San Francisco Opera Releases Fourth Installment of Centennial Celebration Project, 'Streaming The First Century'

San Francisco Opera's centennial celebrations continue with the addition of a fourth installment of Streaming the First Century, the Company's free online hub for historic performance recordings, interviews and contemporary conversations. Session 4: "Ho-jo-to-ho," named for Brünnhilde's battle cry in Wagner's Die Walküre, highlights significant performances of works by German and Austrian composers from the Company's first 100 seasons.

Each Streaming the First Century session, beginning with the launch of Session 1 "Slavic Sensibilities" in September, has offered a curated deep dive into San Francisco Opera's repertoire with selections inspired by mainstage works from the 2022-23 Centennial Season. The first installment offered a survey of Russian and Slavic works coinciding with the presentation of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites provided the focus on French works in Session 2 "Parlez-vous français" and Session 3 "Italian Roots" explores the Company's foundations in the Italian repertoire in connection with the new productions of Verdi's La Traviata and Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice. Session 4 "Ho-jo-to-ho" invites listeners into works by Mozart, Korngold, Wagner, Beethoven and Strauss in anticipation of the return of Die Frau ohne Schatten in June 2023. San Francisco Opera presented the American premiere of Strauss' fairytale opera in 1959.

Each Streaming the First Century installment features two complete opera recordings from the San Francisco Opera Archives along with excerpts from four additional titles of historic significance. Introductions to each listening experience are offered by a panel of contemporary voices. Original program articles, archival photographs and other content are presented to inspire different pathways into the distinguished history of San Francisco Opera, one of only three American opera companies to reach the 100-year milestone.

In addition to the 25 featured performance recordings are an array of archival interviews with artists of the past and newly captured conversations about the history of San Francisco Opera. These testimonies, in audio and transcript formats, are available in "Down the Rabbit Hole," a section of Streaming the First Century that also includes additional essays and pathways for inquiry.