Results tagged “heidimelton”

We learned yesterday that star soprano Patricia Racette had to withdraw from singing today in the Verdi Requiem at the SF Opera house, and will be replaced by Adler fellow Heidi Melton. Racette, a recent hit in Madame Butterfly, was to sing the Requiem for the first time. No disrespect meant to the up-and-coming Heidi Melton, who will nail it, but that's a bummer. Racette and Stephanie Blythe, that was a spectacular tag team. Nonetheless, the SF Opera orchestra and choir, under the baton of departing music director Donald Runnicles, will be on the stage for once, not in the pit. That should be an exciting farewell to the maestro.

Thesis: classic Italian opera represents the core tradition of the art form and success as a singer means being able to master the genre. Anti-thesis: opera is an evolving live form, and the work of contemporary composers is relevant, forget about the old dead ones. Synthesis: let’s toss a little bit of everything on the wall, old and new, domestic and foreign, we’ll see what sticks, and call it the Merola Grand Finale.