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62-639: San Diego Opera Guild was founded in 1950 to present San Francisco Opera productions in the San Diego community. San Diego Opera Association was incorporated in 1965 as a producing company and presented its first staging of La bohème at the San Diego Civic Theatre. It is a member of the professional association OPERA America , which ranked it among the top ten opera companies in the United States. The founding SDO general director

124-532: A 2015 season consisting of three operas, La boheme , Don Giovanni , and John Adams ' Nixon in China , at the same time stating that its goal was to raise $ 6.5 million and that $ 4 million had already been raised (including $ 2.1 million from crowdfunding ). In March 2015 the company announced the hiring of David Bennett , executive director of the Gotham Chamber Opera , as General Director of

186-638: A co-production with the Lincoln Center Festival and Spoleto Festival USA , the company performed Ottorino Respighi 's fantastical La bella dormente nel bosco ( Sleeping Beauty in the Woods ), featuring the puppetry of Basil Twist . In the spring of 2006, Benjamin Britten 's only comedy, Albert Herring , received its first professional staging in New York in more than 30 years, and in

248-576: A firm link established with the Kirov Opera . Also, there was Rossini 's Guillaume Tell and Verdi's I vespri siciliani which followed. One of Mansouri's triumphs was the overseeing of the reconstruction and renovation of the opera house following the October 1989 earthquake . After closing at the end of the 1995 Fall season for "a 21-month, US$ 88.5 million renovation, San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House reopened on 5 September 1997 with

310-772: A full season of opera in the following year. Following this, the first unaffiliated performance given by the San Francisco Opera was La bohème , with Queena Mario and Giovanni Martinelli , on September 26, 1923, in the city's Civic Auditorium . In subsequent years, SFO would perform a wide array of Italian operas, rarely performing a given opera more than once. SFO seasons seldom lasted more than two months, and occasionally performed less than one month. The 1923-24 season included productions of Andrea Chénier and Mefistofele with Beniamino Gigli , Tosca with Giuseppe De Luca and Martinelli, and Verdi 's Rigoletto with Queena Mario, De Luca, and Gigli. During

372-421: A gala concert celebrating this occasion, as well the 75th anniversary of the San Francisco Opera. Fittingly, the concert featured operatic greats of the past, present and future. The project included repairs of damage caused by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, improvements for the audience and performers, seismic strengthening and a general cleanup that left the 65-year-old Opera House gleaming." Donald Runnicles

434-690: A new, locally-owned opera company that would not rely on visiting troupes, a common practice for some opera companies since the Gold Rush . By the next year, Merola organized a trial season at Stanford University. The first performance occurred in the Stanford Cardinal's football stadium on June 3, 1922, with operatic tenor Giovanni Martinelli performing in Pagliacci , Carmen , and Faust . The five-day season's lacked any financial success; Merola instead successfully raised funds for

496-666: A retelling of the Ariadne myth through the music of Monteverdi , Haydn , and Schoenberg . And in 2009, Mark Morris directed the U.S. stage premiere of Haydn's L'isola disabitata . Gotham presented Haydn's Il mondo della luna at the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History in January 2010. The production, staged by Diane Paulus , featured NASA -generated moon travel projections on

558-422: A second, smaller performance venue went by the wayside. Company-wide cuts pared 14 percent from the company's $ 67 million budget in 2003." He continued: "Embattled by financial woes and trying labor negotiations, Rosenberg was routinely blamed for problems that were largely beyond her control. Her taste for new and unusual operas and a European-honed aesthetic that favored brash and even radical reinterpretations of

620-433: A shock to the public, because the company has no debt and had given no hint it was contemplating closure; director Campbell explained that the board decided to "wind down with dignity and grace" rather than become bankrupt. However, at a special board meeting on March 31, the board voted to delay the closure until April 29, to allow more time for major donors to come forward and to consider other options that could possibly save

