Museum Mondays, a day late

National Building Museum

Washington, DC

April, 2025

 

Kavalier & Clay at the Met

 

Cover, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

I read Michael Chabon's novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay back around 2000 or 2001; my paperback copy of the book looks exactly like the graphic above, so I bought the book after it won the Pulitzer Prize for literature. I loved the book's immense sweep and its colorful characters.

I raised an eyebrow when Mason Bates and Gene Scheer's Metropolitan Opera commission was announced, because, really, it didn't seem like a great candidate for an operatic adaptation, given the scope and complexity of the novel. I was surprised that the opera wasn't listed for an HD broadcast this season, and I decided against a quick NY trip, given various writing responsibilities I have. 

Now the reviews are coming in and it seems reasonable to start a media round-up.

• Joshua Barone, NY Times
• Justin Davidson, Vulture/New York, who incorporates a critique of Peter Gelb
• Heidi Waleson, WSJ (paywall)
• Sylvia Korman, Parterre Box
• Alex Ross, The Rest is Noise (a glancing blow only)
• Alex Ross, The New Yorker (a body blow)
• George Grella, NY Classical Review
• David Gordon, TheaterMania
• Financial Times (so paywalled I have no idea who wrote it)

Friday Photo

Pink Oyster Mushrooms

Berkeley Bowl West

Berkeley, CA

September, 2025

 

Family Matters

Rigoletto

Act 1, Scene 1

San Francisco Opera

Photo: Cory Weaver

I spent a lot of time over the last week with Giuseppe Verdi, in the form of two of his middle period masterpieces, Rigoletto and La traviata. What these operas have in common is the intense parent-child relationships, a major theme in the composer's Simon Boccanegra and Don Carlo(s) as well.

San Francisco Opera just ended a top-notch run of Rigoletto, seen once more in the great Michael Yeargan production, the design of which is based on the works of Giorgio de Chirico. I've seen several of the bring-ups and it never fails to impress me. It is both shadowy and beautiful, its colors a little artificial, its architecture askew. Its lurid colors embody the decadence of the Duke of Mantua's court and the haunted spirit of the opera, where an assassin has the closest thing to a clearly-defined moral code. José Maria Condemi directed and did a terrific job with it.

My recollection is that the production has gotten a bit less decadent over the years; I have vague memories of women in breast-baring body suits and sexual behavior in the first half of Act 1 that ah went way beyond flirtation. I can understand why the Opera might have wanted to tone it down, but the atmosphere at court does justify that degree of decadence. Regardless, I love this production and as far as I'm concerned SFO can use it until I'm dead and gone.

In any event, this was a bring-up for the ages. I don't think of Rigoletto as being a conductor's opera, because the work is so great that it will be effective with a merely competent conductor, yet Eun Sun Kim made it a conductor's opera. I could hardly believe the range of colors she got out of the orchestra, the perfect rubato, the drama, the way the silences rang with tension. To me, her conducting sounded deeply informed by her Wagner conducting, which has been awesome in the last two seasons. This was just spectacular Verdi.

On to the singing. The originally-scheduled Duke, Giovanni Sala, dropped out in early August for the usual "personal reasons." I was not very impressed with Yongzhau Yu, who stepped in. He went sharp a lot; his voice is on the tight, thin, side; he didn't project the kind of allure that the Duke should have for both Gilda and Maddalena to become so attached to him.  I realize that with Sala dropping out so close to the start of rehearsals, it would have been difficult to find a first-class replacement because all the best tenors are booked solid at the start of a season.

I liked Amartuvshin Enkhbat's Rigoletto well enough. He has a tremendous voice of the right type, both powerful and beautiful. He is a little emotionally stiff and not a great physical actor, but his singing was first class.

Adela Zaharia, last heard as Donna Anna in the last SFO Don Giovanni, was the vocal star of the show, singing a really spectacular Gilda and presenting her as a more stubborn and self-assured character than you usually get. I will say that I do not expect to hear the role more beautifully sung than Ruth Ann Swenson back in the late 1990s –– Swenson had possibly the most beautiful lyric soprano voice I've ever heard –– but Zaharia has a much better dramatic sense and made a lot out of Gilda.

In the smaller roles, Peixin Chen was a fantastic, threatening Sparafucile, and Adler Fellow Olivier Zerouali made a huge impression on me as Marullo.

And then there was J'Nai Bridges as a sexy Maddalena, with tons more character than the usual Maddalena in that role, largely because, face it, she is a big star who has sung Carmen and a major role in Girls of the Golden West with SFO. You're not alone in wondering what she was doing in Rigoletto, so let's just chalk it up to luxury casting.

