San Francisco Opera Opens 2014 Season with Bellini's NORMA Tonight

San Francisco Opera's 2014-15 Season opens tonight, September 5, 2014 with a dramatic new production of Vincenzo Bellini's bel canto masterpiece Norma, starring American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in one of opera's most dazzling and demanding roles. American mezzo-soprano Daveda Karanas is the young priestess Adalgisa; Italian tenor Marco Berti is Pollione; and American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn is Oroveso. Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus and Director Kevin Newbury and set designer David Korins return to San Francisco Opera to premiere this vivid, large-scale new co-production with Toronto's Canadian Opera Company, Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Norma runs for seven performances through September 30.

Bellini's Norma tells the story of a Druid high priestess who betrays her people by falling in love with an occupying Roman soldier, only to be betrayed herself; her conflicted state of mind threatens the lives of the innocent and guilty alike. American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky recently added this iconic title role to her repertoire and her 2013 performances at the Metropolitan Opera garnered her enthusiastic praise: "[Radvanovsky] earned a thunderous ovation. . .her top notes ringing and powerful, her middle range velvety, her coloratura nimble and phrasing elegant. (New York Times)" She will reprise the role in 2015 in this production at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu and will also bring the role to Munich's Bavarian State Opera. A touchstone role for many of the world's greatest sopranos, Radvanovsky will join a list of luminaries -- including Joan Sutherland, Shirley Verrett and Carol Vaness-who have performed Norma on the War Memorial Opera House stage. Sondra Radvanovsky made her San Francisco Opera debut as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore in 2009.

American mezzo-soprano Daveda Karanas returns to San Francisco Opera for her first performances of the young priestess Adalgisa. Karanas has appeared in seven Company productions, including as Waltraute and the Second Norn in Wagner's Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung as part of San Francisco Opera's highly-acclaimed 2011 Ring cycle. Of those performances, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "Karanas can unleash a powerhouse of sound when she needs to. But her finest showing came in the more intimate passages. . .which she delivered with tender eloquence." Daveda Karanas will return to the Company in June 2015 to make her role debut as Cassandre in three performances of Berlioz's epic saga Les Troyens.

Italian tenor Marco Berti returns to San Francisco as Pollione, the Roman proconsul who secretly fathers Norma's children. He has performed Pollione previously at Turin's Teatro Regio and will reprise the role at Zurich Opera in January 2015. Teatro.it hailed his debut performance of the role as "enthralling, virile and authentically passionate." In demand worldwide for his Cavaradossi (Tosca), Calaf (Turandot) and Radames (Aida), his 2014-15 Season includes performances of Tosca at Paris Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin and Aida at the Metropolitan Opera as well as his debut in the title role of Pagliacci at Milan's La Scala.

American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn is leader of the Druids and Norma's father Oroveso. He returns to the Bay Area following the great success of his portrayal of the four villains in San Francisco Opera's 2013 production of Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann). San Francisco Classical Voice reported, "Impressive, in the major role he deserves, is the towering Christian Van Horn. With a strong, bright voice [with] thrilling natural resonance. . . Van Horn's opening night performance was the personification of unshakable evil from first note to last." Van Horn appears in six mainstage San Francisco Opera productions in the 2014-15 season, including Norma, Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball), La Cenerentola (Cinderella), La Bohème, Les Troyens (The Trojans) and La Ciociara (Two Women); he has previously sung the role of Oroveso at Munich's Bavarian State Opera.

San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus in this production. At San Francisco Opera, Luisotti most recently conducted Verdi's La Traviata and Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Other recent appearances include a new production of Otello with Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, where he is also music director, and Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. This season at San Francisco Opera, Maestro Luisotti will also conduct Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) and the world premiere of Italian composer Marco Tutino's La Ciociara (Two Women).

Kevin Newbury directs this new production premiere, with sets designed by David Korins and costumes designed by Jessica Jahn. Inspired by mythology and the ancient landscape of Gaul, Newbury describes his production as "rooted in the stone age with a contemporary slant." David Korins' sets maintain many of the expected traditional settings in the opera, such as the forest grove and the Temple of Irminsul, and infuses them with a magical energy deeply rooted in the cultural rituals of the time. Jessica Jahn's costumes aim to illuminate how the Romans saw the Druid culture and how the Druids perceived the Romans. The wardrobe puts a modern twist on ancient designs heavily influenced by research into the pottery, art, stonework and metalwork of the Gallic region.

Sung in Italian with English supertitles, the seven performances of Norma are scheduled for September 5 (8 p.m.), September 10 (7:30 p.m.), September 14 (2 p.m.), September 19 (7:30 p.m.), September 23 (7:30 p.m.), September 27 (7:30 p.m.) and September 30 (7:30 p.m.), 2014.

