Merola's 2021 Season Features BIPOC Recital, Digital Project and More

The Merola Opera Program, one of the most prestigious and selective opera training programs in the world, has announced its 2021 season, presenting performances by the rising opera stars of tomorrow.

After the recent retirement of Sheri Greenawald, this is Merola's first season under the new San Francisco Opera Center leadership of Carrie-Ann Matheson (Artistic Director) and Markus Beam (General Manager). Responding to today's pandemic circumstances, the pair have worked to create a safe program that will enable the public to enjoy a first look at future stars, while allowing the selected artists to receive the coveted training offered by the renowned Merola Opera Program. The 2021 Merola Summer Festival welcomes 27 Merola artists selected from more than 800 international applicants. The majority of this season's young artists were invited to participate in last year's program but were unable to attend in person due to pandemic restrictions.

The artists, most of whom are currently studying in the United States, originally come from as far away as China, Colombia, Germany, and Russia, as well as across the U.S. and Canada. The Merola artists will perform in a special recital July 3rd titled What the Heart Desires, featuring works by Black/Indigenous/People of Color (BIPOC) and female composers, and will conclude the season July 31st with the Merola Grand Finale. Under consideration are both outdoor and indoor locations, as well as potential live streaming of the performances, with details to be announced in the coming weeks. This year for the first time ever, Merola artists will also be featured in an exciting digital program of operatic highlights, titled Back Home: Through the Stage Door, conceived for film and released online July 30th. Information on how to attend performances will be available at www.merola.org.

When the 2020 Merola training program was canceled due to the pandemic, the young artists who had been accepted were instead offered a series of virtual workshops and online training in fields such as foreign languages, acting, and movement, as well as master chats with opera and theater luminaries. This year, the artists will be in San Francisco and will participate in an intensive training program comprised of seminars, lessons, and coaching in various aspects of a professional performance career. A COVID Manager will assist throughout the summer with safety protocols for classes, rehearsals, and performances.

Gearing up for a season like none before are the new Merola artistic team, Carrie-Ann Matheson and Markus Beam (Merola '02). In addition to providing this season's young artists with the world-class training for which the Merola program is famed, the team is committed to providing new curricula geared toward cultivating individual artistry and preparing the young artists for extramusical aspects of a performance career. As the pandemic continues to reinforce the need for companies to adapt to the digital demands of the industry, training this season will expand to include performing for the camera, as well as perfecting presentations for live audiences.

The Merola Opera Program is widely regarded as the foremost opera training program for aspiring singers, pianists, and stage directors. Merola nurtures the opera stars of tomorrow with master classes and private coaching with opera's most accomplished singers, conductors, and directors. Participants also receive training in operatic repertoire, languages, diction, acting, stage movement, and professional development. Offered free of charge for all participants, the Merola Opera Program is unique in the industry in many ways. It is the only young artist program to provide financial support to developing artists for five years following their participation, offering aid for essential career development expenses including coaching, language classes, and audition travel. In summer 2020, the company initiated the Merola Artists Emergency Fund to offer much-needed financial assistance to those artists who have lost wages and incurred unreimbursed expenses as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Performance Schedule:

What the Heart Desires

July 3, 2021

Celebrating the diversity of America's voice in song, this recital co-curated by tenor Nicholas Phan and mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller (Merola '05) will explore the many things our hearts desire. Featuring compositions by women and people of color, the program will include selections about romantic desire, physical desire, and the longing for home, for rest, for peace, and for a better world.

Sought after as a curator and programmer, in addition to his work as Artistic Director of the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (CAIC), Nicholas Phan has created programs for broadcast on WFMT and WQXR, and served as guest curator for projects with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Laguna Beach Music Festival, Apollo's Fire, and San Francisco Performances, where he served as the vocal artist-in-residence from 2014-2018. His programs often examine themes of identity, highlight unfairly underrepresented voices from history, and strive to underline the relevance of music from all periods to the currents of the present day.

Since completing her seventh season as a member of the ensemble at Deutsche Oper Berlin, American mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller (a 2005 alumna of the Merola Opera Program) continued her upward career trajectory in the 2020-21 season with performances at The Atlanta Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin. She has made appearances at major opera houses including The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and Los Angeles Opera, as well as with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Berlin Philharmonic, among others. In addition to performing, Miller has conducted masterclasses at St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida; outreach classes in New York City; written for online publications including Interview En L'air.

Back Home: Through the Stage Door

July 30, 2021

Conceived and directed for film by award-winning director David Paul, Back Home: Through the Stage Doorshowcases the 2021 Merola artists in an exciting and innovative digital format, highlighting the program's imaginative approach to adapting to the digital demands of the industry. Paul's work has been praised by The New York Times and The Washington Post for its energy, humor, and emotional depth, and has been seen across four continents in five languages. Recent credits include productions for LA Opera, the Metropolitan Opera/Juilliard, Washington National Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Arizona Opera, North Carolina Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Saratoga, and the Music Academy of the West.

Merola Grand Finale

July 31, 2021

The Summer Festival concludes with the Merola Grand Finale, a concert featuring all the artists of the 2021 Merola Opera Program in a dazzling array of opera's most exciting arias and ensembles. Directed by 2021 Merola Apprentice Stage Director Audrey Chait, this performance showcases the hard work and extraordinary talent of the Merola artists.

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