All in all, it was a very satisfying Rigoletto.

• Steven Winn, SFCV and SF Chronicle
• Joshua Kosman, On a Pacific Aisle
• Charlise Tiee, Opera Tattler
• Patrick Vaz, The Reverberate Hills. Patrick's analysis of the role of honor in the opera is important to understanding how everyone behaves here, and I love his description of the sets. However, I've been privately arm-wrestling with him about Gilda for roughly as long as we've known each other. I think it's a misnomer to say that she "has sex with the Duke;" given her overprotected upbringing, what do we think she even knows about sex? Does she understand it well enough to give consent? She is extremely upset, and I don't think it's just shame, when she comes out of the room where she was locked up with the Duke. It's also worth keeping in mind that while she talks about going up to Heaven while she's dying, that's partly in relation to her dead mother, who she thinks is watching over her and whom she will join in Heaven. Being perverse and self-defeating is one thing; letting yourself be killed (SPOILER SORRY) in place of the awful man you're in love with is quite another.

Avery Boettcher (Violetta) and Brad Bickhardt (Alfred)

La traviata, Livermore Valley Opera

Act 2, last scene

Photo: Barbara Mallon

Then there was La traviata at Livermore Valley Opera where, once again, you get those very intense and overwhelming family relationships. In this case, Giorgio Germont shows up in Act 2 to do whatever he can to separate his son Alfredo from the woman he loves, because she is a former courtesan and Alfredo's involvement with her, which is very public, is about to wreck Alfredo's sister's engagement and the family's reputation. The Germonts are bourgeoisie, as far as I can tell; after all, if they were noble, Alfredo would get a little talking-to about being less public, but nobody would try to separate him from his lover. (See Baron Duophol, Violetta's once and future patron, for example.)

We've got more singing about life in Heaven here, when Violetta asks Germont to remember her to Alfredo's sister ("Dite alla giovine"), because Violetta, who is dying of tuberculosis, will watch over the sister from Heaven.

The big star of La traviata was, beyond a doubt, the spectacular Avery Boettcher, who gave a fabulous, three-dimensional, beautifully sung performance as Violetta. The character is on stage for about 90% of the opera, the exception being the scene in Act 2 where Germont tells Alfredo why he's better off without Violetta, so it's possible for the Violetta to pretty much carry the whole opera. That is more or less what happens here. I'd say that Boettcher is worth the price of admission for her tour-de-force performance, and you know, it's great to see opera at the Bankhead Theater, because it is tiny and small details of a performance register strongly.

What I got from seeing these two operas in close proximity was a renewed respect for and love of middle-period Verdi. Yes, these operas are done too often; yes, the casts are not always first class; yes, yes, yes, but they are as popular as they are because of how brilliantly put together they are, how well Verdi creates drama, how well he sets the text, how vivid his characterizations are, the emotions they bring up for the audience. 

• Lisa Hirsch, SFCV
• Joshua Kosman, On a Pacific Aisle. "Most mesmerizing was her commanding traversal of Act 3, from a wrenching “Addio del passato” through Violetta’s quavering death throes." 

 

InterMusic SF: San Francisco Music Day

War Memorial Opera House

Vintage postcard, collection of Lisa Hirsch

InterMusic SF will put on its annual San Francisco Music Day on Sunday, October 19, from 12 noon to 6 p.m., at the Veterans Building, which is the neoclassical building at MacAllister and Van Ness, across a courtyard from the War Memorial Opera House. It's the far building in the postcard above.

Barbara Heroux, former Executive Director of the contemporary music vocal ensemble Volti and former Artistic Director of Lamplighters Music Theatre. will be the emcee for the whole day.

I can't put the entire schedule here, but you can see it at this web page and buy tickets here. So much to hear!

West Edge Opera 2026

West Edge Opera's 2026 Festival will include the following:

• Britten, The Turn of the Screw. Mark Streshinsky, dir; Jonathan Khuner, cond.
• Handel, Rinaldo. Emily Senturia, cond.
• Geter, American Apollo. Nataki Garrett, dir., Kedrick Armstrong, cond.

There will also be an orchestra preview of Claude & Marcel, by Alyssa Weinberg and Stephanie Fleischmann. This opera will premiere in 2027.

