San Francisco Opera Bringing Beethoven & Falla Concert to War Memorial Opera House

One week after she conducts the opening of San Francisco Opera’s new production of Wagner’s Parsifal, Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack in a one-night-only concert of music by Manuel De Falla and Ludwig van Beethoven on Saturday, November 1 at 7:30 pm at the War Memorial Opera House.

The evening begins with Manuel De Falla’s set of songs inspired by different parts of his home country of Spain, Siete Canciones Populares Españolas, with Daniela Mack as soloist and an arrangement of the second orchestral suite from the composer’s ballet El Sombrero de Tres Picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) (1917). After intermission, the orchestra performs Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, which premiered in 1808. 

Music Director Eun Sun Kim said: “The San Francisco Opera Orchestra and I customarily work together in the orchestra pit, but these musicians, due to their vast experience, can also command the stage. In our fall concert, the Orchestra will do just that in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. We will also perform music by Manuel De Falla who across national and language barriers absorbed Beethoven’s influence, even citing the famous ‘fate’ motif from the Fifth Symphony in his ballet. Falla’s lovely song cycle will feature the beautiful voice of Daniela Mack.”

A native of Buenos Aires, Daniela Mack starred as Frida Kahlo in San Francisco Opera’s first Spanish-language opera, Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo Cruz’s El último sueño de Frida y Diego (The Last Dream of Frida and Diego), in June 2023, garnering acclaim for her “fiery, vocally robust performance” (San Francisco Chronicle). She discussed her Argentine roots and performed music by tango master Astor Piazzolla and 19th-century composer Pauline Viardot for San Francisco Opera’s free video portrait series, In Song.

A former Merola Opera Program participant and San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, Mack made her Company debut as Lucienne in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt in 2008, followed by Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo (a role she reprised under Kim’s baton in June 2025), Rosmira in Handel’s Partenope and Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Eun Sun Kim is on the podium with the Company this fall for Verdi’s Rigoletto (September 5–27), Opera in the Park (September 7) and a new production of Wagner’s Parsifal (October 25–November 13). She returns next summer to conduct Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s Elektra for the first time (June 7–27, 2026).

Eun Sun Kim led last year’s sold-out Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony concert, as well as a new production of Fidelio, his only opera, in 2021. The Company’s history of performing Beethoven’s music began in 1937 with Fidelio (it has been presented in 12 seasons since then).  His one-act ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus, was performed in 1953, as the curtain-raiser for a double-bill with Elektra.

PRE-OPERA TALKS

Professor Robert Hartwell presents a 20-minute overview of Beethoven 5 & Falla beginning 55 minutes prior to the concert for ticketholders.

TICKETS AND INFORMATION

Tickets for Beethoven 5 & Falla are priced from $29 to $250. A $2 per-ticket facility fee is included in Balcony 1, 2 and 3 zone prices; all other zones include a $3 per-ticket facility fee. Design Your Own (DYO) subscriptions for San Francisco Opera’s 2025-26 Season are available (minimum three operas). For information about subscriber benefits, visit sfopera.com/subscribe. For tickets and more information, contact the San Francisco Opera Box Office at 301 Van Ness Avenue, call (415) 864-3330 or visit here.

The War Memorial Opera House is located at 301 Van Ness Avenue. 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/Muni Station and near numerous bus lines, including 5, 6, 49 and F Market Street. For further public transportation information, visit bart.gov and sfmta.com.

Gifts of all sizes help create San Francisco Opera’s programs and are much appreciated. To donate visit sfopera.com/donate.

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