Tickets for performances of Bellini's Norma at the War Memorial Opera House are priced from $30 to $370 and may be purchased at sfopera.com or through the San Francisco Opera Box Office [301 Van Ness Avenue (at Grove Street), or by phone at (415) 864-3330). Standing Room tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on the day of each performance; tickets are $10 each, cash only. Please note that all evening performances of Norma will have a curtain time of 7:30 p.m except the September 5 season opening night performance, which begins at 8 p.m. The September 14 matinee performance will begin at 2 p.m.

The War Memorial Opera House is located at 301 Van Ness Avenue at Grove Street. 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 station and near numerous bus lines, including 5, 21, 47, 49 and the F Market Street. For more public transportation information, visit bart.gov and sfmuni.com.

Casting, programs, schedules and ticket prices are subject to change. For further information about Norma and San Francisco Opera's 2014 - 15 Season, visit sfopera.com.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

SONDRA RADVANOVSKY
Norma
Berwyn, Illinois

Sondra Radvanovsky made her San Francisco Opera debut in 2009 as Leonora in Il Trovatore, a role she has also performed at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Paris Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and in Bilbao, Lisbon, and Florence. Her recent engagements include the title roles of Norma and Tosca at the Met; Tosca at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera) at the Vienna State Opera; and Queen Elizabeth (Roberto Devereux) with Toronto's Canadian Opera Company. Radvanovsky's other career highlights include the title role of Suor Angelica at Los Angeles Opera; the title role of Lucrezia Borgia with Washington National Opera; returns to both the Met and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden as Leonora; Hélène (Les Vêpres Siciliennes) at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and the Vienna State Opera; Elvira (Ernani) at Trieste's Teatro Verdi, which she later reprised at the Met and Lyric Opera of Chicago; her La Scala debut as Roxanne (Cyrano de Bergerac), which she also performed in New York and London; the title role of Susannah with Lyric Opera of Chicago; the title role of Manon Lescaut at Leipzig Opera; and Elisabetta (Don Carlos) at Paris Opera. The soprano is a former winner of the George London Foundation Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the Loren L. Zachary Society Competition.

DAVEDA KARANAS
Adalgisa
Mandeville, Louisiana

Daveda Karanas is a former Adler Fellow who made her Company debut as the Nurse (Boris Godunov) in 2008 and returned in 2009 as the Mistress of the Novices (Suor Angelica); Waltraute (Die Walküre) and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) in 2010; and Waltraute and the Second Norn (Götterdämmerung) in 2011. Recent engagements include Kundry (Parsifal) with Lyric Opera of Chicago; Mother Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites) with Opera Theatre of St. Louis; and Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde) in concert performances with the Auckland Philharmonic. Other career highlights include Judith (Bluebeard's Castle) at Florence's Teatro del Maggio Musicale; Azucena (Il Trovatore) with Opera Grand Rapids; and Amneris (Aida) with Arizona Opera and Vancouver Opera. Future seasons will see the mezzo in leading roles of her repertoire at Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and Seattle Opera. She is an alumna of the Merola Program and was a grand prize winner of the 2008 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

MARCO BERTI
Pollione
Como, Italy

Marco Berti made his San Francisco Opera debut as Don José (Carmen) in 2006, a role he has also performed at the Metropolitan Opera; the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; and in Verona, Turin, Cagliari, and Copenhagen. His most recent San Francisco Opera appearances were in the title role of Il Trovatore in 2009 and as Calaf (Turandot) in 2011. Berti launched his international career at Milan's La Scala, where he made his debut as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor and subsequently appeared there in productions of Beatrice di Tenda, La Bohème, La Rondine, and Macbeth, among others. Other career highlights include Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) at the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and in Paris, Naples, and Florence; Gabriele Adorno (Simon Boccanegra) and Radames (Aida) at Houston Grand Opera and in Verona and Florence; Radames at the Arena di Verona as well as in Tokyo and Florence; the title role of Don Carlos in Athens; Riccardo (Un Ballo in Maschera) in Bari, Vienna, Trieste, and at the Bregenz Festival; Manrico in Barcelona; Calaf at La Scala and in Parma, Barcelona, and Valencia; Luigi (Il Tabarro) with Paris Opera; Dick Johnson (La Fanciulla del West) in Seville; and Cavaradossi (Tosca) at La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Florence's Maggio Musicale Festival, and Madrid's Teatro Real. Recent engagements include include Radames at La Scala and the Arena di Verona; Calaf at Covent Garden and in Dresden; Cavaradossi at Deutsche Oper Berlin and in Turin; Dick Johnson (La Fanciulla del West) with Paris Opera; and the title role of Otello in Naples.

