San Francisco Opera Presents Virtual Performances of TOSCA, LA BOHÈME and More

The artists and artistry of San Francisco Opera will be on full display in Celebrating the Voices of San Francisco Opera, a virtual event premiering on Friday, December 4 at 7:30 pm Pacific.

The 90-minute program features newly recorded performances by some of opera's greatest singers and instrumentalists along with conversations about pivotal works slated for future San Francisco Opera seasons. San Francisco Opera Tad and Dianne Taube General Director Matthew Shilvock and Caroline H. Hume Music Director Designate Eun Sun Kim co-host Celebrating the Voices of San Francisco Opera, which showcases the Company's artists performing in a variety of musical spaces and configurations.

Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, tenor Michael Fabiano and baritone Artur Ruciński, with former San Francisco Opera music director Nicola Luisotti at the piano, perform Italian repertory favorites from the stage of Madrid's Teatro Real. Additional arias were captured for the event at the Berlin State Opera and in Auckland, Chicago, New York and in San Francisco Opera's digital hub in the Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater in the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera. Performing artists include sopranos Janai Brugger and Amina Edris, mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon, tenor Pene Pati, bass-baritone Alfred Walker, musicians from the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and others.

Fidelio is the subject of a conversation between Eun Sun Kim and director Matthew Ozawa. Though their collaboration on the opera was postponed by the pandemic, their discussion will explore the creative process, the production's setting in a modern-day detention facility and the ongoing relevance of Beethoven's only opera. The exploration continues in a discussion with Fidelio costume designer Jessica Jahn, Deputy Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Marlene Sanchez and former Secretary of Homeland Security and newly elected member of San Francisco Opera's board of directors Janet Napolitano. Scenic designer Chloe Lamford will talk about Poul Ruders' The Handmaid's Tale, a shattering twentieth-century work that was to have its Company premiere this fall, and director Michael Cavanagh will discuss the continuation of the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy that began with the acclaimed production of The Marriage of Figaro in 2019.

CELEBRATING THE VOICES OF SAN FRANCISCO OPERA

Premiere: Friday, December 4 at 7:30 pm (PT)

Program available on demand until Sunday, December 6 at 11:59 pm

For more information, visit sfopera.com/celebration

FREE stream at sfopera.com, YouTube and Facebook

Archival access to Celebrating the Voices of San Francisco Opera and previously streamed opera titles is available for donors of $75 and up and to all San Francisco Opera subscribers.

Guests include:

Sopranos Janai Brugger, Amina Edris, Sondra Radvanovsky; mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon; tenors Michael Fabiano, Pene Pati; baritone Artur Ruciński; bass-baritone Alfred Walker; pianists John Churchwell, Lorenzo di Toro, Dennis Giauque, Somi Kim, Nicola Luisotti, Pedro Yanez; directors Matthew Ozawa, Michael Cavanagh; costume designer Jessica Jahn; set designer Chloe Lamford; Deputy Director of Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Marlene Sanchez; San Francisco Opera Board of Directors member Janet Napolitano; members of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Featured Musical Selections include:

Farandole from L'Arlesienne (Georges Bizet); "Zeffiretti lusinghieri" from Idomeneo (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart); "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca (Giacomo Puccini); "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca (Giacomo Puccini); Meditation from Thaïs (Jules Massenet); Act II trio from Un Ballo in Maschera (Giuseppe Verdi); "O, Mimì tu più non torni" from La Bohème (Giacomo Puccini); "Deserto in terra" from Don Sebastiano (Gaetano Donizetti); "Chère Nuit" (Alfred Bachelet); "Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge" from Das Rheingold (Richard Wagner); "Dopo notte" from Ariodante (George Frideric Handel)

TOSCA SCREENINGS AT FORT MASON FLIX DRIVE-IN, DECEMBER 11* & 12*

* Please note new, earlier screening times

San Francisco Opera returns to Fort Mason Flix Drive-In with four screenings of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca at 5 pm and 8 pm on Friday, December 11 and Saturday, December 12. The 2009 production of Tosca, with Adrianne Pieczonka in the title role, Carlo Ventre as Cavaradossi and Lado Ataneli as Scarpia under the baton of Marco Armiliato, will be projected on the 40' X 20' LED screen at the picturesque Marina District drive-in with views across the Bay and onsite concessions and Off the Grid food trucks. Directed by Jose Maria Condemi, the sumptuous Thierry Bosquet production is based on Armando Agnini's original designs for the Company's first staging of the opera in the War Memorial Opera House in 1932. Tosca is performed in Italian with English subtitles and lasts approximately 2 hours without intermission.

