Opera companies may be hard pressed for funds, and recitals less attended than of yore, but the show goes on. Indeed, there are so many delicious offerings this fall that the process of elimination was painful. Here are the performances I’m anticipating the most.
Turandot, San Francisco Opera
It’s hard to decide which of two spectacles to feature — opening night’sTurandot or the much-belatedcompany premiere of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia, starring the glamorous Renée Fleming. I’ll go with Puccini’s final masterpiece, which demands the grand lyric sweep and romantic conviction that Music Director Nicola Luisotti is prized for. Debuting here as Turandot are Sweden’s Iréne Theorin, whom some consider our reigning ice princess, and (in November) America’s Susan Foster, whose career has lately embraced the big Wagner, Verdi, and Puccini roles. Equally exciting, Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions winner Leah Crocetto, who is a third-year Adler Fellow, sings Liù, a role tailor made for her gifts.
Sept. 9–Oct. 4 and Nov. 18–25, War Memorial Opera House, $26–$263, (415) 864-3330.
Heart of a Soldier, San Francisco Opera
A heartbreaking, true story of enduring love and friendship with powerful resonances to the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis and Donna Di Novelli’s opera has the potential to touch us to the core. Based on the book by James B. Stewart and the life stories of Susan and Rick Rescorla and Daniel J. Hill, Heart of a Soldier gains extra inspiration from Susan Rescorla’s continuing efforts to honor her hero husband and the love that brought them together late in their lives. The world-class leads — Thomas Hampson, William Burden, and Melody Moore — and a supporting cast that includes many outstanding Adler Fellows should receive superb support from the team of conductor Patrick Summers and director Francesca Zambello.
Sept. 10–30, War Memorial Opera House, $26–$263, (415) 864-3330.
Idomeneo, Opera San José
A mere 230 years after its premiere, Mozart’s first operatic masterpiece finally reaches San José. Conducted by Mozart specialist George Cleve and directed by Brad Dalton, Idomeneo will be the company’s largest and probably most expensive production to date. Expect 73 people onstage, over 180 costumes; restoration of often-cut ballet scenes, choreographed by Opera San José’s Dennis Nahat; and a major cameo for the California Theatre’s pipe organ.
Sept. 10–25, California Theatre, San José, $51–$101, (408) 437-4450.
Stephanie Blythe, San Francisco Performances
Possessed of a large, rich, flexible voice that works equally well in Verdi, Wagner, and Handel, Blythe leaves all that behind to once again champion American music in recital. Her program segues from James Legg’s (not Copland’s) Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson and Barber’s Three Songs, Op. 10, to a mixture of popular songs by Scott Joplin, Irving Berlin, and several and sundry denizens of Tin Pan Alley. From serious to slumming, or just plain delicious? We’ll know soon enough.
Oct. 13, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $38–$68, (415) 398-6449.
Desdemona, Cal Performances
Let’s not quibble over whether the U.S. premiere of Toni Morrison’s and Peter Sellars’ Desdemona, starring the gifted Rokia Traoré, qualifies as theater, opera, or some indefinable hybrid thereof. This potentially mesmerizing evening, which takes its cue from passages in Shakespeare’s Othello, presents a dialogue from beyond the grave between the very white Desdemona and Barbary, the African nurse who raised her. The three creative geniuses involved with this project promise a moving evening that may forever change our perception of Shakespeare’s and Verdi’s respective tragedies, and will certainly open our minds to new possibilities.
Oct. 26–29, 8 p.m., Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Berkeley, $100, (510) 642-9988.
Simon Keenlyside, San Francisco Performances
One of the finest English baritones, who has long held a reputation for dual excellence in opera and art song, presents a recital filled with beautiful melodies. To the always sensitive accompaniment of Malcolm Martineau, Keenlyside sings seven songs by Mahler, the first set of George Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad, six lieder by Richard Strauss (only three of which are frequently programmed), two exquisite gems by Duparc, and four mélodies by Debussy.
Oct. 27, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $38–$68, (415) 398-6449.
Vivica Genaux and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Arias for Farinelli
One of the most exciting Baroque-specialist mezzo-sopranos on today’s stage, the exotic-looking Vivica Genaux specializes in repertoire that showcases her wide range and superb technique. For PBO she augments three pieces written for the famed castrato Farinelli, two of which are included on her Grammy-nominated Arias for Farinelli disc for Harmonia Mundi, with three arias by Vivaldi. For those who attended Genaux’s local recital debut in 2005 and found her interpretations mundane, this program should find her right at home. Concertos by Johann Fasch and Georg Friedrich Telemann, plus an orchestral suite from Rameau’s La Guirlande, round out the program.
Oct. 27, 8 p.m., Center for the Performing Arts, Menlo-Atherton; Oct. 28, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; Oct. 29, 8 p.m., and Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley; $25–$90, (415) 392-4400.
Ariadne auf Naxos, Berkeley West Edge Opera
Tragedy and comedy vie for attention in Richard Strauss’ technically demanding, gorgeous score and Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s fascinating play-within-a-play libretto. Given that Berkeley West Edge Opera’s tag line for their season, “the intersection of pop and classical,” seems calculated to raise more than a few eyebrows, it will be interesting to see what Artistic Director Mark Streshinsky and Music Director Jonathan Khuner have in store. With a cast that includes the wonderful Marie Plette as Ariadne and Buffy Baggott as the Composer, and recent San Francisco Conservatory grad Emma McNairy as the high-flying Zerbinetta, the production may have just what it takes to transport us from the isle of Naxos to the garden of delight.
Oct. 30–Nov. 6, El Cerrito Performing Arts Theater, $29–$69, (510) 841-1903.
Xerxes, San Francisco Opera
Only six performances for this Handel masterpiece, which has never before graced San Francisco Opera’s stage? Every seat should be taken for a production that delivers the unbeatable combination of Susan Graham and David Daniels. Potentially as rewarding are the San Francisco debut of soprano Lisette Oropesa and the return of early-music specialist and contralto Sonia Prina. True, we won’t hear the Baroque instrumental sonorities that Handel expected, but conductor Patrick Summers and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra have worked many times with these leads, and should provide us with several hours of sublime musicianship. Nicholas Hytner’s Olivier Award–winning production, here directed by Michael Walling, is further enticement.
Oct. 30–Nov. 19, War Memorial Opera House, $26–$263, (415) 864-3330.
Eric Owens, Bass-Baritone, Cal Performances
Despite having sung in the Bay Area numerous times since his 1999 debut — especially compelling were his roles in John Adams’ A Flowering Tree and Doctor Atomic, the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, and Handel’s Ariodante — Eric Owens’ powers as a recitalist are relatively unknown here. All the more exciting, then, to welcome what seems to be a Bay Area recital debut that contrasts German lieder with more intimate fare from Debussy and Duparc. Ravel’s Don Quichotte to Dulcinée should be the icing on the cake.
November 20, 3 p.m., Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, $48, (510) 642-9988.
Karita Mattila, Soprano, San Francisco Performances
The opportunity to hear two great pros, the divinely voiced Karita Mattila in partnership with master accompanist Martin Katz, is irresistible. Whether or not Mattila’s program — Poulenc’s five Banalités, Debussy’s Cinq Poèmes de Baudelaire, Aulus Sallinen’s Four Dream Songs, and five songs by Joseph Marx — capitalizes on her astounding theatrical acumen, it’s sure to bring out her gift for the sensuous.
Dec. 6, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $38–$68, (415) 398-6449.