San Francisco Opera Announces Cancellation Of Workshops and Recitals

Due to increased measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, including a March 13 San Francisco Department of Public Health order prohibiting gatherings of 100 or more persons through April 30, and a March 16 order requiring San Francisco residents to stay home except for essential needs, the following events are canceled:

• San Francisco Opera's First Act Workshop: Opera Puppet Show for families. The three sold-out presentations (with a capacity of 33 people per show) were slated to take place at the Wilsey Center for Opera on March 28.

• The final two recitals of the 2020 Schwabacher Recital Series at the 299-seat Taube Atrium Theater. These include the April 1 performance of mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon and pianist Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad, as well as the April 22 recital featuring pianist Warren Jones and 2020 Adler Fellows Esther Tonea, Victor Starsky and Timothy Murray. The series is a co-presentation of San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program.

San Francisco Opera's administrative staff will be working remotely during the shelter in place order beginning March 17 through April 7. The Company will be contacting ticket holders, who may choose to receive a full refund or donate the cost of their ticket back to San Francisco Opera. For further information, please call the San Francisco Opera Box Office at (415) 864-3330, or visit sfopera.com. The San Francisco Box Office windows located at 301 Van Ness Avenue will remain closed through at least April 30.

The health and safety of the community is our highest priority. To that end, San Francisco Opera and its affiliates continue to closely monitor this rapidly evolving situation and are taking appropriate actions in accordance with public health recommendations. In addition to the cancellation of these March and April events, we have taken additional measures including:

• San Francisco Opera's Department of Diversity, Equity and Community (DEC) has paused all of its community engagement and education programs, including programs in 11 elementary schools in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), West Contra County School District and Oakland Unified, and at three SFUSD middle schools (Aptos, Marina and Francisco). First Act family workshops and professional development workshops for teachers and teaching artists are also on hiatus. DEC is exploring possibilities for creating online lesson plans, virtual training and online initiatives to supplant in-person programming.

• San Francisco Opera Guild has postponed its Sing a Story classroom visits in approximately 60 classrooms over the next month, with plans to reschedule at a later date. Composition residencies in 11 classrooms are also on hold until further notice. The Opera Scouts, the Opera Guild's cultural and performing arts ensemble for teens, have rescheduled their spring tour of Austria to October, and classes for both the Opera Scouts and Madrigals (for younger students) have been suspended.

• Other affected San Francisco Opera company events include: Annual Meeting (April 16/canceled); Bel Canto Tea donor event (April 20/postponed); President's Dinner donor event (May 13/postponed); and San Francisco Opera Guild's Donor Thank You Reception (April 21/postponed).

"At this time of uncertainty, our absolute priority is ensuring the health and safety of the Bay Area community and beyond," said San Francisco Opera Tad and Dianne Taube General Director Matthew Shilvock. "As is the case all across the world, difficult decisions are having to be made to put events and performances on hold. But we are working hard to ensure that, when the time is right, we can bring the community back together through beautiful expressions of art on stage. This is a time to support each other, to focus on loved ones and to do everything we can to remain safe. We wish everyone well as the world navigates through this crisis."

To post a comment, you must register and login.