For the first time since its San Francisco world premiere 16 years ago André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire will be seen here again this summer.
Back in 1998, the composer conducted the San Francisco Opera-commissioned work, with Renée Fleming, Elizabeth Futral, Rodney Gilfry, Anthony Dean Griffey, and Jay Hunter Morris in the cast. It has been performed in many venues, including Carnegie Hall last year.
The musical version of Tennessee Williams' drama is part of the 57th season of the Merola Opera Program, which runs June 2-Aug. 17. Streetcar will be staged in Everett Middle School on July 10 and 12. When first used last year, the venue received a favorable review: "With Herbst Theatre closed for renovation, this auditorium is a pleasant surprise, providing excellent acoustics and sightlines well above expectations, and definitely superior to another Merola venue, Fort Mason's Cowell Theater." (But be ready for some discomfort on typical school furniture that younger bodies tolerate better.)
The Merola Program, now regarded among the most important such curricula in the world, provides 12 weeks of intensive musical and performance training for 29 young artists from 10 countries. Besides the benefits to the participants — hundreds of whom in the past have gone on to professional careers, some as illustrious as those of Susan Graham (1987), Patricia Racette (1988), and Anna Netrebko (1996) — Merola benefits audiences hungry for opera in the summer doldrums.
Public events include master classes, the Schwabacher Summer Concert, the program-closing Grand Finale, and staged performances of Streetcar and Mozart's Don Giovanni. Contact the program for information about further access and benefits available to supporters of the self-financed program, which runs on an operating budget of $2.85 million.
From more than 900 applicants worldwide, the following artists were selected in regional auditions (including Casey Candebat, Sahar Nouri, and Rhys Lloyd Talbot who are returning for another year):
Sopranos:
Julie Adams, Burbank, CA
Adelaide Boedecker, Sarasota, FL
Maria Fasciano, Niagara Falls, NY
Karen Chia-Ling Ho, Taipei, Taiwan
Yujin Kim, Deajeon, South Korea
Talya Lieberman, Forest Hills, NY
Amanda Woodbury, Dallas, TX
Photos by Kristen Loken
Mezzo-sopranos:
Eliza Bonet, Atlanta, GA
Shirin Eskandani, Vancouver, BC
Nian Wang, Nanjing, China
Tenors:
Casey Candebat, New Orleans, LA
Mingjie Lei, Hunan, China
Chong Wang, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
Benjamin Werley, Pittsburgh, PA
Baritones:
Gideon Dabi, Highland Park, NJ
Alexander Elliott, Florence, SC
Thomas Gunther, Muscatine, IA
Edward Nelson, Santa Clarita, CA
Bass-baritones:
Matthew Stump, Goshen, IN
Rhys Lloyd Talbot, Cedar Falls, IA
Szymon Wach, Lublin, Poland
Basses:
Anthony Reed, Alexandria, MN
Scott Russell, Roanoke, VA
Apprentice Coaches:
Edoardo Barsotti, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Ronny Michael Greenberg, Montreal, Canada
Kirill Kuzmin, Moscow, Russia
Sahar Nouri, Tehran, Iran
Blair Salter, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Apprentice Stage Director:
Omer Ben Seadia, Tel-Aviv, Israel
The Schwabacher Summer Concert will be held in Everett School on July 17, repeated on July 19 in a free outdoor performance in Yerba Buena Gardens. Don Giovanni has two Everett performances, on July 31 and Aug. 2. The Grand Finale will close the 2014 program in the Opera House on Aug. 16.