Merola Opera Program Presents Schwabacher Summer Concert Tonight

SAN FRANCISCO - The acclaimed Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the United States, opens its 2016 Summer Festival with the popular Schwabacher Summer Concerts tonight, July 7 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, July 9 at 2 pm at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Conducted by Eric Weimer and directed by Omer Ben Seadia, the Schwabacher Summer Concert features this year's Merola Opera artists performing extended scenes from operas including Handel's Serse, Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, R. Strauss's Arabella, Wagner's Lohengrin, Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites, and Rossini's Le Comte Ory. Tickets for the concerts at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music range from $25 to $40, with a limited number of $15 student tickets.

Eric Weimer worked with Merola Opera artists as a resident coach for many summers (1991, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013), and returns to the Merola Opera Program this year in the capacity of conductor. He has established himself as one of the pre-eminent coaches and assistant conductors in the international opera world. Through his work at some of the world's leading companies, primarily Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera, he has prepared some 200 productions, collaborating with most of the world's greatest opera conductors and virtually all the major singers active on the international opera stage.

After participating as apprentice stage director in the 2014 Merola Opera Program, emerging Israeli director Omer Ben Seadia returns to direct the Schwabacher Summer Concerts. Ben Seadia is a graduate of the Opera Directing program at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she directed numerous productions including Don Pasquale (Donizetti), Le Docteur Miracle (Bizet), and Saint John's Passion (Bach). She has previously directed an array of repertoire, including The Golden Vanity (Britten), Der Kaiser von Atlantis (Ullmann), Brundibár (Krása), and most recently L'italiana in Algeri (Rossini) at Opera Santa Barbara. She has been on staff at Houston Grand Opera, The Israeli Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and The International Vocal Arts Institute.

Casting for the July 7 and July 9 Schwabacher Summer Concerts is as follows:

Serse (George Frideric Handel)

Serse - Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen

Arsamene - Taylor Raven

Elviro - Nicholas Boragno

Romilda - Jana McIntyre

Atalanta - Mary Evelyn Hangley

The Rake's Progress (Igor Stravinsky)

Tom Rakewell - Josh Lovell

Nick Shadow - Nicholas Boragno

Baba the Turk - Tara Curtis

Arabella (Richard Strauss)

Waldner - Nicholas Boragno

Ein Zimmerkellner - Josh Lovell

Zdenka - Jana McIntyre

Matteo - Kyle van Schoonhoven

Arabella - Mary Evelyn Hangley

Lohengrin (Richard Wagner)

Elsa - Sarah Cambidge

Lohengrin - Kyle van Schoonhoven

Dialogues des Carmélites (Francis Poulenc)

La Prieure - Tara Curtis

Mère Marie - Taylor Raven

Blanche - Jana McIntyre

Le Médécin - Nicholas Boragno

Le Comte Ory (Gioachino Rossini)

Le Comte Ory - Josh Lovell

Isolier - Taylor Raven

La Comtesse Adèle - Jana McIntyre

Ragonde - Tara Curtis

Chorus - tutti

TICKETS:

Tickets for the July 7 and July 9 Schwabacher Summer Concerts are $25 and $40, in addition to a student price of $15*. Tickets for all performances may be purchased by calling San Francisco Opera Box Office at (415) 864-3330 between 10 am to 5 pm Monday and from 10 am to 6 pm Tuesday through Friday or online at www.sfopera.com. *Student tickets must be purchased in person at the Box Office window, located inside the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Ave. Valid student ID is required.

ABOUT THE MEROLA OPERA PROGRAM

Led artistically by San Francisco Opera Center Director and internationally acclaimed soprano Sheri Greenawald, the Merola Opera Program is an independent nonprofit organization that operates in collaboration with the San Francisco Opera. Founded in 1957 and named for San Francisco Opera's founder, Gaetano Merola, the Program is recognized as one of the most prestigious operatic training programs in the world. The Program typically receives more than 900 applications for approximately 30 positions. Merola artists, who include singers, apprentice coaches and an apprentice stage director, participate in master classes and private coaching with opera luminaries. The artists also receive training in operatic repertory, foreign languages, diction, acting, and stage movement among other disciplines.

Twenty-three singers, five apprentice coaches, and one apprentice stage director, representing four countries, will participate in the 59th season of the Merola Opera Programfrom May 31 to August 20. Nearly one third of this season's artists come from countries outside the United States, including artists from Italy, Ukraine, New Zealand, and Canada, and the US artists hail from 12 states, including California, New York, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Maryland, and Missouri. For more information about Merola, please visit www.merola.org or phone (415) 936-2324.

The Schwabacher Summer Concert is named in memory of James H. Schwabacher (1920-2006). Mr. Schwabacher, a noted singer and scholar, was not only instrumental in the establishment and development of the Merola Opera Program, he became its heart and soul, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the next generation of vocal talent. He provided vital financial and administrative stewardship to Merola, serving as President of the Board of Directors for 29 years and subsequently as Chairman of the Board for 15 years.

This concert is graciously underwritten, in part, by the Grace A. Diem and Alice E. Siemons Foundation, the Frances K. and Charles D. Field Foundation, the Jack H. Lund Charitable Trust, the Bernard Osher Foundation, and Rusty Rolland and the Schick Fund.

Eric Weimer is generously sponsored, in part, by Darla and Richard Bastoni.

Omer Ben Seadia is generously sponsored, in part, by Terri and Bob Ryan.

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