The Metropolitan Opera in Saudi Arabia

Lincoln Center Fountain

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

The Metropolitan Opera has decided to accept $100 million from Saudi Arabia (gift link) and will perform there for three weeks annually over a five-year period.  From the NY Times story I linked to:

Saudi Arabia’s record of human rights abuses, its restrictions on free speech and its role in the 2018 killing of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident, have led some in the West to call for shunning the kingdom. But in recent years both the Biden and the Trump administrations have sought closer relations with Saudi Arabia. And the country’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has relaxed some rules in the kingdom, tried to diversify its domestic economy beyond oil and worked to reshape its global image through large investments in business, sports, tourism and culture.

Under Mr. Gelb, the Met has been a vocal champion of political freedom and human rights in supporting Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, cutting ties with the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and with artists who had supported President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, including the star soprano Anna Netrebko.

Mr. Gelb said his support for cultural exchange with Saudi Arabia was different. He called the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, which American intelligence officials said had been approved by Prince Mohammed, “a horrendous event.” But he said he had been encouraged by the new social freedoms given to Saudi women, saying that the country was “trying to improve itself in the eyes of its own population and in the eyes of the world.”

Yeah, no. This is part of a general artwashing campaign on the part of Saudi Arabia. I know about this in part because recently I started getting press releases about various Saudi artistic endeavors.

The story I linked to doesn't even mention that the 9/11 attackers were largely Saudi and the plot was masterminded by a Saudi. It doesn't mention that the Saudis have bribed the Trump family through a gigantic amount of money that Jared Kushner is managing.

Related: read this Guardian story about comedians performing in Saudi Arabia.

It really sucks that the Met has fallen on bad financial times. Maybe Gelb should figure out how to get fund-raising back on track instead of accepting money from Saudi Arabia.

 

Museum Mondays

Ruth Asawa

Detail of a drawing of the rings of a redwood tree

Ruth Asawa Retrospective, SF MOMA

August, 2025

 

Runnicles at San Francisco Symphony

Donald Runnicles

Courtesy of his website

Well, I was extremely happy with this week's SFS program, which featured Donald Runnicles conducting Berg's Seven Early Songs and Mahler's First Symphony. For the Berg, he had mezzo-soprano Irene Roberts as soloist, and...her performance was a revelation.

Roberts has sung at SF Opera five times since 2013, in these roles:

• Giulietta, Tales of Hoffman
• Carmen, Carmen
• Bao Chai, Dream of the Red Chamber
• Dorabella, Così fan tutte
• Offred, The Handmaid's Tale

Seeing her in these roles would not have prepared you for the vocal splendor she brought to the Berg, which was gorgeously, immaculately sung. Over in Europe, where she was a member of the ensemble at Deutsche Oper Berlin, she's been singing roles like the above, but also the great Wagner mezzo and Zwischenfach roles. I can imagine that they are magnificent, and I can only hope that she'll be in future Wagner productions at SFO, in roles that would be ideal for her.

As it happens, Deutsche Opera Berlin is where Runnicles headed after SFO, a position he'll be leaving at the end of the 2025-26 season. He is also the chief conductor designate of the Dresden Philharmonic this season, a position he will hold for some time to come. I was wowed by his Mahler, and I've been a fan of his for years, so I consider the people of Dresden to be lucky indeed.

[Update, 9/30: I have now had three people whom I'd consider to be very knowledgeable ask me why Runnicles isn't the music director of S.F. Symphony, and another speculating that maybe he could be principal guest conductor. Well, see the above; he seems to be very happy working in Germany, and also, he doesn't really have an ongoing relationship with the orchestra.]

My review ran very long and I could not compliment every solo player, much as I wanted to. Yubeen Kim and the whole flute section were marvelous; Eugene Izotov was spectacular at many crucial moments and the double reeds were amazing in the Klezmer interjection in the third movement; Carey Bell, as ever, was wonderful and so was Matthew Griffith on E-flat clarinet. Joshua Elmore was right there in a number of critical moments. I loved the timpani / double bass duet at the beginning of the third movement, so kudos to Ed Stephan and Scott Pingel. Then there were the brass, with principal trumpet Mark Inouye fabulous throughout, and all of the horns and trombones, plus Jeff Anderson on tuba:

Horns – Michael Stevens (Principal), Jonathan Ring, Jack Bryant, Jessica Valeri, Roy Femenella, Amy Sanchez, Meredith Brown and Alicia Mastromanco

Trombones – Ben Smelser (Principal), Paul Welcomer, Chase Waterbury and Kyle Mendiguchia

Reviews:

• Lisa Hirsch, S.F. Chronicle / SFCV
• Joshua Kosman, On a Pacific Aisle
• Harvey Steiman, Seen and Heard International 
• Michael Strickland, S.F. Civic Center
• Stephen Smoliar, The Rehearsal Studio
• Patrick Vaz, The Reverberate Hills

