The result-which had its world premiere at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House-tells the true story of Sister Helen Prejean, a Louisiana nun who became the spiritual advisor to a convicted criminal on Angola’s death row. He would be working alongside Tony winner Terrence McNally, who was hired to write the libretto. Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie, 2000Ī rising composer, Jake Heggie was working in San Francisco Opera's public relations office when then-general director Lotfi Mansouri offered him the opportunity of a lifetime: a commission to write his first opera. "There is nothing like coming back to this building, seeing the full orchestra in the pit, the full chorus on stage," Shilvock said, "and just feeling that huge rush of emotion and sound coming at you.10. Like everyone else involved with the production, Shilvock was euphoric to see patrons back in those new seats, breathing life back into the venerable opera house - releasing a thunder of happy applause as the sad story wound to a close. "Seating comforting has come a long way in ninety-years," chuckled opera general director Matthew Shilvock. Workers in the costume shop also used the break in production to sew PPE masks for charities using leftover costume fabric - and even teamed-up with an UCSF doctor to develop a special cloth Covid mask that allowed the company's performers to safely sing together.Īnd in a development that will likely be appreciated by the hind quarters of every patron, the opera replaced the War Memorial's aged 90-year-old seats for the first time. The opera took advantage of that versatility by using the new stage during a limited run of Barber of Seville, performed outside drive-in style in Marin's Civic Center.
In the downtime, the company's crafts people constructed a new stage for the opera Fidelio that could be used inside and outside. While the opera company was shut down for a long spell, it wasn't without activity. "It is absolutely relatable, the story itself is completely compelling."
"The music is phenomenal, it is passionate," said Lucey. On Wednesday she energetically waved her baton and mouthed the words to passages of Tosca, with Italian being among the six languages she speaks. Aside from working the kinks out of technical systems and the new Covid protocols, it also marked new music director Eun Sun Kim's debut in the opera house. The performance was more than just knocking the dust off a well-worn operatic classic. SF's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival to be Virtual for Second Straight Year
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