Cast Change - Jamie Barton to Sing 'Adalgisa' in San Francisco Opera's NORMA, Running 9/5-30

San Francisco Opera today announced a cast change for the Company's season-opening new production of Vincenzo Bellini's Norma, presented September 5-30, 2014 at the War Memorial Opera House. American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton--recent winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition--will make her Company debut as Adalgisa for five of the opera's seven performances on September 5, 10, 14, 27 and 30. Ms. Barton replaces Daveda Karanas, who has withdrawn from the production for personal reasons. A casting update for the September 19 & 23 performances will be announced at a later date.

Ms. Barton joins a renowned cast, including soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role, tenor Marco Berti (Pollione), and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn (Oroveso). San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus in a dramatic new co-production of Bellini's bel canto masterpiece directed by Kevin Newbury. Norma opens San Francisco Opera's 92nd Season with a gala performance on September 5 at 8 p.m. with six additional performances on September 10 (7:30 p.m.), 14 (2 p.m.), 19 (7:30 p.m.), 23 (7:30 p.m.), 27 (7:30 p.m.) and 30 (7:30 p.m.).

The winner of both the Main and the Song Prizes at the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, a winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a Grammy nominee, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton has been described by The Guardian (London) as "a great artist, no question, with an imperturbable steadiness of tone, and a nobility of utterance that invites comparison not so much with her contemporaries as with mid-20th century greats such as Kirsten Flagstad."

Ms. Barton's 2014-15 Season includes Giovanna Seymour (Anna Bolena) with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Fricka (Die Walküre) with Houston Grand Opera, . . .Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Donald Runnicles in Atlanta, the world premiere of Jake Heggie's The Work at Hand with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Verdi Requiem with the Toronto Symphony and Sir Andrew Davis. As the latest recipient of the Marian Anderson Award, she will appear in recital at the Kennedy Center, and she also appears in recital at Carnegie's Zankel Hall. Future projects include returns to the Metropolitan Opera and Houston Grand Opera and debuts at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Oper Frankfurt; Deutsche Oper, Berlin; Los Angeles Opera; and Washington National Opera, all in leading roles.

Last season, Ms. Barton made a triumphant return to the Metropolitan Opera as Adalgisa (Norma) opposite Angela Meade. Other recent highlights include her Japanese debut as Meg Page (Falstaff) at the Saito Kinen Festival, Magdalene in a new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Lyric Opera of Chicago conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, Britten's Spring Symphony with the Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst, and a return to Carnegie Hall for Marilyn Horne's 80th-birthday gala celebration. A graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Jamie Barton attended Indiana University in Bloomington.

Tickets for performances of Bellini's Norma are priced from $30 to $370 and may be purchased at sfopera.com or through the San Francisco Opera Box Office [301 Van Ness Avenue (at Grove Street), or by phone at (415) 864-3330]. Standing Room tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on the day of each performance; tickets are $10 each, cash only.

The War Memorial Opera House is located at 301 Van Ness Avenue at Grove Street. Patrons are encouraged to use public transportation to attend San Francisco Opera performances. The War Memorial Opera House is within walking distance of the Civic Center BART station and near numerous bus lines, including 5, 21, 47, 49 and the F Market Street. For more public transportation information, visit bart.gov and sfmuni.com.

Casting, programs, schedules and ticket prices are subject to change. For further information about Norma and San Francisco Opera's 2014-15 Season, visit sfopera.com.

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