Joshua Kosman and I aren't usually this far apart. I didn't hear the clumsiness he does in the Mahler, which maybe I'd describe as extroverted and exuberant. (I even asked my SFCV editors, in email, why I hadn't gotten the word "exhilarating" into my review.) But back in the SFS centennial season, I liked the BSO's visit more than he did. I heard grandeur, he heard lack of discipline. I'd love to revisit those programs, lead by Ludovic Morlot, to see how I'd react to them today. JK could well have been entirely correct, given Seiji Ozawa's overlong tenure and James Levine's health problems and divided attention. Or maybe I like a particular style of big-boned conducting that he doesn't.

Department of Speculation

Post, 2011 SFO Ring

San Francisco Opera hasn't announced when they're doing the Ring next, though since it's known that Eun Sun Kim will conduct, it'll be before her contract expires at the end of the 2030-31 season. Given the problematic financial environment for the arts just now, well, it could be a ways out. [Update: A couple of people have mentioned to me, and I have now seen with my own eyes, that Opera says it'll be in June, 2028. They're usually quite well informed.]

Still, as I wrote in my Santa Fe Die Walküre review, we're at a moment of generational change in Wagner singing. Let's take some time to speculate as to who might be in the next SFO Ring. I have absolutely no inside information on casting; these are strictly my hallucinations. Also, my lists are in alphabetical order, not the order in which I'd like to see these roles cast.

Wotan

• Nicholas Brownlee
• Ryan Speedo Green (singing his first this year, in Santa Fe and LA; apparently signed for the next Met Ring)
• Brian Mulligan (sang it in Europe, in concert, with YNS)

Fricka / Waltraute / Norn

• Jamie Barton
• Tanja Ariane Baumgartner
• Raehann Bryce-Davis
• Irene Roberts
• Sarah Saturnino
• Annika Schlicht

Alberich

• Tomas Konieczny
• Falk Struckmann

Brünnhilde

• Lise Davidsen (can SFO pay her fees?)
• Christine Goerke
• Anja Kampe (an impressive Isolde last year in SF)
• Camilla Nylund (an impressive Kaiserin in 2023 in SF)
• Tamara Wilson

Sieglinde

• Vida Miknevičiūtė
• Irene Roberts (I know, I know, she's a mezzo, but believe me she has the vocal chops for this)
• Elisabeth Strid
• Suggestions from Charles Bush, hoisted from the comments, with my own comments added:
• Jennifer Holloway
• Elza van den Heever. By the end of 2025-26, she'll have been back at SFO for three productions, which makes her a strong candidate to be included in the Ring.
• Rachel Willis-Sorensen. I hear that she is aiming away from Wagner, but yes, she'd be great. Such a beautiful voice.

Siegmund

• Clay Hilley
• Brian Jagde
• Brandon Jovanovich
• Jamez McCorkle
• Simon O'Neill
• Russell Thomas
• Suggestions from Charles Bush, hoisted from the comments, with my own comments added:
• John Matthew Myers. I've seen him twice, in Gurrelieder, jumping in for Jovanovich, and as Iopas in the truncated Seattle Les Troyens. He's very impressive.
• Michael Spyres. HELL YES.

Siegfried

• Daniel Brenna
• Clay Hilley
• Simon O'Neill?
• Andreas Schager
• Stefan Vinke
• Suggestions from Charles Bush, hoisted from the comments:
• Klaus Florian Vogt (?)
• Michael Spyres (!?!)
  

Loge / Mime

• Russell Thomas
• Brenton Ryan
• Suggestions from Charles Bush, hoisted from the comments, my own comment added:
• Sean Panikkar. Oh, I wonder if he's a plausible Siegmund? He was wonderful in the L.A. Satyagraha and more recently as Stravinsky's Oedipus at SFS.

Hunding / Hagen

• Peixin Chen
• Jongwon Han
• Soloman Howard

Who do you like?

Friday Photo

City of Rocks State Park

Faywood, NM

July, 2025

 

Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking

Photo: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera 

Rod Gilfry as Owen Hart, Caroline Corrales as Kitty Hart, Nikola Printz as Jad Boucher, Samuel White as Howard Boucher, and Jamie Barton as Sister Helen Prejean

Not long ago, I looked over the notes I had from the 2000 world premiere run of Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally's first opera together, Dead Man Walking. At the time, several years before I became a professional music writer, I didn't think all that much of it. I was therefore somewhat surprised by the opera's popularity (it has had 82 bring-ups to date, all over the United States and Europe), except for the obvious appeal of the story and the excellence of the singers who were in the premiere.

