As you may notice, there hasn't been a post on this blog for a couple of weeks. The reason for this is that I get particularly busy during the actual show. Now that it's done, I can fill you in on how the show went. In the future, I hope to have all of this information and much more available on our official website, at www.sflyricopera.org, including photos and the programs of all past productions.
Our opening Friday performance, a reviewer for San Francisco Classical Voice and The Examiner attended. I've included a link to his review via SFCV: http://www.sfcv.org/arts_revs/sflyricopera_2_27_07.php
Our lighting designer David Ransom was gracious enough to take pictures of the stage during our opening weekend. I will post a select few favourites of mine shortly, and hopefully post many more at a later date.
Coming up is our production of Lucia di Lammermoor in late May and early June. Another performance many of you may be interested in viewing is San Francisco Conservatory of Music's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten. I believe their production is April 12-14 evenings and a matinee on April 15th.
Photos coming soon!
Friday, March 9, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
buy tickets for Romeo & Juliet now!
Our production of Romeo & Juliet is just around the corner. Though there are still tickets available, there might not be for long. If you have an interest in seeing this amazing production, you should purchase your tickets as soon as possible.
Contact City Box Office at (415) 392 4400 or online at www.cityboxoffice.com for season passes or individual tickets. For group discounts and other information, contact us at sflyricopera@hotmail.com or (800 919 8088.
Closing weekend normally sells out, but it's looking like opening weekend might go first. Saturday Feb. 24th is filling up fast. If you'd like a chance at better seats, you may want to consider the other evenings. But don't let me stop you from going the night you'd like to.
I hope to see everyone down at the opera these next couple of weeks!
Contact City Box Office at (415) 392 4400 or online at www.cityboxoffice.com for season passes or individual tickets. For group discounts and other information, contact us at sflyricopera@hotmail.com or (800 919 8088.
Closing weekend normally sells out, but it's looking like opening weekend might go first. Saturday Feb. 24th is filling up fast. If you'd like a chance at better seats, you may want to consider the other evenings. But don't let me stop you from going the night you'd like to.
I hope to see everyone down at the opera these next couple of weeks!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
discounted tickets!
We will be placing a number of our Romeo & Juliet opening weekend tickets up for discounted purchase online, through Goldstar Events. I'm currently unsure of the exact nature of the discount, however once the tickets are available the details can be found at the Goldstar Events website.
www.goldstarevents.com
Other discount inquiries, such as group rates, can be sent to the Lyric Opera at sflyricopera@hotmail.com or 800-919-8088.
Tickets will start going fast, so don't forget to get yours now!
www.goldstarevents.com
Other discount inquiries, such as group rates, can be sent to the Lyric Opera at sflyricopera@hotmail.com or 800-919-8088.
Tickets will start going fast, so don't forget to get yours now!
Monday, February 5, 2007
Romeo & Juliet press release
The Lyric Opera is issuing press releases to the surrounding newspapers and other outlets of mainstream information. Therefore, I present to you the first press release I've ever written or issued. Feel free to share the press release with anyone who can read. Or not. We don't discriminate. And don't forget to call for your own tickets!
PRESS RELEASE - San Francisco Lyric Opera does romance
San Francisco Lyric Opera opens its 2007 season with the timeless story of love and conflict in Charles Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet at the end of this month, and it’s looking to be an amazing show.
In the words of stage director Heather Carolo, “[Romeo and Juliet] invented the concept of love and romance.” Jimmy Kansau and Meagan Todd are performing the roles of Romeo and Juliet respectively, and with many other talented singers on the cast the Lyric Opera looks to continue its trend of displaying quality opera and entertainment for all ages to enjoy.
From modest beginnings in churches and community halls, the Lyric Opera took a significant step, moving to the beautiful Florence Gould Theater in 2004. Productions receive excellent reviews and the shows are typically sold-out, with 10% of the seats left available to children ages under 12. At the end of 2005, "the Lyric Opera - San Francisco's inspirational, secondary opera company" and after Tosca this year, "the Lyric Opera has set a new standard of excellence for itself."
The Lyric Opera, San Francisco’s second opera company, will be presenting more beloved favourites in 2007.