San Francisco Opera and Fort Mason are committed to a safe moviegoing experience for all drive-in attendees and staff. Beginning 30 minutes prior, a maximum of 98 cars with pre-purchased tickets will be admitted and spaced at 6 feet between vehicles with an 18-foot drive lane every two rows. Guests must remain in their cars during the opera and wear a mask when leaving to visit concessions or the restrooms inside the Fort Mason buildings.

SF OPERA AT FORT MASON DRIVE-IN: TOSCA

2 Marina Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94123

Friday, December 11 at 5 pm and 8 pm*

Saturday, December 12 at 5 pm* and 8 pm*

For more information, visit sfopera.com/fortmason

*Start times have been moved up to comply with California's limited stay-at-home order; please note these new, earlier screening times.

TICKETS: $49 per car (plus a $5 handling fee) and are available online at sfopera.com/fortmason or by calling the San Francisco Opera Box Office at (415) 864-3330. Attendees must purchase tickets ahead of time; tickets will not be sold at the event. Tickets are non-refundable/non-exchangeable. Lot opens 30 minutes prior.

Masks are required of all attendees over the age of 2 when outside of their vehicles (masks with exhalation valves are not allowed). Indoor restroom facilities are available and will be cleaned and sanitized regularly throughout the events. Socially distant spacing will be enforced for those waiting for concessions. Congregating outside of vehicles is not permitted. In order to ensure all patrons have an enjoyable experience, please arrive early. Any late arrivals, 20 minutes after the show has begun, will not be permitted into the event.

LA BOHÈME FREE STREAM DECEMBER 12-13

From December 12-13, San Francisco Opera streams one of the most popular works in the operatic repertoire, Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème. The 2014 production, conducted by Giuseppe Finzi and staged by John Caird, stars American tenor Michael Fabiano as Rodolfo and Greek soprano Alexia Voulgaridou as Mimì. The cast also features soprano Nadine Sierra (Musetta), baritone Alexey Markov (Marcello), bass-baritone Christian Van Horn (Colline) and baritone Hadleigh Adams (Schaunard). David Farley's sets are inspired by the romance of France's Belle Epoque and Michael James Clark creates the lighting designs. La Bohème is performed in Italian with English subtitles and has an approximate running time of 2 hours.

FREE STREAM - SAN FRANCISCO OPERA PRESENTS PUCCINI'S LA BOHÈME

Saturday, December 12 starting at 10 am (PT) through December 13 at 11:59 pm

Viewable on demand with registration at sfopera.com

Archival access to La Bohème and previously streamed opera titles is available for donors of $75 and up and to all San Francisco Opera subscribers.

OPERA AFICIONADO INTERACTIVE LECTURE SERIES EXPLORES FAMILY-FRIENDLY AND HOLIDAY OPERAS, DECEMBER 6 & 13

San Francisco Opera's Department of Diversity, Equity and Community continues Opera Aficionado, its weekly live, virtual, interactive lecture series. Opera Aficionado invites people who are passionate about opera to learn more and get an inside look at the world of opera. Each 75-minute conversation gives music lovers around the world a front-row seat to scholarly talks, allowing attendees to dialogue with fellow opera lovers, experts, and special guests. Each month is focused on a concept or theme.

OPERA AFICIONADO - DECEMBER: Opera for the Holidays

For more information, visit sfopera.com/aficionado

Sunday, December 6 at 1 pm PT: Joy to the [Opera] World! with Dramaturg Cori Ellison

Dramaturg Cori Ellison leads a conversation exploring some of opera's most beloved family-friendly classics. She will revisit old favorites and discover some new ones, including Hansel and Gretel, The Magic Flute, La Cenerentola, L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, The Cunning Little Vixen, and Amahl and the Night Visitors.

Sunday, December 13 at 1 pm PT: 'Tis the Season at the Opera: Exploring Operas with a Yuletide Theme with San Francisco Opera Dramaturg Emeritus Dr. Clifford "Kip" Cranna

Composers aplenty have found the Christmas Season a perfect backdrop for operatic storytelling. Kip Cranna will cover Yuletide operas spanning the gamut, from the silly to the sublime, by a variety of composers, from Russia's Rimsky-Korsakov (Christmas Eve) to contemporary Americans, such as the Bay Area's David Conte (The Gift of the Magi), Jake Heggie (It's a Wonderful Life) and John Adams (El Niño).

Each virtual lecture is $20 and holds a maximum capacity of 20 attendees. A limited number of discounted tickets are available upon request for individuals in need. Tickets are available until noon on the day of each event at sfopera.com/aficionado.