I saw the 25th anniversary production last Saturday, and boy, was I ever wrong. I did not have enough experience with new opera to adequately analyze the music and libretto. (I'm not the only one to have made this mistake; a friend said the same had been true of him back then.)

So I'll come down on the side of Joshua Kosman, whose review a couple of weeks ago mentioned that back in 2000 he'd called it a masterpiece. Dead Man Walking is a remarkable opera, for the strength and singability of the libretto, which is superbly structured, for the excellence of the text-setting, for the beautiful and imaginative orchestration. It's no wonder the opera has been produced so regularly over such a long period. It's an amazing record for a modern opera, and particularly amazing when you keep in mind that Dead Man Walking was Heggie's first opera.

The opera opens with a rape and double murder, and there is no doubt that Joe de Rocher and his brother are guilty. He's not going to be pardoned, his sentence isn't going to be commuted to life imprisonment. The opera isn't really focussed on him; the subjects are Sister Helen's journey to find true Christian forgiveness for the terrible crime he has committed and the terrible harm the crime and its aftermath have had on the families of the murdered teenagers. (Here I'll note that I am not a Christian and would feel no call to forgive a murderer for such a crime. Nonetheless, for many reasons I'm opposed to the death penalty and have been my entire adult life.)

Patrick Summers, who has lived with this opera since 2000, conducted the performance very beautifully. Jamie Barton sang with luminous beauty as Sister Helen, and acted with a kind of understated, plainspoken tartness. Brittany Renée, superb in Omar and La Bohème, was here terrific as Sister Rose, who teaches with Sister Helen. Susan Graham, who created the role of Sister Helen, has come full circle and was deeply moving as a fragile, frightened Mrs. de Roche. Ryan McKinney, one of the go-to baritones for new American opera, was an all-too-human Joe de Rocher. Rodney Gilfry was heart-rending as Owen Hart, father of one of the dead children. Caroline Corrales, Nikola Printz, and Samuel White were all excellent as the other parents of the children.

Susan Graham as Mrs. Patrick De Rocher in Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally's "Dead Man Walking."

Photo: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

I liked Leonard Foglia's staging and the uncomplicated unit set that works for the convent, the schoolroom, the prison.

I came out of the 2000 performances mostly remembering Susan Graham singing "He Will Gather Us Around," a beautiful hymn that Heggie wrote for the opera, and Frederica von Stade's brilliance as Mrs. de Rocher, the other of the condemned man. I'll remember a lot more this time around.

Two performances remain; catch Dead Man Walking while you can.

• Joshua Kosman, On a Pacific Aisle
• Lily Janiak, S.F. Chronicle
• Nicholas Jones, SFCV
• Gabe Meline, KQED
• Matthew Travisano, Parterre Box. Interesting insights into the weaknesses of the opera.
• Charlise Tiee, Opera Tattler
• Michael Strickland, S.F. Civic Center. Again, interesting insights into weaknesses
• Patrick Vaz, The Reverberate Hills
• San Francisco Opera, Dead Man Walking at 25 website: oral history and lots more about the creation of the opera.

Relocated Noise

Alex Ross's long-running blog, The Rest is Noise, has relocated from TypePad to WordPress. If your feed reader or other indicator (there's a Blogger function that acts like a feed reader...) fails to pick up new posts, that is why: the domain name has not changed, but its IP address has. So delete the old feed and search for the blog name, then add that feed. That is what I had to do on Inoreader, my current feed reader.

(If you don't have a feed reader, you should. Never –– well, almost never –– miss an article, which I say because Inoreader seems to occasional skip a Parterre Box article, and I don't know why.)

Shawnette Sulker and Sara Couden in Concert

Star singers Shawnette Sulker (soprano) and Sara Couden (contralto) are giving a 90-minute concert of arias and duets by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Delibes this Sunday. Zachary Gordin is their collaborative pianist and the concert is under the auspices of Festival Opera, which has a fine ongoing series of recitals.

They are both terrific and I would go see this if I weren't reviewing La Traviata at Livermore Valley Opera.

Concert details:

4 p.m.

