CENTENNIAL CONCERT San Francisco CA 2023 Michael Fabiano, Lawrence Brownlee, Karita Mattila, Ailyn Pérez, Patricia Racette, Nina Stemme

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: Centennial Concert  
• Composer: various  
• Libretto: various  
• Venue & Opera Company: War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, California  
• Recorded: June 16, 2023
• Type: Concert Live
• Singers: Karita Mattila, Ailyn Pérez, Patricia Racette, Nina Stemme, Heidi Stober, Adela Zaharia, Susan Graham, Daniela Mack, Lawrence Brownlee, Michael Fabiano, Brandon Jovanovich, Russell Thomas, Lucas Meachem, Brian Mulligan, Christian Van Horn
• Conductor: Eun Sun Kim, Donald Runnicles, Patrick Summers will conduct the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus  
• Orchestra: San Francisco Opera Orchestra  
• Chorus: San Francisco Opera Chorus  
• Stage Director:   
• Costume Designer:   

Information about the Recording

• Published by: San Francisco Opera  
• Date Published: 2023  
• Format: Streaming
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: nosubs  
• This Recording is NOT AVAILABLE from a proper commercial or public source
•  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

Founded in 1923 and only the third American opera company to reach the centennial milestone, San Francisco Opera invites Bay Area audiences and the global music community to join in this celebration, which will be livestreamed at sfopera.com/digital/livestream beginning at 6 p.m. PT. The evening’s specially curated program traverses the musical styles, artistic traditions and thrilling moments of San Francisco Opera. Pairing many of the Company’s beloved artists with archival imagery spanning San Francisco Opera’s first 100 years and unforgettable music, this celebratory retrospective is an event not to be missed.

The evening will feature selections from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Tannhäuser, three works that marked a dramatic acceleration for the Company on the way to opening the 1935 season with its first-ever Ring cycle. European masterpieces of the twentieth century are signified with selections from the works of Benjamin Britten, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Leoš Janáček. Excerpts from Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades) and Janáček’s Jenůfa represent the proud Slavic traditions first explored by the Company in the 1930s and later with unforgettable performances and premieres that reintroduced many powerful masterworks into the repertory of American opera.

San Francisco Opera’s status as a pioneer in staging long-overlooked baroque (and earlier) operas is highlighted with selections from Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, which entered the Company’s repertory in 1975, an aria from Handel’s Xerses and the rarely heard mezzo-soprano aria “Amour viens rendre à mon âme” from Hector’s Berlioz’s 1859 French version of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. The operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which entered the Company’s repertory comparatively late, and the French repertoire, a staple since the first season, are denoted with music from Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

The Company’s longstanding reputation as a commissioner of new works and its relationship with composer John Adams are both observed with the inclusion of “Batter my heart” from Doctor Atomic, one of three operas by the Bay Area composer to have its world premiere on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House. A highlight from Stephen Sondheim’s Follies is presented as a tribute to the Company’s presentations of American musical theater.

Program

Prelude from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Richard Wagner, 1813–1883)

San Francisco Opera Orchestra
Eun Sun Kim, conductor

“Amour, viens rendre à mon âme” from Orphée et Eurydice
(Christoph Willibald Gluck, 1714–1787)

1859 Performing Edition by Hector Berlioz

Daniela Mack, mezzo-soprano
Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor

“Pur ti miro” from L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Claudio Monteverdi, 1567–1643)

Heidi Stober, soprano
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Patrick Summers, conductor

“Odi il voto” from Ernani (Giuseppe Verdi, 1813–1901)

Russell Thomas, tenor
San Francisco Opera Chorus
Eun Sun Kim, conductor

Pierrot’s Tanzlied from Die tote Stadt (Erich Wolfgang Korngold, 1897–1957)

Lucas Meachem, baritone
Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor

Embroidery Aria from Peter Grimes (Benjamin Britten, 1913–1976)

Heidi Stober, soprano
Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor

“Vicino a te” from Andrea Chénier (Umberto Giordano, 1867–1948)

Ailyn Pérez, soprano
Michael Fabiano, tenor
Eun Sun Kim, conductor

“Va, pensiero” from Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi)

San Francisco Opera Chorus
Patrick Summers, conductor

“Ch’ella mi creda” from La fanciulla del West (Giacomo Puccini, 1858–1924)

Brandon Jovanovich, tenor
Eun Sun Kim, conductor

“Tre sbirri … Va ,Tosca … Te Deum” from Tosca (Giacomo Puccini)

Christian Van Horn, bass-baritone
San Francisco Opera Chorus
Eun Sun Kim, conductor

—INTERMISSION—

Entrance of the Guests from Tannhäuser (Richard Wagner)

San Francisco Opera Chorus
Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor

“Batter My Heart” from Doctor Atomic (John Adams, b. 1947)

Brian Mulligan, baritone
Eun Sun Kim, conductor

“Co chvila” from Jenůfa (Leoš Janáček, 1854–1928)

Karita Mattila, soprano
Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor

“Losing My Mind” from Follies (Stephen Sondheim, 1930–2021)

Patricia Racette, soprano
Patrick Summers, conductor

“Je veux vivre” from Roméo et Juliette (Charles Gounod, 1818–1893)

Adela Zaharia, soprano
Eun Sun Kim, conductor

“Ombra mai fu” from Xerxes (George Frideric Handel, 1685–1759)

Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Patrick Summers, conductor

“Prosti, nebesnoye sozdanye” from Pikovaya Dama (The Queen of Spades)
(Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1840–1893)

Brandon Jovanovich, tenor
Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor

“Là ci darem la mano” from Don Giovanni (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756–1791)

Heidi Stober, soprano
Christian Van Horn, bass-baritone
Eun Sun Kim, conductor

Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde (Richard Wagner)

Nina Stemme, soprano
Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor

“Cessa di più resistere” from Il barbiere di Siviglia (Gioachino Rossini, 1792–1868)

Lawrence Brownlee, tenor
San Francisco Opera Chorus
Patrick Summers, conductor

“Ave Signor” from Mefistofele (Arrigo Boito, 1842–1918)

San Francisco Opera Chorus
Eun Sun Kim, conductor