Photo Flash: San Francisco Opera Present THE ADLERS: LIVE AT THE DRIVE-IN

San Francisco Opera presents The Adlers: Live at the Drive-In on the outdoor stage at the Marin Center on April 29, May 6 and May 13.

The concerts offer three opportunities to experience the Company's brilliantly talented resident artists, the Adler Fellows, live for the first time since the beginning for the pandemic. The 70-minute (no intermission) program showcases the artistry of nine vocal artists and two pianists in arias, duets and opera scenes by composers including Mozart, Rossini, Puccini, Verdi and Lehár, staged by Jose Maria Condemi.

Occurring on successive Thursdays, The Adlers: Live at the Drive-In augments San Francisco Opera's thrilling return to live performance this month, which began on April 23 with a joyous and critically acclaimed production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville. Presented on the same set as Barber, these semi-staged concerts will feature each of the 2021 Adler Fellows: sopranos Anne-Marie MacIntosh, Elisa Sunshine and Esther Tonea; mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh; tenors Zhengyi Bai, Christopher Colmenero and Christopher Oglesby; baritone Timothy Murray; bass Stefan Egerstrom and pianists Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad and Andrew King.

Named for the Company's former general director Kurt Herbert Adler, the Adler Fellowship is one of the world's most prestigious advanced training programs for operatic artists. Offering intensive individual coaching, professional seminars and a wide range of performance opportunities to young singers and pianists, the program has launched the careers of many of the art form's leading stars. Selected from participants in the Merola Opera Program, the Adler Fellows often gain valuable experience by performing supporting roles in San Francisco Opera's mainstage productions.

Several of the 2021 Adlers have appeared in the Company's recent productions such as Carmen (Bai), Rusalka (McIntosh), Roméo et Juliette (Oglesby), Billy Budd (Colmenero), Manon Lescaut (Bai and Oglesby) and The Future Is Now concert conducted by Caroline H. Hume Music Director Designate Eun Sun Kim. Others were featured in the 2019 world premiere presented by Merola Opera Program of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer's If I Were You (Tonea, Murray, MacIntosh and Sunshine). Despite the disruption brought by the pandemic, the Adler Fellows continued their training remotely with Eun Sun Kim, San Francisco Opera music staff and the new Opera Center leadership team of Artistic Director Carrie-Ann Matheson and General Manager Markus Beam.

The full program (subject to change) for The Adlers: Live at the Drive-In and artists bios are available at sfopera.com.

Photo Credit: Kristen Loken/San Francisco Opera

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