San Francisco Opera Sets New Screenings With Sundance Kabuki Cinemas for February and March

San Francisco Opera partners again with Sundance Kabuki Cinemas to present the latest installment of the San Francisco Opera Grand Opera Cinema Series for winter 2016. This new collection of HD screenings includes the Company's acclaimed productions of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat, Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, Vincenzo Bellini'sNorma and Gioachino Rossini's Cinderella (La Cenerentola) at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas in San Francisco. The Tuesday evening (7:15 p.m.) and weekend morning (10:00 a.m.) screenings begin February 2 with Show Boat and continue through March 6, 2016.

These screenings mark the Company's sixth Grand Opera Cinema Series at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas. San Francisco Opera's Grand Opera Cinema Series-totaling 24 operas to date-are distributed to cinemas, theaters, universities, and cultural and arts centers regionally, with select titles expanding to national and international theaters and on DVD/Blu-ray.

The new series begins on February 2 and 6 with Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat. The American masterpiece, based on the novel by Edna Ferber, was directed by Francesca Zambello and featured an extraordinary ensemble cast spanning the worlds of opera and Broadway. San Francisco Chronicle hailed, "This Show Boat offers a broad array of theatrical delights. There are rollicking dance numbers... and big crowd scenes, balanced by moments of intimate emotion and sheer romance." Set in the 1880s along the Mississippi River, Show Boat is both a poignant love story and a powerful reminder of America's bitter legacy of racism. Highlighting the cast are Heidi Stober (Magnolia Hawks), Michael Todd Simpson (Gaylord Ravenal), Bill Irwin (Cap'n Andy Hawks),Patricia Racette (Julie La Verne), Morris Robinson (Joe), Angela Renée Simpson (Queenie), Kirsten Wyatt (Ellie Mae Chipley), John Bolton (Frank Schultz) and Harriet Harris (Parthy Ann Hawks). Maestro John DeMain conducted the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus in a San Francisco Opera co-production with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera and Houston Grand Opera, presented through special arrangement with R & H Theatricals.

The series continues on February 9 and 13 with Carlisle Floyd's Susannah. Soprano Patricia Racette performed the title role of the innocent, strong-willed and falsely accused young woman Susannah Polk, a performance which the San Jose Mercury News described as "fully committed... [Racette] sang with focused power and lyrical beauty." The all-American cast included bass Raymond Aceto as Reverend Olin Blitch, the itinerant preacher who targets Susannah as a sinner, and tenor Brandon Jovanovich as her hot-headed brother Sam Polk. The production, set in mid-1930s rural Appalachia, was a collaboration between director Michael Cavanagh and set designer Erhard Rom. Conductor Karen Kamensek made her Company debut in this San Francisco Opera production.

Vincenzo Bellini's bel canto masterpiece Norma follows on Februrary 23 and 27. American mezzo-soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, who has performed the demanding title role to great critical acclaim internationally, led the first-rate cast, which the San Francisco Chronicle described as delivering "three hours' worth of unforgettable vocal fireworks," including Jamie Barton (Adalgisa), tenorRussell Thomas (Pollione) and bass-bartione Christian Van Horn (Oroveso). San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducted the San Francisco production directed by Kevin Newbury.

The series concludes on March 1 and 6 with Gioachino Rossini's Cinderella (La Cenerentola). Based on the beloved fairy tale, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's iconic and whimsical San Francisco Opera production, which the San Francisco Chronicle praised as "bursting with wit and vitality," was directed by Gregory Fortner and led by Spanish conductor Jesús López-Cobos. French mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes starred in the title role of Angelina (Cinderella), the servant girl who catches the eye of a handsome prince. Tenor René Barbera was the dashing prince, Don Ramiro, and baritone Efraín Solís was the prince's valet, Dandini. Spanish baritone Carlos Chausson delighted in his signature role as Cinderella's evil stepfather, Don Magnifico, in a performance that the San Francisco Chronicle described as having "uproarious vitality and vocal heft."

Recorded live in high definition at San Francisco's historic War Memorial Opera House, all shows include English subtitles and a brief intermission with behind-the-scenes interviews. All performances feature the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and San Francisco Opera Chorus (Ian Robertson, Chorus Director).

Tickets for reserved seats are available via sundancecinemas.com and at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas Box Office (1881 Post Street, San Francisco). For more information about Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, visit sundancecinemas.com or call (415) 346-3243‎.

For more information about San Francisco Opera's new Grand Opera Cinema Series, including additional theaters screening the series, and further information and video clips of Show Boat, Susannah, Norma and Cinderella, visit sfopera.com/cinemaseries.

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