The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Merola Opera Program
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* Notes * San Francisco Opera‘s training program, Merola, held another virtual recital for the holidays via Vimeo with pianist James Harp, soprano Amber R. Monroe, tenor Edward Graves, and bass Kevin Thompson. I watched right when it was released last Sunday with my small children and it proved to be the perfect bit of…
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* Notes * Last Sunday the Merola Opera Program held a virtual recital of luminous mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis (pictured) accompanied by pianist Jeanne-Minette Cilliers over Vimeo. The concise, direct performance showcased Bryce-Davis' beautiful voice and lovely warmth as an artist. The recital began with four pieces in German. Bryce-Davis has a well-supported sound that seems…
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* Notes * Last month the Merola Opera Program filmed a series of pieces featuring the 2021 participants in the Herbst Theatre under the title Back Home: Through the Stage Door. Directed by David Paul, the 17 vignettes established a lovely warmth and intimacy. The banter between bass-baritone Andrew Dwan (Presto) and tenor Gabriel Hernandez…
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* Notes * The Merola Grand Finale took place in person on July 31, with a filmed version released to donors on August 20. Directed by Merola Stage Director Audrey Chait, the performance at the Bandshell in Golden Gate Park looked and sounded delightful. The recital featured five singers accompanied by two of the apprentice…
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* Notes * Merola, San Francisco Opera‘s summer training program, had a first in-person performance (pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken) on July 3, with a filmed version released to donors on July 16. Curated by African American mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller and Asian American tenor Nicholas Phan, the program — titled “What the Heart Desires” —…
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SopranosEmily Blair, Hoffman Estates, Illinois Catherine Goode, Friendswood, TexasMagdalena Kuźma, New York, New YorkCeleste Morales, San Antonio, TexasAshley Marie Robillard, Norton, MassachusettsMikayla Sager, Vancouver, BC, CanadaJohanna Will, Dresden, Germany Mezzo-SopranosGabrielle Barkidjija, River Forest, Illinois Gabrielle Beteag, Atlanta, GeorgiaJesse Mashburn, Hartselle, AlabamaNikola Printz, Novato, California TenorsVictor Cardamone, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaGabriel Hernandez, Tampa, FloridaPhilippe L’Esperance, Grafton, MassachusettsTianchi Zhang,…
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* Notes * The San Francisco Opera training program Merola successfully held a virtual recital last Sunday using Vimeo. Featuring tenor Issachah Savage (pictured), a Merola alum from 2013, the beautiful singing was entirely in German. The recital was entitled "Anything for Love and Honor" and included arias and songs by Richard Strauss, Hugo Wolf,…
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* Notes * The Merola Opera Program of San Francisco Opera tried to hold a virtual recital back at the beginning of February using Vimeo. Featuring soprano Karen Slack (pictured, photograph by Scott Grieder) with pianist Mary Pinto, the weather in Philadelphia interrupted the performance several times and ultimately they had to rerecord the recital…
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* Notes * Merola, San Francisco Opera's training program, held a third virtual recital yesterday afternoon via Zoom with pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg, soprano Maria Valdes, mezzo-soprano Alice Chung, tenor Casey Candebat, and bass-baritone Christian Pursell. It was a lovely 50 minutes of wide-ranging music from these musicians that live all over the country. Candebat…
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* Notes * San Francisco Opera‘s training program Merola held another virtual recital yesterday afternoon via Zoom with vocal coaches and collaborative pianists Tamara Sanikidze (pictured left) and Edoardo Barsotti. It was lovely to see these artists usually behind the scenes highlighted. Sanikidze opened the performance with Three Intermezzi for piano, Op. 117 by Johannes…
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