CHRISTIAN VAN HORN
Oroveso
Rockville Centre, New York

Bass-baritone Christian Van Horn made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2010 as the King of Egypt (Aida) and returned later that fall as the Bailiff (Werther), the Bonze (Madama Butterfly), and Timur (Turandot). His most recent Company appearances were as Angelotti (Tosca) in 2012 and the Four Villains (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) in 2013. A graduate of Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Center, his roles with that company include Nourabad (Les Pêcheurs de Perles), Brander (La Damnation de Faust), Crespel (Tales of Hoffmann), and Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor). Recently, Van Horn appeared as Colline (La Bohème) at Bavarian State Opera and the Santa Fe Opera, Zuniga (Carmen) at the Salzburg Festival and with the Berlin Philharmonic, Banquo (Macbeth) in Geneva, and the title role of Le Nozze di Figaro with Russia's Perm Opera. Other career highlights include the title role of Le Nozze di Figaro in Stuttgart, Colline at Los Angeles Opera, Timur with the Dallas Opera, and creating the roles of Karenin in David Carlson's Anna Karenina with Florida Grand Opera and the Emperor in Tan Dun's Tea: A Mirror of the Soul at Santa Fe Opera. Recent engagements include Pistola (Falstaff) and Colline at the Metropolitan Opera and Publio (La Clemenza di Tito) with Lyric Opera of Chicago. He appears with San Francisco Opera this season as Count Ribbing (Un Ballo in Maschera), Alidoro (La Cenerentola), Colline (La Bohème), and Narbal (Les Troyens).

JACQUELINE PICCOLINO
Clotilda
Palatine, Illinois

Jacqueline Piccolino is a second-year Adler Fellow who made her San Francisco Opera debut last summer as Stella in Les Contes d'Hoffmann and returned as a maid in the world premiere of Dolores Claiborne and as Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly). As a participant in the 2012 and 2013 Merola Opera Program, the soprano appeared as Countess Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) and in scenes as Arminda (La Finta Giardiniera). As a studio artist with Wolf Trap Opera Company, she has appeared in that company's productions of The Inquisitive Women, Sweeney Todd, and Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Other career highlights include appearing in the Napa Festival del Sole's Bouchaine Young Artist Concert Series and participating in the Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy. Piccolino is a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation and winner of the New York Lyric Opera Theatre Competition and the Bel Canto Competition.

A.J. GLUECKERT
Flavio
Portland, Oregon

Tenor A.J. Glueckert is a second-year Adler Fellow who made his Company debut in The Gospel of Mary Magdalene last summer and appeared as Mr. Knox in the world premiere of Dolores Claiborne, the Steersman (Der Fliegende Holländer), and Ambrogio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) in the 2013-14 season. He is an alumnus of the 2012 Merola Opera Program, where he performed Mr. Owen in Argento's Postcard from Morocco. As a resident artist with Minnesota Opera, he was heard as Arturo (Lucia di Lammermoor) in addition to creating the role of the Crown Prince in the world premiere of Puts's Silent Night. A two-time winner of the regional Metropolitan Opera National Auditions, he holds a degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and appeared as the Drum Major (Wozzeck) with San Francisco's Opera Parallèle.

NICOLA LUISOTTI
Conductor
Viareggio, Italy

Nicola Luisotti has been music director of San Francisco Opera since September 2009 and he holds the Caroline H. Hume Endowed Chair. In the current season he conducts Norma, Un Ballo in Maschera, and the world premiere of Marco Tutino's La Ciociara. In 2012, Luisotti was appointed music director of the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, and in the 2014-15 season he leads Il Trovatore and Luisa Miller there. Luisotti's other engagements during the current season include Madama Butterfly with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden and a concert with Rome's Accademia di Santa Cecilia. Called "both an original thinker and a great respecter of tradition" by Opera News, Luisotti made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2005 conducting La Forza del Destino and has by now led more than twenty other productions with the Company. He has garnered enthusiastic praise from both audiences and critics for his work at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; the Metropolitan Opera; Paris Opera; the Vienna State Opera; Milan's La Scala; Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice; Venice's La Fenice; Munich's Bavarian State Opera; Madrid's Teatro Real; Los Angeles Opera; Toronto's Canadian Opera Company; Seattle Opera; Bologna's Teatro Comunale; and in Tokyo's Suntory Hall. Maestro Luisotti was awarded the 39th Premio Puccini Award in conjunction with the historic 100th anniversary of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West at the Metropolitan Opera, which he conducted in 2010. Equally at home on the concert stage, Luisotti served as principal guest conductor of the Tokyo Symphony from 2009 to 2012 and has established growing relationships with the orchestras of London (Philharmonia Orchestra), Genoa, Budapest, Turin, and Munich (Bavarian Radio Orchestra), as well as the Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and the Atlanta Symphony. Other recent career highlights include a new production of Nabucco at Milan's La Scala and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and Don Giovanni and Turandot at Covent Garden, in addition to concerts with the Orchestre de Paris and La Scala's Filarmonica della Scala.

