Opera lovers will find plentiful pickings between now and June. Before San Francisco Opera launches its three June productions, one from West Edge Opera in El Cerrito, another from Ensemble Parallèle in El Cerrito, two from West Bay Opera in Palo Alto, two others from Opera San José, and four from Donald Pippin’s Pocket Opera in San Francisco and Berkeley vie for your attention with the Metropolitan Opera in HD broadcasts in movie theaters.
The Great Gatsby: Ensemble Parallèle
The world premiere of Jacques Desjardins’ chamber orchestration of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby gives us a taste of the late 20th century operatic premiere the Metropolitan Opera considered important enough to include in its multi-CD tribute to James Levine’s 40th year on the podium. The cast is exciting, and includes some fine knowns (Susannah Biller, Jason Detwiller, Dan Snyder, Bojan Knezevic, and Erin Neff) and a few artists new to us (Marco Panuccio and Jordan Baker). With Nicole Paiement and Brian Staufenbiel in charge, expect a production that has the potential to either ignite or incite.
February 10-12, Novellus Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, $35 - $85, (415) 978 2787/ [email protected]
Aida (West Bay Opera)
The notion that a small company, performing in a theater that seats half the truncated orchestra under the stage and pipes the sound into the venue, can successfully mount grand opera after grand opera seems absurd. West Bay Opera’s general director, José Luis Moscovich, persists nonetheless, and does so with a fine ear for casting thrilling voices. The company premiere of Aida features a number of strong singers, most notably Karen Slack in the title role and Adam Paul Lau as Ramfis. With Moscovich at the podium, José Maria Condemi directing, and the Kunst-Stoff Dance Company writhing about, this one has my vote.
May 25 – June 3, Lucie Stern Theatre, Palo Alto, $40–$65, (650) 424-9999
Nixon in China (San Francisco Opera)
John Adams’ first opera, Nixon in China, is a thoroughly modern, musically and visually irresistible masterpiece. Based on the historic 1972 visit to China by Richard and Pat Nixon and Henry Kissinger, the opera’s brilliant deployment of Adams’ nervously energetic score and Alice Goodman’s thoroughly vernacular, sometimes raunchy language paints hilariously appalling portraits of world leaders, modern diplomacy, and cultural norms on both sides of the Pacific. In addition to the beautiful voice of Brian Mulligan, the run is filled with exciting performers in their first SFO appearances.
June 8 – July 13, War Memorial Opera House, $26–$263, (415) 864-3330
The Magic Flute (San Francisco Opera)
Mozart’s final masterpiece is the most produced opera in the world. Three months after West Edge Opera creates its own take on it, San Francisco Opera premieres Jun Kaneko’s new English language production. SFO mates the fine voices and most appealing presences of Heidi Stober and Nathan Gunn with the gifts of several award-winning younger singers, including former Merolini Alek Shrader and Nathaniel Peake (alternating as Tamino), and hot coloratura Albina Shagimuratova (as the evil Queen).
June 13 – July 8, War Memorial Opera House, $21–$263, (415) 864-3330
Recitals
For vocal and lieder enthusiasts, here are a few of the exciting recitals coming up.
Christopher Maltman with Malcolm Martineau (San Francisco Performances)
One of our finest English baritones joins one of our finest accompanists for a long-anticipated recital. What makes the event all the dearer is that it was rescheduled from last season after Maltman lost his voice shortly before he was to take to the stage. The mostly Venetian-themed repertoire is delicious, with gondola rides from Fauré, Reynaldo Hahn, Schumann, Schubert, and Mendelssohn, capped by the profound beauty of Mahler’s five Rückert Lieder.
Jan. 19, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, $38–$68, (415) 398-6449
Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices (Stanford Lively Arts)
This exceptionally rich evening of music by David Lang pairs his mesmerizing, deeply moving, Pulitzer Prize–winning production The Little Match Girl Passion with the premiere of Death Speaks. Paul Hillier’s marvelous Theatre of Voices were the dedicatees of the Passion. Death Speaks, based on moments in Schubert songs when death makes utterances, enlists Bryce Dessner from the rock band The National; Shara Worden, from the folk and indie band My Brightest Diamond; composer Nico Muhly; and composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist Owen Pallett, all to present music that fluidly mixes genres.
Jan. 25, 8 p.m., Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University, $44–$50, 650-725-ARTS (2787)
Alexander String Quartet/ Joyce DiDonato (San Francisco Performances)
For the Alexander String Quartet’s 30th anniversary celebration, the extraordinary mezzo Joyce DiDonato and the ever-fascinating, often-brilliant composer/pianist Jake Heggie join the Quartet for the premiere of Camille Claudel: Into the Fire. Based on the life of the French sculptor, who was also Rodin’s lover and Debussy’s confidante, this new work, with libretto by Gene Scheer, has the potential to show everyone at their best. DiDonato also sings the same six Venetian songs by Hahn that Maltman presents in the same space three weeks earlier. Consider Debussy’s String Quartet the icing on this wonderfully rich cake.
Feb. 4, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $45–$75, (415) 398-6449
Wolfgang Holzmair With Russell Ryan (Cal Performances)
Over a decade after Wolfgang Holzmair’s Cal Performances debut failed to fulfill the expectations heightened by his many beautifully voiced recordings, he at last returns. At what may be the tail end of his career — he was born in 1952, and is reportedly still in excellent voice — this most sensitive artist presents what many consider the pinnacle of the classic German song repertoire, Schubert’s emotionally chilling, potentially cathartic Winterreise (Winter journey). The emotional immediacy of the songs, not to mention the extraordinary demands they place on an artist, make this a must-hear recital.
March 4, 3 p.m., Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, $48, (510) 642-9988
Matthias Goerne With Leif Ove Andsnes (San Francisco Performances)
One of those rare artists whose voice unfailingly bridges the space between his heart and ours is Matthias Goerne. This most intimate of baritones, unafraid to bare his soul, seems on a perpetual quest to explore new territory with some of our best accompanists. To a distinguished list of collaborators that, on recordings alone, includes Graham Johnson, Christoph Eschenbach, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Alfred Brendel, and Vladimir Ashkenazy, he now adds Leif Ove Andsnes. Piercingly beautiful songs by Mahler and Shostakovich could make for one of the more profound recitals of this or any season.
April 23, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, $38–$68, (415) 398-6449
Sandrine Piau With Susan Manoff (Cal Performances)
Although I long to hear Adler Fellow and Metropolitan Opera National Auditions winner Nadine Sierra in her Schwabacher Debut Recital, duty demands that I take in the recital of Sandrine Piau, who makes her long-overdue Bay Area recital debut in Berkeley two hours earlier. Those who have been waiting to hear this marvelous soprano live will finally get their wish. Expect Piau’s vocal beauty, unassuming delivery, and unassailable technique to make a special experience of her chosen song repertory.
April 29, 3 p.m., Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, $48, (510) 642-9988