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SF Opera’s 2013-2014 Season


Open-house-david-wakelySeptember 6- October 2 2013: Mefistofele
September 18- October 4 2013: Dolores Claiborne
October 8- November 2 2013: Falstaff
October 22- November 15 2013: Der fliegender Holländer
November 13- December 1 2013: Il barbiere di Siviglia
June 1- July 2 2014: Show Boat
June 11- July 13 2014: La Traviata
June 15- July 9 2014: Madama Butterfly

David Gockley announced San Francisco Opera‘s 2013-2014 season today. The season starts with Boito’s Mefistofele starring Ildar Abdrazakov, Ramón Vargas, and Patricia Racette. Racette returns for Show Boat and Butterfly in the summer. Dolora Zajick sings the title role in the world premiere of Tobias Picker and J.D. McClatchy’s Dolores Claiborne. Bryn Terfel is Falstaff and Greer Grimsley is the Holländer. Ailyn Perez and Sonya Yoncheva share the role of Violetta in Traviata, with Stephen Costello and Saimir Pirgu as Alfredo.

Press Release [PDF] | Official Site

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13 responses to “SF Opera’s 2013-2014 Season”

  1. -SactoOpera Fan Avatar
    -SactoOpera Fan

    Is it just me or does this Season seem unpromising? I can’t believe they are doing Madama Butterfly again!! At least Pat Racette will be singing the title role. I was expecting Boheme as the Puccini opera for the season.
    Thoughts?

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  2. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    I am more curious about the Boito than I was of Bellini this season. I am also so glad we get to hear Terfel. The appearance of Butterfly yet again on the schedule is a bit frustrating, especially since it was just at LA Opera too. I am interested to see Jun Kaneko’s production of Butterfly though.

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  3. Lilacrobin Avatar
    Lilacrobin

    Thrilled to have Francesca’s Showboat on the horizon! Woo-hoo! Thrilled also to see Terfel in a role he was born to play! Stephen Costello will be a heartbeaking Alfredo and Greer Grimsley a powerful (and dare I say it) sexy Dutchman! Vargas and Racette should be strong in Mefistofele.
    All in all…not a bad season… (Dolores Clairborne…..really?)
    Happy Holidays!
    ♥ Robin ♥

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  4. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Show Boat will be charming. There are some good casts here, definitely.
    We’ve had a lot of new operas lately!

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  5. Roberto Avatar
    Roberto

    Lame. Lame. Lame.
    No Strauss (again). No creativity. Worst selection of the last 10 years.
    As for Showboat, this is opera, not Broadway.
    Boito??? You are joking…

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  6. JSC-SF Avatar
    JSC-SF

    I am really looking forward to Terfel in Falstaff, the new Dutchman (I’ve seen a clip of it from the Belgium company), the new Barber of Seville, and especially Jun Kaneko’s Butterfly w/ Jagde and Racette. It’s gorgeous and features Kaneko’s trademark bright colors and play on shapes and geometry!

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  7. Sibyl Avatar
    Sibyl

    Yaaaawwwn. I remember the Boito from a lifetime ago when it was with Ramey, and thank God it was Ramey, because the opera itself was creaky. Love Terfel, but it’s a fair bet that he’ll cancel: cancelling is kind of what he does. Not a fan of Picker, but Zajick is always worth the price of a ticket. Show Boat has great songs, but the show itself is really, really, really long and tortured, very hard to make seem at all real, given that there’s talking to do, not just singing. I mean, can ANYONE make Gaylord Ravenal and Magnolia seem like human beings? Costello and Perez might be interesting cast opposite each other, but not enough to get me to sit through yet another Traviata. Yaaaawwn.

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  8. knights-tale Avatar
    knights-tale

    I have to say I’m both over- and underwhelmed. I’ve never seen the Boito piece live, and it boasts a strong cast.
    It’s been a while since we’ve had a “Falstaff” and if Mr. Terfel doesn’t cancel it should be fun. I enjoyed his Nick Shadow ages ago. Though in general I really don’t care for Lyric Opera of Chicago productions. I wish Mr. Gockley would find other companies to rent from.
    I don’t think the Wagner and Verdi anniversaries are being celebrated in any meaningful way. “Traviata” again? A borrowed “Falstaff?” At least the Wagner production is new (the last borrowed production of “Dutchman” was just ugly and not surprisingly from Chicago).
    Kinda ho-hum on “Dolores Claiborne” but we’ll see. SFO new works are really hit-or-miss. At least they consistently present new work though.
    The inclusion of “Madama Butterfly” is ridiculous. How many times can SFO offer it? Mr. Gockley is making Puccini simply a butts-in-seats sorta thing and really diminishing his works.
    It was the same with this year’s “Tosca.” Did we really need it again so soon? No.
    I very much liked the Kaneko-designed “Magic Flute” but enough to sit through his “Butterfly?” The Harold Prince production two years ago was a creaky, tacky affair. Not to mention poorly sung. If you’re going to mount it for the millionth time, use the Yeargan production. It’s well-crafted and can’t be any more expensive than shipping sets from Omaha (Omaha?!?!).
    It’s been a while since SFO last mounted then threw out their clunky Rosenberg era “Barber” (an example of colossal waste if there ever was one). So it’ll be interesting to see a new production, though it’s never been one of my fave operas.
    “Show Boat?” Not sure I have an opinion. It’s a gorgeous musical. But is it an opera? Kinda strikes me as a ham-handed attempt at populism.
    I was hoping productions of “Meistersinger,” “Adriana Lecouvreur” and “Les Troyens” would be coming in 2013, all of which SFO has already co-produced in other cities.
    I have three questions for the group:
    1) What’s the wisdom of offering Patricia Racette in THREE operas? Can SFO not engage other sopranos?
    2) Once again, where are the superstar tenors?
    3) Why did SFO announce this so early?

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  9. Doug G Avatar
    Doug G

    Hmm. The Dutchman looks promising and everything else strikes me as uninspired. Then again, I adored the Bellini in October, so I’m clearly out of step with many. I hope it is a very successful season. OT: Thanks, as always, for your quick and informative posts.

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  10. Roberto Avatar
    Roberto

    knights-tale,
    1) This is not San Francisco opera anymore. It is Patricia Racette Opera.
    2) Good question.
    3) Another good question.

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  11. Shane Avatar
    Shane

    I agree with Doug. I thought the Bellini opera was fantastic. Showboat? Really? It’s not even an opera. If I buy season tickets to the Warriors, I don’t expect to see a hockey game on the schedule. Looking forward to Falstaff and Madame Butterfly. I’m fairly new to the opera world so I actually haven’t seen Madame Butterfly yet. Next year is Britten’s 100th anniversary – I was hoping for Peter Grimes or Turn of the Screw.

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  12. Sibyl Avatar
    Sibyl

    You are not alone: I loved the Bellini, also. My opera-going buddy and I both did.

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  13. shawn Avatar
    shawn

    1) $$ we get her relatively ‘cheap’
    2) true superstars? IMO, there aren’t any and the ones that are close are booked at the MET. that said…make sure to see Hoffman 😉
    3) so much had already been leaked…might as well let it go.
    I would agree…Butterfly has been overdone lately…I’d rather run Boheme every other year in Dec (possibly out of house).
    (a new production is coming up)
    Showboat will sell tickets…’nuf said
    from the stage POV

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