682-549: A young tenor with UCLA's Opera Workshop, and then with opera in general. As early as 1962, with Mansouri having found work as director in Los Angeles followed by his becoming resident stage director at the Zürich Opera , Adler came to see him at work, and he was offered six operas to direct in the 1963 season. By the time he became general director, he had directed 60 operas for SFO and many others elsewhere. By 1975 he

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744-473: The Merola Opera Program (named after the first general director). It began during the 1954/55 Season and was given its current name in 1957. The program now annually offers approximately 23 gifted singers, four apprentice coaches, and one apprentice stage director the rare opportunity of studying, coaching, and participating in master classes with established professionals for eleven weeks during

806-609: The Royal Opera House in London and a lowly paid job with Decca Records in that city. Moving up the ranks in the 1950s, he landed in New York in 1959 and for the next 20 years made London Records, Decca's classical arm, the most significant classical label in the United States. After being approached by Adler regarding the San Francisco opera job, he moved to the city in 1980 and involved himself totally in learning

868-518: The San Diego Symphony have performed as the pit orchestra for San Diego Opera. Notable artists, in addition to those named above, who have performed with San Diego Opera include Ferruccio Furlanetto , Denyce Graves , Richard Bonynge , Richard Leech, Plácido Domingo , Renée Fleming , Jane Eaglen , Richard Margison , Jerry Hadley , Vivica Genaux , Isabel Bayrakdarian , James Westman and Carol Vaness . Notable productions include

930-571: The San Francisco Chronicle noted: "He's never been interested in the succès d'estime , the daring intellectual or theatrical coup that dazzles culture mavens but leaves the general public alienated or bewildered. For Mansouri, a success that doesn't put fannies in the seats is no success at all." Towards the end of the 2001 season, Mansouri announced his retirement after fourteen seasons with SFO and 50 years in opera. Pamela Rosenberg  [ de ] 's first connection with

992-439: The 2008 recession, it presented five operas each season; in 2008 this was reduced to four productions, scheduled from January to April. In March 2014 the opera board announced that the 2014 season would be its last, but this decision was later rescinded by the company's board of directors, and a cut down version of the already planned 2015 season was announced, reducing the number of titles from four to three. Between 1983 and 2014,

1054-517: The 2015 season. Meanwhile, the labor union representing singers, chorus members and production personnel filed several complaints with the National Labor Relations Board about the decision to cease operation. In a dramatic meeting on April 17, the opera's board of directors voted to extend the shutdown deadline at least until May 19. The chairman of the board and twelve other board members resigned. Board member Carol Lazier

1116-828: The American premiere of Mozart's Il sogno di Scipione (1771), staged by Christopher Alden in 2001 at the Playhouse at the Abrons Arts Center , a 350-seat theater on the New Yorks's Lower East Side . Soon after, the company produced a double bill of Henry Purcell 's Dido and Aeneas (1689) and Darius Milhaud 's Les malheurs d'Orphée  [ sv ] (1924). Two more American premieres followed in November 2002 with Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů 's 1928 Dada opera, Les larmes du couteau ( Tears of

1178-577: The Bay Area began in 1906 when he first visited the city. In 1909, he returned as the conductor of the International Opera Company of Montreal, one of the many visiting troupes that frequented the bustling city. Continued visits over the next decade convinced him that an opera company in San Francisco was viable. Merola moved back into the city in 1921 while living with Mrs. Oliver Stine's support Oliver Stine. He drafted plans for

1240-743: The Human Condition". Incorporated within the production programming of "Animating Opera" was the America staged premiere of Messiaen 's Saint-François d'Assise , Virgil Thomson 's The Mother of Us All , as well as a commission for a new work by John Adams and Peter Sellars entitled Doctor Atomic , which premiered on 1 October 2005. Other operas new to the SFO's repertoire during her directorship include Busoni's Doktor Faust , Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre and Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen . After much controversy surrounding her management of

1302-619: The Knife ), and his 1935 Hlas lesa ( The Voice of the Forest ). After incorporating as a non-profit organization in 2003, the newly renamed Gotham Chamber Opera (GCO) presented the American premiere of Swiss composer Heinrich Sutermeister 's 1935 Die schwarze Spinne  [ de ] ( The Black Spider ). Gotham's February 2005 production of Handel 's Arianna in Creta played to full houses and drew favorable reviews. That summer, in

