization, MOLA, and proud to be the first to receive the award as somebody who serves the music from the publishing side. Outstanding service to music often happens quietly and without applause, but with great care and utmost dedication. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do as an editor for quite a while already, and it’s the daily work of my dear MOLA colleagues — unheroically heroic as they do it, without any fuss.”

 

Elena Lence Talley, past president of MOLA and principal librarian of the Kansas City Symphony, had nothing but praise for Riedel’s longstanding partnership with performance librarians around the world.

 

“Christian’s influence on orchestral music is profound,” Talley said. “In addition to his editorial expertise, he has been in the vanguard of fostering and strengthening the collaboration between music publishers and performance librarians. He has been a friend to MOLA for many years and was one of the first to take part in the MOLA/Publisher Joint Committee. He has attended MOLA conferences since 2004 and has been featured in numerous conference sessions. His impact will continue to shape the music we perform and share for generations.”

 

Nick Pfefferkorn, managing and publishing director of Breitkopf & Härtel, described his colleague as a visionary editor.

 

“Since he first joined Breitkopf & Härtel music publishing house, Christian Rudolf Riedel — or just Rudolf, as we call him — has edited over 30 major works in Urtext or Critical editions,” Pfefferkorn said. “He saw the need and value of replacing old and outdated editions long before other publishers or editors even began to think about the term ‘Urtext.’ It is due to his devoted work as both editor and foremost as an experienced musician and scholar, that today Breitkopf & Härtel’s Orchestra Library not only consists of hundreds of scholarly edited editions but the catalogs of various other publishers too.”

 

Most days, even in retirement, Riedel continues to work with Mahler’s music.

 

“Rudolf is still coming to the office on a 4-day basis, but everyone can assume that he is thinking about and working on Mahler 24/7,” Pfefferkorn added. “To paraphrase Mahler: ‘His work is like the universe, it contains everything.’ Christian Riedel embodies the ideals of MOLA’s Eroica Award for his quiet, passionate and decades-long service and commitment to music and musicians around the globe.”

 

Riedel is the fourth recipient of the Eroica Award for Outstanding Service to Music. Past recipients include conductor James Conlon (2024), conductor JoAnn Falletta (2023), and violinist Jennifer Koh (2022).

 

The award honors individuals who inspire MOLA members through advocacy, artistic excellence, or leadership. Recipients may include performers, scholars, editors, or anyone who exemplifies inclusion, mentorship, scholarship, or innovation in any facet of the music world.

Learn more about MOLA at mola-inc.org. Visit breitkopf.com to see more of Christian Rudolf Riedel’s projects. 

About Christian Rudolf Riedel

Since joining Breitkopf & Härtel as orchestra editor in 1988, this distinguished music professional has contributed significantly to musical scholarship, currently serving as project manager and editor for the prestigious “Gustav Mahler — The Symphonies” edition project. Born in Leipzig in 1952, his journey through music began with conducting studies in Leipzig, Weimar and St. Petersburg — working with Kurt Masur and Arvid Jansons — complemented by masterclasses in Weimar, Szombathely and Tanglewood. His conducting posts in Eisenach, Ulm and Mainz led to his appointment as Artistic Director of the Merck Darmstadt Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, where he thoughtfully shaped the ensemble’s repertoire through revivals of classical works alongside premieres of contemporary compositions. Alongside his performance career, he has taught at the Franz Liszt Hochschule Weimar and the Peter Cornelius Conservatory in Mainz, whilst also providing guidance as harpsichordist and pianist at various vocal master classes. 


Music librarians rock; they are vital to the functioning of musical institutions everywhere. I wrote about them in SFCV last year. 

Friday Photo


Food on display
Ottolenghi
London, 2024