Sunday, September 28, 2025

Piedmont Center for the Arts

801 Magnolia Ave.

Piedmont, CA

$40

Museum Mondays

Eggplants

Watercolor

Ruth Asawa Retrospective

SFMOMA, August, 2025

 

Friday Photo

Cactus

City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico

July, 2025

 

So Do They All

Nicole Koh (Despina, as the Doctor), Ricardo José Rivera (Guglielmo), Jonghyun Park (Ferrando)

Opera San José Cosi fan tutte

Photo: David Allen

I had a fun time covering Opera San José's hilarious production of Così fan tutte, directed by Alek Shrader and conducted by Joseph Marcheso. The twist of this production is that the audience gets to vote on how the opera ends. It's a gimmick, but a fun one; I kept my eyes open during Act 1 for the setups for the various endings. I can report that the opening-performance audience went for the straight ending, where everyone winds up with their original lover. Personally, I'd favor everybody heading off on their own, preferably after heaping abuse on Don Alfonso, sadder but wiser.

• Lisa Hirsch, S.F. Chronicle (feature)
• Lisa Hirsch, SFCV (review)
• Related: Harvey Steiman, Seen & Heard, reviews Renée Fleming's production of Così, in which the soprano finds her own entertaining resolution for the plot.

I'm hoping to have further reviews to post later this week, but we'll see.

It's Official.

Screenshot from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra website

My SFCV article updating SF* orchestra personnel for 2025-26 noted that Timothy Higgins was "on leave" from San Francisco Symphony, because no announcement had been made by the CSO about his appointment.

Now there's a press release and, as you can see from the above, he's on their website. With Christopher Bassett on leave and back in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Nick Platoff's resignation (he's now the principal at Houston), the SFS trombone section is currently down to Paul Welcomer.

Higgins might return to SFS at the end of the season. The labor settlement undoubtedly make SFS more attractive than it was, say a week ago, and the weather is better here. But the cost of living is higher than in Chicago and they've got a new music director coming in, one who has a reputation for working very respectfully with musicians, while who knows who will get the appointment in SF.

 

Museum Mondays

Yayoi Kusama

Aspiring to Pumpkin's Love, the Love in My Heart

SF MOMA

August, 2025

 

Breaking News

Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

It's not often that a music review also contains breaking news, but my review of last night's SFS gala concert concludes with more good news for the orchestra: the orchestra has a new artistic administrator, a position that has been open since last fall, when Phillippa Cole left. Michael Gandlmayr joins the orchestra next, from the same position at the Cleveland Orchestra. Before Cleveland, he was artistic administrator of the Seattle Symphony. (Seattle experienced the departure of a number of good people during the tenure of Krishna Thiagarajan, who left the orchestra earlier this year.)

Amusingly, the news came from SFS in the form of a correction: I had the wrong time frame for Cole's departure, and, oh, there's a new artistic admin starting next week! 

Oh, right, the gala was fun! It wasn't a deep program and it seemed to exemplify this year's...uh...weak programming, but Jaap van Zweden led a zippy and fun program; the orchestra sounded great; Yuja Wang is always fun.

• Lisa Hirsch, S.F. Chronicle (review)
• Tony Bravo, S.F. Chronicle (reporting)
• Steven Winn, SFCV (review)
• Joshua Kosman, On a Pacific Aisle 

 

Contract!

Davies Symphony Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

Well, now. Yesterday afternoon, I heard that SFS and its musicians had reached a contract agreement. A couple of hours later, a press release arrived. It's good news, even thought the tentative contract still needs formal ratification by the parties. The musicians' salaries will rise by a remarkable amount, 15% over the three-year term of the contract, which is retroactive to last November and runs through November, 2027. (I nearly fell off my chair when I saw the numbers.)

I'm very pleased with this news. While I think that such a good orchestra has never really been in much danger of failing to attract top musicians, because there is so much talent out there, it's certainly a concern that some openings went unfilled for so long and that several musicians have left or are in the process of leaving for other orchestras.

Some questions remain, at least in my mind: why did the orchestra seem so intransigent for so long? And where did the money come from, given the confusing statements of problem finances by the orchestra? What finally allowed this settlement to happen?

Anyway, here's the press release:

San Francisco Symphony and American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 6 members of the Orchestra reach tentative three-year contract agreement The three-year agreement provides a wage increase beginning September 1, 2025, with biannual increases rising by 15% over the contract; an increase to the defined benefit pension plan, making it the second-highest in the industry; exceptional health benefits and 10 weeks of paid vacation annually