KEVIN NEWBURY
Director
Auburn, Maine

Newbury made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2013 directing the world premiere of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. His work has been produced throughout North America and Europe. Recent opera credits include Anna Bolena, Werther, and the world premiere of Doubt (Minnesota Opera); Maria Stuarda (Houston Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera); Die Liebe der Danae (Bard Summerscape); Roberto Devereux (L'Opéra de Montreal, Minnesota Opera); Falstaff and the world premieres of Life is a Dream and Oscar (Santa Fe Opera); Galileo Galilei (Portland Opera); The Manchurian Candidate (Minnesota Opera) Virginia (Wexford Opera Festival, winner Irish Times award for Best Opera Production); La Bohème (Central City Opera); Eugene Onegin (Opera Theatre of St. Louis); El Niño (San Francisco Symphony); the world premiere of Rappahannock County for the Virginia Arts Festival national tour; La Cenerentola (Glimmerglass Opera); and Bernstein's Mass (Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, which received a Grammy award nomination). Recent New York theater credits include Candy and Dorothy (GLAAD winner: Best Play, Drama Desk Nominee), The Second Tosca, and Kiss and Cry (GLAAD Nominee). Newbury's filmography includes Monsura is Waiting.

DAVID KORINS
Set Designer
New York City, New York

David Korins is an award-winning scenic and production designer who is the founder of David Korins Design-a multi-faceted firm that designs everything from theater, film, and television to rock concerts, photo shoots, custom furniture, and private, commercial, and public spaces. He made his San Francisco Opera debut with his designs for The Gospel of Mary Magdalene in 2013. Winner of the 2009 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Design, Korins has designed shows on and off-Broadway, throughout the U.S., and internationally. He has created productions at the Lincoln Center Theater, Guthrie Theatre, Santa Fe Opera, Center Theatre Group, Alliance Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, and Toho Theatre in Japan. He received the Lucille Lortell Award for When the Rain Stops Falling at Lincoln Center Theater, and the Drama Desk and Henry Hewes Design Awards for Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them at the Public Theater. Film credits include Coach, Winter Passing, and Blackbird. Korins founded the Obie Award-winning Edge Theater Company in 2001 to foster innovative work with an emphasis on new plays. Recent opera credits include set designs for La Bohème at Denver's Central City Opera and the world premiere of Morrison's Oscar at Santa Fe Opera.

JESSICA JAHN
Costume Designer
New York City, New York

Jessica Jahn makes her San Francisco Opera debut with this production, which will also be seen at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu, Toronto's Canadian Opera Company, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. A professional dancer in New York, Jahn serves as resident design instructor at the Binghamton Summer Musical Theatre Workshop and her credits as a costume designer include Roberto Devereux, Maria Stuarda, Anna Bolena, and Werther at Minnesota Opera; Maria Stuarda at Houston Grand Opera; the world premiere of Spratlan's Life is a Dream at Santa Fe Opera; and Monodramas and Moses in Egitto at New York City Opera. On the theater stage, her work includes Die Mommie Die! at New World Stages; Love, Loss and What I Wore at the Westside Theatre; and Once on this Island at Papermill Playhouse. Jahn's recent and upcoming engagements include the world premiere of One Night... at the Cherry Lane and Anna Bolena at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

D.M. WOOD
Lighting Designer
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Making her San Francisco Opera debut with this production, D.M. Wood has designed lighting for productions around the world. Her recent credits include Il Trittico and the world premiere of Anna Nicole at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; L'Enfant et les Sortilèges at the Bolshoi Theatre; Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Roberto Devereux with Minnesota Opera; Die Liebe der Danae at Bard Summerscape; La Cenerentola with Glimmerglass Opera; and Candide (Lorraine-Nancy Opera). Recent and upcoming engagements include La Favorite with Graz Opera; Salome at Opera Philadelphia; Anna Bolena with Lyric Opera of Chicago; Don Giovanni in Bergen, Norway; Euryanthe with Bard Summerscape; and Salome, Don Bucefalo, and Silent Night at Wexford Festival Opera. Wood received the Knight of Illumination award for her designs for Suor Angelica at Covent Garden in 2012.

Pictured: Sondra Radvonovsky as Norma. Photo by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera.

To post a comment, you must register and login.