The prime beneficiaries of the Merola Opera Progam are the Merolini, the young artists selected from around the world to get coaching, masterclasses, and performance opportunities.
Still, for 64 years, ever since SF Opera General Director Kurt Herbert Adler and tenor James Schwabacher created the training program in 1957, SF Bay Area music lovers (and visitors from afar) also harnessed riches from outstanding performances by “unknown” young singers, accompanists, and stage directors.
Unknown requires quotes because those then-unknown young people soon became honored on the stages of major opera houses, A few from among the thousand alumni include Mark Delavan, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Bryan Hymel, Gary Lakes, Joyce DiDonato, Sylvia McNair, Anna Netrebko, and Patricia Racette.
In the good old days, meaning before the pandemic which killed the 2020 season, audiences could attend the Schwabacher Recitals and summer concert, two staged operas, some other events, and the Grand Finale. This year, the abbreviated season — created and executed during continued uncertainties — had events both streamed and available in person to supporters of the program, and finally, as the Delta variant began to spread, in place of the Grand Finale with the program’s 27 singers, an open-air, amplified, free public event in Golden Gate Park presenting seven Merolini.
Otherwise, what’s available to the public is the free streaming of a filmed event now and two others to come: “What the Heart Desires“ now; “Back Home: Through the Stage Door” effective Aug. 27. The hope is that the full Merola season will be restored and available to the public next year. If all goes well, worldwide auditions will be held in the fall, and Merola 2022 participants will be announced in the spring.
“What the Heart Desires” was originally performed and filmed at the SF Conservatory of Music on July 3, in front of invited donors and guests in attendance.
Celebrating diversity in song, this Amazon-sponsored recital, co-curated by mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller (Merola ’05) and tenor Nicholas Phan, “explores the many things our hearts desire. Featuring compositions by women and people of color, the program includes selections about romantic desire, physical desire, and the longing for home, for rest, for peace, and for a better world.”
Merola artists performing in this recital include Bryan Banowetz, Gabrielle Barkidjija, Gabrielle Beteag, Edward Graves, Erica Xiaoyan Guo, Celeste Morales, Laureano Quant, Anna Smigelskaya, Shiyu Tan, Marika Yasuda, and Tianchi Zhang.
“Back Home: Through the Stage Door,” with a public release date of Aug. 27, is the work of director David Paul, showcasing the 2021 Merola artists. It highlights the program’s imaginative approach to adapting to the digital demands of the opera world today.