San Francisco, CA—The San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors and the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 6 members of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra have reached a tentative three-year collective bargaining agreement subject to ratification by both parties. The new contract will be applied retroactively to November 24, 2024, continues through November 20, 2027, and keeps the Orchestra in the top five highest-paid orchestras in the country. The new agreement guarantees regular increases to minimum weekly scale, maintaining the starting weekly base salary of $3,450 from November 24 through August 31, 2025, followed by biannual increases, rising over time by 15% to $3,960 (a starting minimum annualized salary of $205,920) in the last six months of the contract.  The musicians will also receive a one-time additional payment of $3,450 upon ratification of the contract, in addition to an increase to the defined benefit pension, bringing the maximum annual benefit to $89,000—the industry’s second-highest pension benefit among orchestras in the U.S. The tentative agreement continues to provide generous medical plans with low cost to musicians and 10 weeks of paid vacation.  Joint statement from the Board, Musicians, and Administration: “The Board of Governors, Musicians of the Orchestra, and Administrative Staff of the San Francisco Symphony share a united vision for the artistic greatness and endless creativity of this organization and will endeavor to work together to sustain and build upon that vision. We collectively recognize that the artistic impact of this organization is fueled both by the artistry of our Musicians and by the support of our community. We are all committed to working together to support and grow our connections with patrons, audiences, and our city.”  Statement from San Francisco Symphony Chief Executive Officer Matthew Spivey: “We are pleased that we were able to work together with our Orchestra and the AFM to reach an agreement that provides highly competitive compensation while also acknowledging the importance of our organization’s long-term financial stability. This tentative agreement is a demonstration of the Administration’s faith in the future of the Symphony and the organization’s deep commitment to its musicians and the Bay Area community. It also requires the Symphony to stretch financially with the support and generosity of our community to meet the new contract terms in the years to come. Our artists are the lifeblood of our work and mission, and, without them, our organization would not be what it is today. We are grateful that we can all continue to deliver exceptional classical music performances to our Bay Area community. I also want to thank both the staff and musicians who have been involved in the negotiations, as well as the board, staff, and entire Orchestra for their commitment to a bright future for this organization.”  Statement from David Gaudry, Chair of the Musicians’ Negotiating Committee: “The Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony are grateful for the renewed commitment and support for the Orchestra and the artistic future of this great institution demonstrated by our coming together on the terms of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. We continue to acknowledge the economic challenges facing the organization, the importance of long-term fiscal health, and the commitment demonstrated by the Board. We are confident that working together to support this organization will allow us to continue to be able to present the type of innovative programming and world-class symphonic music for which we have become known.”

• Aidin Vazini and Tony Bravo, Chronicle
• Janos Gereben, SFCV (link to follow)
• Janos Gereben, SFCV (strike authorization)

 

Friday Photo

Spider Man Costume

Oakland, CA

September, 2025

 

Political Violence

I'm generally opposed to political violence, with some exceptions, like the overthrow of an oppressive government by the people (the American Revolution). Last year I wrote a blog post shaking my head at the number of people saying that political violence "isn't who [Americans] are." Gosh, political violence has been with us for centuries, practiced by individuals and the government. Right now, we've basically got secret police rounding people up based on skin color and their ability to speak Spanish. That's government-sponsored political violence and the Supreme Court is letting the government get away with it.

Today, Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political figure, was assassinated during an appearance in Utah. I wanted to take note of a few things he said in the last few years.

In October, 2022, Rolling Stone quoted him as follows:

Republicans usually tout a “tough on crime” stance, but right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk thinks a man who is set to be charged with attempted homicide should be allowed out on bail.

“Why has he not been bailed out?” Kirk said Monday on his podcast of the man who allegedly beat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s husband Paul with a hammer last Friday. “By the way, if some amazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out, I bet his bail’s like thirty or forty thousand bucks.” With a smirk, he added: “Bail him out and then go ask him some questions.”

It sounds like he was okay with violence against Paul Pelosi. 

This past June, when Melissa Hortman, a Democratic politician, was assassinated in her home, along with her husband and their dog, the BBC noted the following:

In the wake of the attacks, several of Trump's top supporters and allies - including Utah Senator Mike Lee, Elon Musk, conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer and activist Charlie Kirk - attempted without evidence to link Walz and Democratic lawmakers to the killings.

Lastly, Kirk believed that some gun deaths were inevitable and the price you pay for having the Second Amendment:

"You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won't have a single gun death," Kirk said at a Turning Point USA Faith event on Wednesday, as reported by Media Matters for America. "That is nonsense. It's drivel. But I am—I think it's worth it.

"I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational. Nobody talks like this. They live in a complete alternate universe."

We have the First Amendment, giving people basically the right to say whatever drivel they want. Kirk certainly took advantage of it, and now he's a victim of political violence himself.

Democrats almost uniformly condemn political violence, regardless of the political beliefs of the target. Charlie Kirk did not.