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1364-621: The Metropolitan Opera's season began). This was to capitalize on the availability of singers by presenting up to fourteen operas with two or three performances each. Eventually, as seen in the 1961 SFO season, eleven operas were given five or six performances each on average while the season ran to late November. Another aim was to present new talent, and, for this, he was tireless in seeking out up-and-coming new singers, whether American or European, by attending performances in both major and minor opera houses. He heard Leontyne Price on

1426-458: The SFO an internationally respected company that ran at a high level of professionalism and offered them interesting things to do in a warm and supportive atmosphere." Among those who were offered new and exciting challenges were Geraint Evans, the Welsh baritone, Leontyne Price, and Luciano Pavarotti. He took on more and more administrative details as Merola's health and energy diminished, but Adler

1488-425: The SFO's General Director on 1 January 2006. As part of an announcement of the 2006/2007 season and the future of the company on 11 January, Gockley noted that "this season we debut a new visual identity and logo in keeping with a new artistic philosophy. I believe that it speaks of glamour, sophistication, tradition and innovation all things that infuse our plans for the future of San Francisco Opera." In May 2011, it

1550-570: The SFO, which included deficits created after the "dot-com" collapse in 2000 and the effects of September 11 on arts attendance, she announced in 2004 that she would not renew her contract with the company when it ended in late 2005. As noted by Steven Winn in the San Francisco Chronicle in December 2005, "Productions were scuttled or postponed in the face of a $ 7.7 million deficit. Ambitious programming initiatives and plans for

1612-490: The San Diego Opera. He started on June 15, 2015. He was "tasked with downsizing and reimagining the company for 21st century audiences." He cut the company's budget from $ 18 million in 2014 to $ 10 million in 2018 and established a schedule of three traditional opera productions each year, along with a "Detour series" of smaller, more innovative works and increased community outreach programs. Since 2005, musicians from

1674-815: The San Francisco Opera was as a standee while attending the University of California, Berkeley. She returned to SFO with a background of operatic productions in Germany and, specifically, as head of the Stuttgart Opera. In January 2001, Rosenberg announced her first artistic initiative for San Francisco Opera, "Animating Opera", a multi-year plan of interwoven themes and series. These included "Seminal Works of Modern Times", "The Faust Project", "Composer Portrait: Janáček/Berlioz", "Women Outside of Society: Laws Unto Themselves", "Metamorphosis: From Fairy Tales to Nightmares", and "Outsiders or Pioneers?: The Nature of

1736-675: The United States in 1938 after early experience and training in many aspects of music and theatre in Austria, Germany, and Italy. For five years, he worked to build the chorus of the Chicago Opera Company. Merola heard of him and, over the telephone, invited him to San Francisco opera in 1943 as chorus director. Adler was often regarded as a difficult, sometimes tyrannical person to work for. However, as Chatfield-Taylor notes, "singers, conductors, directors, and designers came back season after season. They came back because Adler made

1798-499: The baritone role of Gianni was sung by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe , possibly the first time in the world that a female singer has performed a baritone role in a professional production. Notes Other sources San Francisco Opera The San Francisco Opera ( SFO ) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco , California . Merola's road to prominence in

1860-681: The best singers in the world. As a reaction to the economic climate of the times, in 1982 McEwen, created the "San Francisco Opera Center" to oversee and combine the operation and administration of the numerous affiliate educational and training programs. Providing a coordinated sequence of performance and study opportunities for young artists, the San Francisco Opera Center included the "Merola Opera Program", " Adler Fellowship Program ", "Showcase Series", "Brown Bag Opera", "Opera Center Singers", "Schwabacher Recitals", and various Education Programs. By introducing his young singers to

