San Francisco Opera's CELEBRATING THE SUMMER SEASON Virtual Event Premieres July 10

San Francisco Opera's Celebrating the Summer Season premieres Friday, July 10 at 7:30 pm (PDT) on sfopera.com and the Company's YouTube channel. The three-part, 90-minute virtual program celebrates the artists and operas-Verdi's Ernani, Handel's Partenope and Mason Bates and Mark Campbell's The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs-from the Company's 2020 Summer Season which was canceled due to the pandemic.

Hosted by Tad and Dianne Taube General Director Matthew Shilvock, Celebrating the Summer Season features conversations and performances with Caroline H. Hume Music Director Designate Eun Sun Kim, Louise Alder, Mason Bates, Michelle Bradley, Sasha Cooke, Jakub Józef Orliński, Russell Thomas and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus, as well as a discussion with special guest Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom. Program highlights include:

• A tribute to Ernani, Verdi's 1844 work which was enormously popular in San Francisco during the Gold Rush years. The San Francisco Opera Orchestra, conducted by Eun Sun Kim, will perform the opera's prelude. Soprano Michelle Bradley, known for her portrayals of Verdi heroines and who was scheduled to make her Company debut as Elvira, sings her character's popular aria, "Ernani, involami." Tenor Russell Thomas, who was to make his role debut as Ernani, performs the rarely performed Act II aria, "Odi il voto."

• Celebrating the Summer Season spotlights soprano Louise Alder and countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński. Both artists were scheduled to make highly anticipated American opera debuts in Handel's Partenope, which was to be revived in Christopher Alden's Olivier Award-winning production. In addition to interviews with Shilvock, the artists share special performances: Alder sings "Bel Raggio lusinghier" from Rossini's Semiramide and Orliński performs "Alla gente a Dio diletta" from Nicola Fago's Il Faraone Sommerso.

• A closer look at The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, the San Francisco Opera co-commission which was set for its Bay Area premiere this summer. Shilvock delves into the work and world of Bay Area-based composer Mason Bates. Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, who created the role of Laurene Powell Jobs, a pivotal figure in the opera and wife of the iconoclastic Silicon Valley pioneer, performs the opera's moving aria "Look Up, Look Out." Shilvock also welcomes special guest Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom, for a discussion on the intersection of technology and humanity.

• A performance by the San Francisco Opera Chorus and other treats round out the evening.

Celebrating the Summer Season premieres at sfopera.com and youtube.com/sfoperamedia at 7:30 pm (PDT) on Friday, July 10 and will be available through 11:59 pm on Sunday, July 12. The virtual event is streamed free as part of the Company's digital initiative, Opera is ON. Current San Francisco Opera subscribers and members (donors of $75 and up) retain access to Celebrating the Summer Season and other streamed titles after the period of public access.

Celebrating the Summer Season is pre-recorded and highlights content produced through San Francisco Opera's Koret/Taube Media Suite. Artists are recorded from their homes or other remote locations. For more information about this event, visit sfopera.com/celebration.

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