Ojai Festival Appoints Teddy Abrams

Teddy Abrams

Photo: Lauren Desberg, courtesy of 21C Media Group

Teddy Abrams, composer and music director of the Louisville Orchestra, will succeed Ara Guzelimian as artistic and executive director of the Ojai Music Festival, effective September 1, 2026. The first festival for which he'll appoint the music director is the 2027 festival. Esa-Pekka Salonen is the music director for the 2026 festival.

Ojai's press release is after the jump.

Belated Museum Monday

Ruth Asawa

From the magnificent retrospective of her work at SF MOMA

August, 2025

This show is traveling to NY MOMA and you can see it there if you missed it here.

 

Belated Friday Photo

Purple Carrots

Berkeley Bowl West, Berkeley, CA

September, 2025

 

Meanwhile, at San Francisco Opera

War Memorial Opera House

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

San Francisco Opera has a new, two-year agreement with its AGMA members, which include the chorus, principal artists, dancers, and production staff. The press release is brief, the news good:

The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and San Francisco Opera (SFO) announce a new two-year collective bargaining agreement, ratified by AGMA’s Board of Governors on August 25, 2025.

Following over nine months of negotiations, the new contract, retroactively effective from March 1, 2025 and in effect through February 28, 2027, brings pay increases including equitable pay adjustments, enhanced work-life protections, and new benefits, as well as enhancements to scheduling and audition processes, while also recognizing the challenges being faced across the arts at the moment. San Francisco Opera’s AGMA members include the Chorus, Principal Artists, Dancers, and Production Staff.

"This agreement reflects the dedication of every AGMA member at San Francisco Opera; we really came together. Solidarity works,” said Sally Mouzon, AGMA's Western Region Vice President, SFO Chorister, and member of the Negotiating Committee. “It’s about respect for the job we do, a healthy balance between life and work, and ensuring that artists have a real seat at the table as our beloved San Francisco Opera plans for the future.”

“I am deeply grateful to all those on both negotiating committees who gave so deeply of their time and wisdom to craft a new agreement. The new contract will ensure that San Francisco Opera continues to produce opera at the highest levels of excellence, while reflecting the need for long-term sustainability in the arts,” said Matthew Shilvock, General Director of San Francisco Opera. “Our AGMA Artists are extraordinary professionals and partners in the creative vitality of the company and I’m very excited for the thrilling artistry that this contract will make possible in the years ahead.”

This agreement underscores the shared commitment of San Francisco Opera and AGMA to honor the artistry and contributions of the AGMA Artists of SFO, fostering a workplace culture that supports excellence and creativity, and building a long-term pathway to a sustainable future for opera in San Francisco.

 

Salary Negotiations at San Francisco Symphony

Davies Symphony Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

If you're reading this, you're probably aware that the musicians and administration of San Francisco Symphony have been at loggerheads over the contract for, well, roughly a year. There were protests over Esa-Pekka Salonen's departure (sigh) and the most recent contract expired in November, 2024. There have been formal extensions of that contract, though I think the last one expired in the spring.

I dug up some historical information about SFS musician pay. The first two items are from Janos Gereben's reporting in San Francisco Classical Voice. The last is from email sent by SFS last week about their last, best, and final offer. 

2018 Contract

 

"The new agreement runs through Nov. 26, 2022. It provides for a new weekly base minimum salary of $3,263, increasing to $3,570 in the final six months of the contract. The current amount is $3,200."

 

[LRH: 2018 is the contract that got cancelled during the pandemic, with musician salaries rolled back substantially to save money, with the possibility of SFS invoking force majeure to force even more extreme cuts.]

 

 2023 Contract

 

“The new agreement will be applied retroactively from Nov. 27, 2022 [when the previous agreement expired] and runs through Nov. 18, 2024. The agreement provides for a new weekly base minimum salary of $3,313 upon ratification and increasing to $3,450 in the 2023–24 contract year, in addition to a retroactive lump sum payment to full-time musicians.”

[LRH: When the musician says their pay hasn't yet been restored to pre-pandemic levels, I believe they mean that the contract that expired last year didn't get to the planned $3,570 of the 2018 contract.]

 

 

2025 Offer from SFS ("Last, Best, and Final Offer")

 

A starting minimum annual salary of $189,332, rising to $196,976 by the end of the contract.

The three-year proposal starts at $3,641 minimum weekly scale (MWS) in the first year (retroactive to November 24, 2024)—representing a 5.5% increase above the current MWS. Each subsequent year provides 2% increases: $3,714 in contract year 2025–26 and $3,788 in 2026–27.

• Aidin Vaziri covered this story in the Chronicle.
• SFS musicians website