San Francisco Opera continues streaming performances with Giacomo Puccini's Tosca.
San Francisco Opera continues streaming performances with Giacomo Puccini's Tosca on October 10-11, Giuseppe Verdi's Attila on October 17-18 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) on October 24-25.
The presentations, filmed live in high-definition at the War Memorial Opera House, will be viewable on demand for free at sfopera.com on the first streaming date starting at 10 am (PDT) and expiring at 11:59 pm the following day.
San Francisco Opera's 2014 revival of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca features the sumptuous production by Thierry Bosquet, based on the original designs by Armando Agnini for the Company's first staging of the opera in the War Memorial Opera House in 1932. The San Francisco Chronicle hails Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian "phenomenal" in her house and role debuts portraying the passionate diva who puts herself at risk for her lover, Cavaradossi, performed by tenor Brian Jagde. Baritone Mark Delavan takes on one of the most notorious villains in the operatic repertoire, Baron Scarpia. Directed by Jose Maria Condemi, the cast includes bass Scott Conner (Angelotti), bass-baritone Dale Travis (the Sacristan), tenor Joel Sorensen (Spoletta), baritone Efraín Solís (Sciarrone) and baritone Hadleigh Adams (the Jailer). Italian maestro Riccardo Frizza conducts Puccini's 1900 musical drama known for its heartbreaking, lyrical arias "Vissi d'arte" and "E lucevan le stelle." Gary Marder is the production's lighting designer, and Chorus Director Ian Robertson prepares the San Francisco Opera Chorus and San Francisco Boys Chorus for the large-scale Te Deum scene that closes the opera's first act. Tosca is performed in Italian with English subtitles and has an approximate running time of 2 hours, 2 minutes.
San Francisco Opera's 2012 co-production with Milan's Teatro alla Scala of Giuseppe Verdi's Attila is "a must-see for Verdi aficionados" (The Mercury News) and impresses with staging by Gabriele Lavia, grand sets by Alessandro Camera, costumes by Andrea Viotti, lighting by Christopher Maravich and a cast of 135 commanded by Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto in the title role, the legendary 5th-century ruler of the Huns. This is only the second time the composer's 1846 work has been mounted on the War Memorial stage. American bass Samuel Ramey portrayed Attila during the Company premiere in 1991 and he returns as Leone (Pope Leo I). Venezuelan soprano Lucrecia García is Odabella, and Hawaiian baritone Quinn Kelsey and Mexican tenor Diego Torre bow for the first time in their careers as Ezio and Foresto, respectively. San Francisco Opera Chorus Director Ian Robertson prepares an ensemble of 60 choristers and former Music Director Nicola Luisotti leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra "with his trademark ebullience" (San Francisco Chronicle). Attila is performed in Italian with English subtitles and has an approximate running time of 1 hour, 50 minutes.
San Francisco Opera's 2015 presentation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's effervescent comedy Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) captures moments of beauty and folly, as well as the complications of love and family. Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni (Count Almaviva) performs opposite American soprano Nadine Sierra (Countess Rosina). Canadian bass-baritone and former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow Philippe Sly is Figaro and American soprano Lisette Oropesa is his bride-to-be, Susanna. Mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey portrays the youthful pants role of the Count's page, Cherubino. Bass-baritone John Del Carlo (in his final role with the Company before his passing in 2016, Doctor Bartolo), mezzo Catherine Cook (Marcellina), tenor Greg Fedderly (Don Basilio), tenor John Easterlin (Don Curzio), soprano Maria Valdes (Barbarina) and bass-baritone Bojan Knezevic (Antonio) round out the cast directed by Robin Guarino. The presentation also includes Gary Marder's lighting designs. Conducting the 1786 work (Mozart was 30 years old when he composed it), Patrick Summers "knows just how to make the opera soar" (The Mercury News). Le Nozze di Figaro is performed in Italian with English subtitles and has an approximate running time of 2 hours, 53 minutes.
In response to the global pandemic, San Francisco Opera launched Opera is ON in April 2020 to engage with audiences and share great artistry worldwide. Current San Francisco Opera subscribers and members (donors of $75 and up) retain access to the streamed events after their window of public access. For more information, visit sfopera.com, and follow San Francisco Opera on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Spotify. Opera is ON is made possible by an OPERA America Innovation Grant, supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation.
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