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SF Opera’s 2014-2015 Season

Open-house-david-wakelySeptember 5-30 2014: Norma
September 6-21 2014: Susannah
October 4-22 2014: Un Ballo in Maschera
October 15- November 2 2014: Partenope
October 23- November 8 2014: Tosca
November 9-26 2014: Cenerentola
November 14- December 7 2014: La Bohème
June 7- July 1 2015: Les Troyens
June 13-30 2015: La Ciociara
June 14- July 5 2015: Le Nozze di Figaro

David Gockley announced San Francisco Opera‘s 2014-2015 season today. The season starts with Bellini’s Norma starring Sondra Radvanovsky. Patricia Racette and Brandon Jovanovich sing in Susannah. Danielle de Niese sings the title role in Partenope, with Anthony Roth Costanzo as Armindo. Susan Graham is Dido in Les Troyens. Anna Caterina Antonacci and Sarah Shafer star in the world premiere of Marco Tutino and Fabio Ceresa’s La Ciociara.

Press Release [PDF] | Official Site

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17 responses to “SF Opera’s 2014-2015 Season”

  1. Joggerboy Avatar
    Joggerboy

    Is it really necessary to play Tosca AGAIN? It’s one of my favorites, but come on! And is there really no other option for Mozart but Le Nozze di Figaro? They also just did it a couple of years ago. Why not something more exotic? La Finta Giardiniera has been doing the rounds lately.
    I’m actually REALLY excited for Partenope and Les Troyens (especially Partenope), but I’m going to college this year, so I’ll unfortunately probably only be able to catch the latter.
    And it’s very interesting for Ballo to be set in Sweden with the correct names of the characters. That should be done more often!

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  2. Roberto Avatar
    Roberto

    OT,
    Do you know why Nicola Luisotti is only conducting two operas?
    It is a very interesting season despite the fact that it is one more season without Strauss.

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  3. sfmike Avatar
    sfmike

    Les Troyens! At last, with Runnicles conducting besides. And though I know nothing about Susannah, the cast is great and the director is Michael Cavanagh, the young Canadian who did Nixon in China. Hurrah! As for the Puccini operas, I hope they sell lots of tickets, but I’ve put that composer on my Verboten list for the next decade because life is too short.

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  4. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    I believe the more obscure Puccini (Rondine) and Mozart (Idomeneo) did poorly at the box office. Really unfortunate.
    Excited for Partenope and Les Troyens too. Also curious about Un Ballo.

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  5. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    I believe Luisotti’s contract might come to an end in 2015 or 2016, so perhaps that’s part of it. It is normal for him to conduct 2 operas in the fall and 1 in the summer, so probably he has an engagement elsewhere the summer of 2015.

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  6. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Agreed. Excited to hear Runnicles conduct again, Susannah has a fine cast, and the thought of these same Puccini operas yet again bores me to tears. Thankful though that we have 10 operas rather than 8.

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  7. calimax Avatar
    calimax

    Looks like Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas will go to the LA Opera instead.

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  8. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Interesting!

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  9. knights-tale Avatar
    knights-tale

    I think the season is very indicative of Gockley’s reign as general director lately (which the Chronicle reports will end 2016, a needed transition I think). Some innovative stuff, a fair amount of bland reheated crowd-pleasers.
    Each year there are two or three really fascinating choices, and the rest…meh. Gockley has been dealt a rough hand and amazingly kept the ship afloat. But that doesn’t mean I have to like how he’s beaten great works like Tosca/Butterfly/Figaro into the ground and made them almost meaningless.
    The new “La boheme” (not well-received in Houston) looks a bit cheap; even the press copy damns it with faint praise. Why they’ve replaced Michael Yeargan’s gorgeous productions of “Butterfly” and “Boheme” is beyond me.
    And there is again a noticeable abundance of less-expensive current and former Adler fellows in major roles. And still a dearth of world-class tenors (Jovanovich and Hymel notwithstanding).
    I’m thrilled that “Les Troyens” has finally made it to San Francisco in what looks like a pretty interesting production. And it’s well-cast (luckily my series has Antonacci as Cassandra). That’s the Gockley planning smarts I wish we saw more often.
    Interested to see what a new “Norma” looks like. Glad to see “Susannah” has also finally made it to SF with a perfectly-cast Patricia Racette. I’ve never heard a note of it, and I’m excited to finally encounter it.
    I’ve never thought of SFO as a Handel house, so I’m always puzzled when his stuff is programmed. I’d rather hear Philharmonia Baroque do it.
    “Two Women” probably won’t break a recent streak of dismal world premieres, but we’ll see. I’m sure Antonacci will burn up the stage. And glad SFO leads all U.S. houses in new work.
    The revivals look kinda ho-hum, yet again. Nice to hear “Cenerentola” after a decade, but the Ponelle production will be half a century old when it goes up next year.
    So another year with three truly exciting possibilities, an iffy new work, and some warmed over revivals.
    Maybe in his last few seasons, Gockley will just go crazy and start really doing some interesting stuff. I love Puccini more than anything, but maybe a season without him…it would only make me appreciate him more!

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  10. Tony Fairfax Avatar
    Tony Fairfax

    So glad we are up to 10 operas! And happy Sasha Cooke is returning, and that Opera for Families will be back with La Boheme.
    Did anyone see the listing in the SF Business Times of non-profit executives. Gockley is ranked 3rd with annual compensation pegged at $1.5 million for FY12. I don’t know if that is because of a one-time payout, or his average annual salary. But that is almost exactly the amount of loss reported by SF Opera during the same fiscal year.

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  11. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    I doubt that Gockley will go crazy with his last seasons, and am sure because of how far in advance things are scheduled, that we will be seeing his work beyond 2016. His scheduling always seems to have a mix, indeed.
    Must say that I’m annoyed my half subscription has Bohème in it, but at least it isn’t both Puccini operas.

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  12. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    That is so interesting, thanks for sharing that.

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  13. Philip M. Haggerty Avatar
    Philip M. Haggerty

    When we be able to find the dates and buy tickets for Der Meistersinger Vom Nurmberg

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  14. shaun Avatar
    shaun

    His contract is up in ’16…conducting fewer and fewer operas as that gets closer

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  15. shaun Avatar
    shaun

    Advance scheduling ain’t what it used to be…things change, even a year out

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  16. shaun Avatar
    shaun

    provided it even happens…

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  17. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Thanks for the heads up!

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