Romeo and Juliet February 23, 24, March 2, 3 - 2007
Lucia di Lammermoor May 25, 26, June 1, 2 - 2007
The Tales of Hoffmann September 21, 22, 28, 29 - 2007
Die Fledermaus December 7, 8, 14, 15 - 2007
All performances will begin at 7:30pm at Florence Gould Theater in the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park. With seating for 320 and excellent acoustics, classical opera at Florence Gould is an intimate and therefore exceptional experience. The beauty of the building, its painted ceiling, and comfortable seating, all with a good view of the stage, only enhance the pleasure of an evening at the Lyric Opera.
Founded in 1996, the Lyric Opera has three principal objectives:
- To present quality classical opera at prices that more people can afford.
- To provide San Francisco children in particular with the opportunity to hear opera and perhaps turn today's younger generation into tomorrow's opera patron.
- To provide a venue for young Bay Area singers to perform.
Operas are classically staged, in costume, with scenery and sung in the original language with English supertitles and orchestral accompaniment.
San Francisco Lyric Opera has an inspiring future, introducing quality, classical opera to thousands who might otherwise never experience it.
Ticket are: General Admission $32 Available through:
Students $18 City Box Office 415 392 4400
Children under12 FREE www.cityboxoffice.com
Groups by arrangement At the theatre before performances
Season Tickets for 4 Operas $100 and $56
For more information call 1 800 919 8088 or visit www.sflyricopera.org
February 2007
PRESS RELEASE - San Francisco Lyric Opera does romance
Meagan Todd (Juliet) and Jimmy Kansau (Romeo)
San Francisco Lyric Opera opens its 2007 season with the timeless story of love and conflict in Charles Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet at the end of this month, and it’s looking to be an amazing show.
In the words of stage director Heather Carolo, “[Romeo and Juliet] invented the concept of love and romance.” Jimmy Kansau and Meagan Todd are performing the roles of Romeo and Juliet respectively, and with many other talented singers on the cast the Lyric Opera looks to continue its trend of displaying quality opera and entertainment for all ages to enjoy.
From modest beginnings in churches and community halls, the Lyric Opera took a significant step, moving to the beautiful Florence Gould Theater in 2004. Productions receive excellent reviews and the shows are typically sold-out, with 10% of the seats left available to children ages under 12. At the end of 2005, "the Lyric Opera - San Francisco's inspirational, secondary opera company" and after Tosca this year, "the Lyric Opera has set a new standard of excellence for itself."
The Lyric Opera, San Francisco’s second opera company, will be presenting more beloved favourites in 2007.
Romeo and Juliet February 23, 24, March 2, 3 - 2007
Lucia di Lammermoor May 25, 26, June 1, 2 - 2007
The Tales of Hoffmann September 21, 22, 28, 29 - 2007
Die Fledermaus December 7, 8, 14, 15 - 2007
All performances will begin at 7:30pm at Florence Gould Theater in the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park. With seating for 320 and excellent acoustics, classical opera at Florence Gould is an intimate and therefore exceptional experience. The beauty of the building, its painted ceiling, and comfortable seating, all with a good view of the stage, only enhance the pleasure of an evening at the Lyric Opera.
Founded in 1996, the Lyric Opera has three principal objectives:
- To present quality classical opera at prices that more people can afford.
- To provide San Francisco children in particular with the opportunity to hear opera and perhaps turn today's younger generation into tomorrow's opera patron.
- To provide a venue for young Bay Area singers to perform.
Operas are classically staged, in costume, with scenery and sung in the original language with English supertitles and orchestral accompaniment.
San Francisco Lyric Opera has an inspiring future, introducing quality, classical opera to thousands who might otherwise never experience it.
Ticket are: General Admission $32 Available through:
Students $18 City Box Office 415 392 4400
Children under12 FREE www.cityboxoffice.com
Groups by arrangement At the theatre before performances
Season Tickets for 4 Operas $100 and $56
For more information call 1 800 919 8088 or visit www.sflyricopera.org
February 2007
Friday, February 2, 2007
SFLO factoids
I found our fact sheet and thought I'd share some of our self-praise!