1922-519: The board reported that Campbell and his former wife were leaving the company. At a meeting of the board of directors on May 16, the group voted to rescind the decision to close. The board also launched a crowdsourcing campaign with a goal of raising $ 1 million to help underwrite a 2015 season. Following Campbell's departure in May 2014, William Mason, the former director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago ,

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1984-558: The classics, the thinking went, drove away audiences and donors and ran up costs in the company's hour of greatest need." Rosenberg returned to Germany to work with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic as its Intendantin . From 2004 to 2007, Keith Cerny served as the chief financial officer of the San Francisco Opera. After 33 years of directing the Houston Grand Opera , David Gockley became

2046-474: The commission of a new American opera, Dark Sisters , composed by Nico Muhly with a libretto by Stephen Karam , to be conducted by Neal Goren, and directed by Rebecca Taichman . The world premiere took place in November 2011 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College in New York, one of the first works to be presented at the theater following the creation of a new lobby at the space. Dark Sisters

2108-575: The company during its history. The legendary tenor Lauritz Melchior conducted the orchestra, rather than sing, in a performance of the famous Radetsky March by Johann Strauss I; it was possibly his last public appearance. One of the highlights of the afternoon program was a moving performance of the love duet from Madama Butterfly with soprano Licia Albanese and tenor Frederick Jagel . Adler retired on December 15, 1981. Following Adler's retirement announcement in June 1979, Terence A. McEwen (1929–1998)

2170-409: The fact that the opera lacked a formal training program at that time, and also regular tours by the SFO to Los Angeles between 1937 and 1965, which expanded the season into November. However, until well after Merola's death on August 30, 1953, while conducting an open-air concert at Stern Grove , the main San Francisco season rarely extended beyond late October. Kurt Herbert Adler (1905–1988) came to

2232-662: The farewell performance of Beverly Sills opposite Joan Sutherland in Die Fledermaus (1980); the San Diego Opera-commissioned productions by Zandra Rhodes of The Magic Flute (2001) and The Pearl Fishers (2004); and the West Coast premieres of Giuseppe Verdi 's Giovanna d'Arco and I Lombardi , and of Sergei Prokofiev 's The Love for Three Oranges . In a 2023 production of Giacomo Puccini 's one-act comic opera Gianni Schicchi ,

2294-487: The general director was Ian Campbell who achieved considerable success as well as creating financial stability for the company. Campbell left the company in May 2014, following his contentious recommendation to shut the opera. Since 2015 the general director has been David Bennett. On March 19, 2014, the opera's board of directors voted to cease operations after its final performance on April 13, 2014, citing diminishing audiences and increasing costs. The announcement came as

2356-447: The great voices of the past, inviting them to rehearsals, and giving tickets to current productions McEwen hoped to create rounded performers who could appear in the regular Fall season. Among his successes in this regard was the mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick from Nevada. By "hand holding" her through the various stages of training, he prepared her for the role of Azucena in Il trovatore for

2418-499: The house in 1982. A characteristic of the Adler years was the interest in developing stronger connections to opera stage directors in an attempt to strengthen the dramatic and theatrical elements of the works. In this, he was greatly supported by his long relationship with Jean-Pierre Ponnelle , the often-controversial stage director and designer who began his association with SFO in 1957. Several innovations undertaken by Adler included

2480-578: The nine years following the opening season, the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House was designed by Arthur Brown Jr. On October 15, 1932, the company inaugurated the new opera house with a performance of Tosca on with Claudia Muzio in the titular role. Characteristic of Merola's years as general director was the fact (as noted by Chatfield-Taylor) that "the great singers of the world came regularly to San Francisco, often performing several roles in deference to

2542-508: The opera on AM and FM (in multiplex stereo with quadraphonic encoding). The broadcasts were hosted by several well-known announcers, including Scott Beach and Fred Cherry. In the summer of 1972, the San Francisco Opera began its 50th anniversary celebrations with a special free concert in Sigmund Stern Grove. Adler conducted most of the program, which featured performances by many of the surviving singers who had appeared with

