The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Merola Opera Program
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* Notes * The 2025 class of Merola is quite strong. The Grand Finale for the program was held last night at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. Conducted by Maestro Kelly Kuo, the lively orchestra was not always perfectly synchronized with the singers, but for the most part everyone sounded great. The…
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* Notes * Merola Opera Program opened a delightful production of Le Comte Ory (Eva Rae Martinez as Comtesse Adèle and Minghao Liu as Le Comte Ory in Act II pictured left, photograph by Kristen Loken) last night at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall. This funny Rossini rarity has…
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* Notes*The Merola Opera Program presented the first of two Schwabacher Summer Concerts (Baritone Joeavian Rivera as Dr. Malatesta, bass John Mburu as Don Pasquale, soprano Chea Kang as Norina, and tenor Tristan Tournaud pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken ) last night at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The singers who do not fit into…
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* Notes*A number of young artists from the Merola Opera Program gave a recital of American songs curated by pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg (pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken) last Thursday evening. Six singer/pianist duos were featured for a very cute performance to kick off the summer's Merola festivities. It was fun to hear the pianists,…
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* Notes * This year's Merola Grand Finale was held last night at San Francisco Opera. It is always interesting to hear singers on the main stage with the full orchestra, conducted here by Steven White. The set was from Tristan und Isolde, which opens next month. There were lighting effects and two stagehands would…
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* Notes * Patricia Racette's production of Don Giovanni (end of Act I pictured left, photograph by Kristen Loken) opened at Merola Opera Program last night in San Francisco. There was lots of very strong singing and the direction felt very human and sensible. Set in 1950s Rome, the stage featured lots of screens and…
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* Notes * The Merola Grand Finale (participants pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken) was held Saturday night on the main stage of the War Memorial Opera House. It was great to hear the singers with the full orchestra conducted by Kelly Kuo. The set looked to be a scene from Il Trovatore, which opens the…
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* Notes * The Merola held a recital entitled Metamorphosis: Recovery, Renewal, and Rebirth last night at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Curated by Carrie-Ann Matheson and Nicholas Phan (pictured, photograph from Kristen Loken), this evening of art song featured a variety of composers, pianists, and of course, very strong singing from the new…
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* Notes * The Merola Grand Finale (pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken) returned to the War Memorial Opera House last night for the first time since 2019. It was a joy to hear all these talented singers in person and in the opera house. The stage was simple, basically three white screens and different colored…
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SopranosAmanda Batista, Manchester, New Jersey Adia Evans, Baltimore, MarylandMaggie Kinabrew, West Hartford, ConnecticutChelsea Lehnea, Chattanooga, TennesseeCeleste Morales, San Antonio, TexasOlivia Prendergast, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaAshley Marie Robillard, Norton, MassachusettsArianna Rodriguez, Fairfax, VirginiaOlivia Smith, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada Mezzo-SopranosVeena Akama-Makia, Little Rock, Arkansas Nikola Adele Printz, Oakland, CaliforniaMaggie Reneé, Los Angeles, CaliforniaErin Wagner, El Paso, Texas TenorsDaniel Luis…
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