Company established: January 1997
A non-profit organization
New management: 2002
2002 to Present: 19 operas and 92 performances
Performs at Florence Gould Theater, Legion of Honor
320 seats, Louis XVI-style ‘jewel box’
Recent productions sold out
* 81% seats sold to general public
* 12% seats free to children under 12 & all public school students
The Lyric Opera is dedicated to:
Classical opera at prices that more people can afford.
Children and young people, the next generation of opera patron.
Young singers developing their craft and expanding their repertoire.
And here's some of my favourite review snippets! (all from San Francisco Classical Voice)
[Magic Flute]
* "The Lyric show...took the fairytale at face value, emphasizing its delight and fantasy"
* "Revon set the scene of the armored men between cool-looking boulders, one resembling an eagle and the other a bear."
[This is funny to me because we stage hands all agree that they look like a chicken drumstick. See for yourself and make up your own mind. Then tell me, because I'm curious what others see. It took me a good 10 minutes of staring at this photo to see a bear.]
[Trovatore]
* "Her best moment: the climax of her narrative in the camp scene — "Il figlio mio avea bruciato" (I had burned my own son). It was terrifying."
[Indeed it was terrifying. We had large fire pits and bright red glowing lights, and a woman shrieking at the top of her lungs about killing her child.]
[Lucretia]
* "A tiny local company that takes on a complicated, challenging, still largely unfamiliar contemporary opera should get a big, shiny "A" for effort."
[Tosca]
* "San Francisco Lyric Opera set a new standard of achievement for themselves... Propelled by superior acting and singing, the opera was the gripping thriller that Puccini and his librettists worked to create."
[Abduction]
* "Every opera capital has, it seems, not only a major opera company but an inspirational secondary group [. . .] So, what might be that creative second company for San Francisco? [. . .] According to the enthusiastic audience [. . .] it is the San Francisco Lyric Opera."
[This is our token ego boost. We love this quote.]
[Carmen]
* "Seldom will you see a powerful singer less comfortable on stage."
[In reference to Chris Campbell, our Don José. I include this because it's as far from accurate as can be. Chris felt Don José was a quiet and reserved man who let himself be pushed around by a beautiful and domineering woman. So he played him as an overpowered and whipped soldier-boy and portrayed it so well that the reviewer wrote this. It just goes to show you that not everything reviewers write is necessarily close to truth.]
My own personal favourite:
* "At the risk of sounding sexist, ageist or beauty-ist, the observation is unavoidable that Lyric Opera employs (most likely, for peanuts) young and handsome singers in a proportion far superior to big, famous companies."
[Yes. We like beautiful people. But let's face it, nobody is bothered by it.]
[Ballo]
* "In our age of near-despair over shrinking audiences for the classical arts, SFLO believes in the power of great operas to communicate to new audiences without much intervention. Just sing well and tell the story. Period."
[Period.]
Company established: January 1997
A non-profit organization
New management: 2002
2002 to Present: 19 operas and 92 performances
Performs at Florence Gould Theater, Legion of Honor
320 seats, Louis XVI-style ‘jewel box’
Recent productions sold out
* 81% seats sold to general public
* 12% seats free to children under 12 & all public school students
The Lyric Opera is dedicated to:
Classical opera at prices that more people can afford.
Children and young people, the next generation of opera patron.
Young singers developing their craft and expanding their repertoire.
And here's some of my favourite review snippets! (all from San Francisco Classical Voice)
[Magic Flute]
* "The Lyric show...took the fairytale at face value, emphasizing its delight and fantasy"
* "Revon set the scene of the armored men between cool-looking boulders, one resembling an eagle and the other a bear."
[This is funny to me because we stage hands all agree that they look like a chicken drumstick. See for yourself and make up your own mind. Then tell me, because I'm curious what others see. It took me a good 10 minutes of staring at this photo to see a bear.][Trovatore]
* "Her best moment: the climax of her narrative in the camp scene — "Il figlio mio avea bruciato" (I had burned my own son). It was terrifying."