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2604-413: The opera. These included Plácido Domingo flying with no notice from New York City to San Francisco – albeit three hours after curtain time – to replace the ailing Carlo Cossutta on the opening night of Otello and the last-minute substitution by Leontyne Price for Margaret Price in the role of Aida. From 1971 to 1979, San Francisco station KKHI broadcast the regular Friday night performances of

2666-741: The planetarium's 360-degree dome. In October 2010, GCO with Tectonic Theater Project presented the U.S. premiere of Xavier Montsalvatge 's El gato con botas  [ es ] ( Puss in Boots ). The production was directed by Moisés Kaufman , with bunraku puppetry by the Blind Summit Theatre of London. The opera premiered at the New Victory Theater in New York City. In November 2010, Gotham Chamber Opera, Music-Theatre Group and Opera Philadelphia announced

2728-562: The public and draws some 30,000 listeners. The concert is presented in conjunction with the non-profit San Francisco Parks Trust and the San Francisco Chronicle Charities. By the 1970s, the company was highly successful and offered audiences the "cream of the crop" of internationally known singers, but with Adler often bringing in unknowns to make their American debuts or the surprise of well-known singers replacing ailing ones, there were some exciting nights at

2790-652: The radio and offered her a role in Dialogues of the Carmelites in 1957, thus providing her with her first performance on a major operatic stage. A short time later in the same season, she was to step into the role of Aida at short notice to replace Antonietta Stella , a role which gave her long-lived international acclaim. Adler developed a strong professional relationship with Birgit Nilsson . Nilsson made her US-debut in San Francisco in 1956. She returned almost every season for 26 years and made her last appearance in

2852-555: The running of an opera company. In January 1982 McEwen was running the SFO. Given his expertise and background in understanding opera and the wonders of the human voice, it is not surprising that his approach in his early years was away from the theatrical side and more focused on singers. With his Ring Cycle which began in the Summer 1983 and Fall 1984 seasons — and which was presented in its entirety in June 1985 – McEwen demonstrated where his priorities lay: they were focused on hiring

2914-741: The short season and long travel time across the country." Edwin MacArthur led the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in several 78-rpm recordings for RCA Victor in the late 1930s, including performances by soprano Kirsten Flagstad . Some of these were later reissued by RCA on LP and CD. Short versions of all the works in the season were broadcast on about 30 California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and British Columbia radio stations, starting about 1941. Merola's tenure lasted 30 years. Characteristics of Merola's SFO included creating opportunities for young American singers regardless of

2976-605: The summer 1986 season to great acclaim. During the 1983 fall season, the student/family matinee performances of La traviata were presented with supertitles . These are English translations of the libretto projected over the proscenium simultaneously with the action on stage. The overwhelmingly favorable response prompted the company to introduce the practice in increasing numbers of performances in subsequent seasons. Supertitles are now used for all San Francisco Opera productions and SFO also rents its supertitles internationally to other opera companies. In 1986, Sir John Pritchard

3038-640: The summer. Many went on to international careers, among them Carol Vaness and Thomas Hampson . Another innovation was "Opera in the Park" which, since 1971, has been an annual free concert in Golden Gate Park on the Sunday following opening night of the Fall Season. It traditionally features artists from the opening weekend in full concert with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. The event is open to

3100-421: The winter of 2007, Rossini 's Il signor Bruschino received its first major professional New York staging in more than half a century. In the 2007/08 season, the company presented New York City's first staged production of Astor Piazzolla 's 1968 tango opera María de Buenos Aires , as well as Scenes of Gypsy Life , a fully staged evening of song cycles by Janáček and Dvořák , and Ariadne Unhinged ,

3162-438: The world premieres of Gian Carlo Menotti 's La Loca (1979, written for and starring Beverly Sills); Myron Fink 's The Conquistador (1993); and Alva Henderson's Medea . United States premieres included Daniel Catán 's Rapaccini's Daughter , Hans Werner Henze 's Der junge Lord , Riccardo Zandonai 's Giulietta e Romeo, and Emmanuel Chabrier 's Gwendoline . Additional notable performances and productions include

