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. more ›

If you are concerned about people growing old around you, just keep looking for fresh faces to hang out with. We got this bit of wisdom not from Gavin Newsom (who got it from Willie anyway), but from James Schwabacher. One of Schwabacher’s initiatives was to co-found the SF Opera Merola program, now in its 50th anniversary, a training program-slash-talent-search for opera singers that lasts all summer. more ›

The second show of the Merola program, Il Matrimonio Segreto, opened last night at the Cowell Theater in Fort Mason. Just to recap: the Merola program was funded in 1957 by Kurt Adler and James Schwabacher to offer a training program to young singers, with real staged performances, and a Gala in the War Memorial Opera House as a conclusion. We actually were a bit surprised that Schwabacher was not eulogized at this first Merola performance since he passed away last week (the SF Opera did request a moment of silence in his memory last Sunday's beautiful performance at Stern Grove). more ›

Joe Goode manages in Transformation, this summer's first fully-staged production of the SF Opera Merola program, the opposite trick as in his own shows: instead of getting dancers to sing, he got singers to dance. It helps that his cast is youthful, -- Merola singers are between 20 and 34-- full of energy, and willing to take risks. But his direction enlivened an opera which, since it is a sequence of a prologue plus nine little stories without an overarching narrative line, only a common theme, could potentially feel repetitive. more ›