Opera Aficionado is an exciting suite of programs designed for patrons who are passionate about opera. Aficionado provides an opportunity to learn more, dive deeper, and get an inside look at the world of opera.
As part of Opera Aficionado, our Interactive Lectures Series gives opera-goers around the world a front-row seat to scholarly talks, allowing attendees to dialogue with fellow opera lovers, experts, and special guests. Each month will be focused on a concept or theme relevant to all of us. For the month of February, the theme is From Russia with Love (Russian Operas).
Producing opera in the Soviet Union was no easy feat! Join San Francisco based opera singer, director, and educator Sergey Khalikulov for a discussion on the ways Stalin and “the Party's" agendas shaped the works brought to Soviet stages, and the many challenges state opera companies, composers, and artists overcame to share their art with people across the USSR. Musicologist Lilia Zheltova joins to share her experience as former dramaturg at the Uzbekistan State Opera prior to the fall of the Soviet Union.