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3224-415: Was Walter Herbert , who served in that position from 1965 until his death in 1975. Tito Capobianco served as general director from 1976 to 1983, during which time he "expanded the season to six productions, featuring renowned superstars such as Joan Sutherland , Luciano Pavarotti and Beverly Sills ", as well as beginning an annual two-opera Verdi Festival which ceased in 1984 after his departure. Until

3286-714: Was Adler's hand-picked successor. Growing up in the Montreal area of Canada, McEwen learned to love opera at an early age, listened to the Met broadcasts, and at age 14, made a trip to New York one winter break to hear several of his favorite operas, which included Bidu Sayão and Jussi Björling in Rigoletto . As a singer, Sayão was forever to remain his passion, one which was accentuated by seeing her in Manon performances in Montreal. His passion for opera in general led him to visit

3348-823: Was also presented in June 2012 as part of Opera Philadelphia's chamber opera series at the Perelman Theater in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts . Gotham scheduled two workshops and orchestra readings, in November 2010 and March 2011, for the new work. Gotham Chamber Opera included appearances on WNYC , displays at Bergdorf Goodman and Prada SoHo , annual collaborations with the Gagosian Gallery , and performances in various Manhattan venues. The company's activities also included school residencies, workshops, and free rehearsals. GCO

3410-460: Was announced that Gockley's contract was to be extended through SFO's 2015–16 season. In October 2014 it was announced that Gockley would be stepping down from his post at the end of the 2015/16 season. His replacement was announced to be Matthew Shilvock in September 2015. Gotham Chamber Opera Gotham Chamber Opera was a professional opera company located in New York City. The company

3472-575: Was appointed music director and served until 1989. On 8 February 1988, McEwen announced his resignation. The following day his mentor, Kurt Herbert Adler, died. Lotfi Mansouri (born 1929) was already a known quantity when Terry McEwen announced his retirement. Then head of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto , Mansouri had received an education in medicine in Los Angeles, but gave it all up upon becoming fixated on opera, first as

3534-402: Was appointed to the newly created position of artistic adviser to SDO. Mason commented, "They want me to help guide the company though the next season or two....I'll finalize some artistic and production details, help reduce expenses and get the board and the staff working together to figure out what the company can and should do as it moves forward." Later that month the board announced plans for

3596-427: Was chosen as acting president; she proposed that the opera reorganize rather than shut down. The national organization OPERA America was reported to be working with board members to come up with a list of possible savings and reforms. On April 25 it was announced that director Campbell and his ex-wife, who was also a high-ranking administrator with the opera, had both been placed on paid administrative leave. On May 15

3658-534: Was director of the Canadian Opera Company where, in 1983, he had introduced the revolutionary supertitles. Mansouri's feelings on the effects of titling was that the audience would be more engaged in the performance. This was a momentous change in the world of opera. Mansouri introduced many new operas to the SFO repertory. These included more Russian operas with the highlight being Valery Gergiev 's conducting of Prokofiev 's War and Peace and

3720-670: Was founded in 2000 under the name of the Henry Street Chamber Opera by Artistic Director Neal Goren and specialized in producing rarely performed chamber operas from the Baroque era to the present. In 2003, it changed its name to the Gotham Chamber Opera (GCO) after incorporating as an independent 501(c)(3) organization . Its Executive Director was Edward Barnes , who took over from David Bennett. It closed in 2015. The company first presented

3782-400: Was named music director and principal conductor of SFO in 1990, and assumed the posts in 1992. In November 1992, Mansouri introduced "Pacific Visions", an ambitious program designed to maintain the vitality of the opera repertoire through new commissions and the presentation of unusual repertoire. It was launched with the commissioning of the following operas: Summing up his years at the SFO,

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3844-528: Was not the board's natural choice to replace Merola at the time of his death in 1953. After three months of acting as artistic director, and with the assistance of its president, Robert Watt Miller, Adler was confirmed as general director. Adler's had several aims in taking over the company. One was to expand the season which in Merola's time ran. It changed from the Friday after Labor Day until early November (when

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