[Indeed it was terrifying. We had large fire pits and bright red glowing lights, and a woman shrieking at the top of her lungs about killing her child.]
[Lucretia]
* "A tiny local company that takes on a complicated, challenging, still largely unfamiliar contemporary opera should get a big, shiny "A" for effort."
[Tosca]
* "San Francisco Lyric Opera set a new standard of achievement for themselves... Propelled by superior acting and singing, the opera was the gripping thriller that Puccini and his librettists worked to create."
[Abduction]
* "Every opera capital has, it seems, not only a major opera company but an inspirational secondary group [. . .] So, what might be that creative second company for San Francisco? [. . .] According to the enthusiastic audience [. . .] it is the San Francisco Lyric Opera."
[This is our token ego boost. We love this quote.]
[Carmen]
* "Seldom will you see a powerful singer less comfortable on stage."
[In reference to Chris Campbell, our Don José. I include this because it's as far from accurate as can be. Chris felt Don José was a quiet and reserved man who let himself be pushed around by a beautiful and domineering woman. So he played him as an overpowered and whipped soldier-boy and portrayed it so well that the reviewer wrote this. It just goes to show you that not everything reviewers write is necessarily close to truth.]
My own personal favourite:
* "At the risk of sounding sexist, ageist or beauty-ist, the observation is unavoidable that Lyric Opera employs (most likely, for peanuts) young and handsome singers in a proportion far superior to big, famous companies."
[Yes. We like beautiful people. But let's face it, nobody is bothered by it.]
[Ballo]
* "In our age of near-despair over shrinking audiences for the classical arts, SFLO believes in the power of great operas to communicate to new audiences without much intervention. Just sing well and tell the story. Period."
[Period.]
Saturday, January 27, 2007
photos!
Though my job is more unconventional than a typical 9-5, I'm taking my "weekend off" to put pictures of past shows online. I'm not very acquainted with this website but I know Livejournal better. Also, I've started up a livejournal for SFLO anyway. So I've put up some galleries of photos, old shows and more recent. I'll be continuing to add more as time allows.
You can visit the galleries here: http://pics.livejournal.com/sflyricopera/
Feel free to check out the livejournal as well. It will be fairly parallel to this blog, however it may reflect a more informal dynamic of the company. Stay tuned for more pictures to come!
You can visit the galleries here: http://pics.livejournal.com/sflyricopera/
Feel free to check out the livejournal as well. It will be fairly parallel to this blog, however it may reflect a more informal dynamic of the company. Stay tuned for more pictures to come!
Friday, January 26, 2007
props and the like
Did you know that sword canes are illegal in California? Not only illegal to purchase but also to ship across state lines, so there's no legal way for us to acquire one. Which of course means we can't get one.
BUT, sword sticks are legal. The difference? A sword stick can never pass for anything other than a weapon, whereas a sword cane could.
It is apparently a little-known fact that Cardinal Richelieu's associate from The Three Musketeers is named Rochefort.
The battle/duel between Tybalt and Mercutio, and Tybalt and Romeo for that matter, would be made infinitely better by the use of lightsabers! And probably a Vader mask.
The British fence with the following stance, holding the unused arm above the body like so:
Because dueling was illegal and thus was done in the dead of night. So fighters would have a sword in one hand and a lit lantern in the other, so they could see what the hell they were doing.
All these comments are on fighting. Of course. We had our fight master at the rehearsal tonight. Thank god, what would we do without him?
Stay tuned ...
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
space in San Francisco
Like many performing arts groups, we are "homeless" for the time being. Residing on a 7x7 sq. mi. peninsula has its downsides, like the lack of space and the high price of available space. I'm always endlessly pleased at hearing that some hotel is closed to make room for apartment housing downtown. It shows the importance of people, even in a large city.
SFLO has been searching for a new rehearsal space for over a year now. It wasn't too much an issue until now. Staging rehearsals began last night and we only have a location for one more. Saturday's rehearsal and onward is still in limbo. It's vaguely unsettling.
Thus, if anyone knows of a vacant space that would be fitting for an opera rehearsal... One that could hold upwards of 40 people, a piano, 20 music stands, a truck full of props, and so forth, please let me know. Because they, like gold dubloons, don't grow in trees.
SFLO has been searching for a new rehearsal space for over a year now. It wasn't too much an issue until now. Staging rehearsals began last night and we only have a location for one more. Saturday's rehearsal and onward is still in limbo. It's vaguely unsettling.
Thus, if anyone knows of a vacant space that would be fitting for an opera rehearsal... One that could hold upwards of 40 people, a piano, 20 music stands, a truck full of props, and so forth, please let me know. Because they, like gold dubloons, don't grow in trees.
the groundbreaking first post
Welcome to the official blog of the San Francisco Lyric Opera. As the first post, I imagine few will read this however I still feel it's important to get a feel of who is writing and why.
SFLO, as it will forever be referred to, is a small non-profit organization in San Francisco. Revived in 2002, SFLO has since staged over 80 performances of 19 productions and continues to build both its audience base and reputation for fun but quality performances of classical operas.
2006 productions consisted of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Verdi's Il Trovatore, Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, and Puccini's Tosca. 2007 will feature an equally impressive array of productions. In February-March we are performing Gounod's Romeo & Juliet, based of course on Shakespeare's play. May-June will feature Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, followed by Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman in September and Strauss' Die Fledermaus in December.
Any interest in tickets, volunteering, auditioning, and so forth can all be directed to me, your humble host of this blog. Our website is www.sflyricopera.org and email is sflyricopera@hotmail.com.
As for myself, I have only begun as the production manager this year (literally 3 weeks ago) but have been stage managing for SFLO for a little over 2 years. I had no experience before. It's been an eye-opening and, at times, terrifying thing to work with no background and no idea what you're supposed to be doing. I've been living the "watch and learn" approach from Day 1 and it's been extraordinary.
On a more personal side, I'm 22 years old as of 2 days ago. I graduated from the University of San Francisco in December, with a degree in sociology because there was no music major. My plans were to become a criminologist researching causes of violent crime among death row inmates at San Quentin; funny how life leads in a completely opposite direction. I've found my background in "people-watching" has helped me to observe the subtleties of human behaviour in such a way to help me interact with the wide diversity of our wonderful patrons.
Here ends the background of our company and this blog's author. From now on, it's all current and all snapshots of how life with SFLO is: glass-breaking highs and suicide-plummet lows, primadonnas and drama, laughter and tears in the same moment, and of maybe even some singing. In a word: OPERA.
SFLO, as it will forever be referred to, is a small non-profit organization in San Francisco. Revived in 2002, SFLO has since staged over 80 performances of 19 productions and continues to build both its audience base and reputation for fun but quality performances of classical operas.
2006 productions consisted of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Verdi's Il Trovatore, Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, and Puccini's Tosca. 2007 will feature an equally impressive array of productions. In February-March we are performing Gounod's Romeo & Juliet, based of course on Shakespeare's play. May-June will feature Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, followed by Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman in September and Strauss' Die Fledermaus in December.
Any interest in tickets, volunteering, auditioning, and so forth can all be directed to me, your humble host of this blog. Our website is www.sflyricopera.org and email is sflyricopera@hotmail.com.
As for myself, I have only begun as the production manager this year (literally 3 weeks ago) but have been stage managing for SFLO for a little over 2 years. I had no experience before. It's been an eye-opening and, at times, terrifying thing to work with no background and no idea what you're supposed to be doing. I've been living the "watch and learn" approach from Day 1 and it's been extraordinary.
On a more personal side, I'm 22 years old as of 2 days ago. I graduated from the University of San Francisco in December, with a degree in sociology because there was no music major. My plans were to become a criminologist researching causes of violent crime among death row inmates at San Quentin; funny how life leads in a completely opposite direction. I've found my background in "people-watching" has helped me to observe the subtleties of human behaviour in such a way to help me interact with the wide diversity of our wonderful patrons.
Here ends the background of our company and this blog's author. From now on, it's all current and all snapshots of how life with SFLO is: glass-breaking highs and suicide-plummet lows, primadonnas and drama, laughter and tears in the same moment, and of maybe even some singing. In a word: OPERA.
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