Merola Media
Merolini Spotlight: Stuart Skelton (‘95)
We sat down with world-renowned heldentenor, Stuart Skelton (Merola 1995) for this month’s Merolini Spotlight. Stuart talks about growing up in Australia, his international career as one of the finest heldentenors of his generation, his role as the J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair in Opera at the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music, and of course, some Aussie slang.
Meet the 2022 Merola Opera Program Artists
Merola Opera Program is back! Say hello and welcome to the 2022 Merola Artists. See these singers, pianist/coaches, and stage director perform throughout the 2022 Summer Festival.
The summer festival kicks off at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with A Celebration of American Song (July 9), a program highlighting the Great American Songbook, and the Schwabacher Summer Concert (July 14 & 16), which spotlights Latin American and Spanish composers. Mozart's final masterpiece Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA, will be performed by Merola artists for the first time since 1998, on August 4 & 6. We wrap up the summer with the celebratory Merola Grand Finale which returns to the War Memorial Opera House stage August 20. Tickets available now! For full details and tickets visit: merola.org/calendar
Cheers to 2022
Happy New Year from Merola Opera Program!
Thank you for your support of the Merola Opera Program. With your help, Merola has launched the careers of hundreds of young artists over the past 64 years. We look forward to sharing new opera talents with you in 2022!
Meet the 2022 Merola Opera Program Artists
Merola Opera Program is back! Say hello and welcome to the 2022 Merola Artists. See these singers, pianist/coaches, and stage director perform throughout the 2022 Summer Festival.
The summer festival kicks off at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with A Celebration of American Song (July 9), a program highlighting the Great American Songbook, and the Schwabacher Summer Concert (July 14 & 16), which spotlights Latin American and Spanish composers. Mozart's final masterpiece Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA, will be performed by Merola artists for the first time since 1998, on August 4 & 6. We wrap up the summer with the celebratory Merola Grand Finale which returns to the War Memorial Opera House stage August 20. Tickets available now! For full details and tickets visit: merola.org/calendar
"I Am Not an Angry Black Woman"
(World Premiere)
Watch the world premiere of "I Am Not an Angry Black Woman" by composer Maria Thompson Corley. This piece was performed by Merola Opera Program alumni, mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis ('15) and pianist Jeanne-Minette Cilliers as part of the Merola virtual recital, "An Autumn Afternoon with Raehann Bryce-Davis" which premiered on Sunday, November 12, 2021.
For more information visit the following websites.
Merola Opera Program: merola.org
Raehann Bryce-Davis: raehann.com
Maria Thompson Corley: mariacorley.com
2021 Merola Summer Festival
Take a look back at the 2021 Merola Opera Program Summer Festival! In this video short, we share photos and video footage from the Merola artists along with events and performances throughout the festival. We feature master classes with Denyce Graves, Warren Jones, Martin Katz, Carrie-Ann Matheson, and Howard Watkins. Performance footage include the recital "What the Heart Desires," the Merola Grand Finale, and the film "Back Home: Through the Stage Door." Additional photos by Kristen Loken Photography.
2021 Merola Grand Finale - Trailer
Merola Opera Program presents the 2021 Merola Grand Finale, a concert featuring the young artists of the 2021 Merola Opera Program. They performed in a thrilling array of selections from some of opera’s most brilliant works in front a live audience in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. The concert was directed by 2021 Merola Stage Director Audrey Chait.
Only Merola members can watch the video on demand! Become a Merola member for access starting on August 20, 2021. Donate here.
Back Home: Through the Stage Door
Watch the Trailer Now!
Merola Opera Program presents Back Home: Through the Stage Door. Back Home: Through the Stage Door is a celebration of the joy of making and performing music together — a joy so many of us have been deprived of during these challenging times. Filmed at San Francisco’s magnificent Herbst Theater and using classics and lesser known gems of the vocal repertoire as its words and music, the film seeks to capture the many moments, small and large, that comprise singers’ lives as they return to creating music together for the stage. Back Home will feature all 2021 Merola young artists as they, too, celebrate a return ‘home’ to the theater and the many precious joys that come with it.
This film is available to Merola members starting August 13, and will be released free to the public on August 27, 2021. For full details on Back Home: Through the Stage Door visit: merola.org/back-home-through-the-stage-door
Getting to Know: Stage Director Audrey Chait
Getting to know 2021 Merola Stage Director Audrey Chait. Audrey will direct the 2021 Merola Grand Finale. In this interview, she shares a few of her personal highlights from the summer program, the challenges of staging a concert at an outdoor venue, and what it was like working with her fellow Merola artists.
See the live performance of the Merola Grand Finale on Saturday, July 31, 2PM at the Bandshell in Golden Gate Park. This concert is FREE and open to the public. Click here for full details.
What the Heart Desires
Watch the Trailer Now!
Merola Opera Program presents What the Heart Desires. Celebrating diversity in song, What the Heart Desires was co-curated by mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller (Merola ‘05) and tenor Nicholas Phan. It explores the many things our hearts desire and features compositions by women and people of color. The program includes selections about romantic desire, physical desire, and the longing for home, for rest, for peace, and for a better world. The recital was performed and filmed live on July 3, 2021 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Concert Hall.
This performance is available to Merola members starting July 16, and will be released free to the public on July 30, 2021. What the Heart Desires is sponsored by Amazon.
Un Gala in Maschera: Watch the teaser!
We hope you'll join Merola Opera Program for "Un Gala in Maschera" on Saturday, April 10, 2021, 5 pm PDT. From the comfort of your own home, you'll enjoy a professionally produced concert featuring an illustrious line-up of Merola alumni. Raise a glass to Sheri Greenawald and thank her for everything she’s given to Merola and the opera world. For more information and to purchase tickets visit merola.org/gala2021.
Getting to Know: Ronny Michael Greenberg (Merola '14)
Pianist, opera coach, and producer Ronny Michael Greenberg (Merola '14) is a leading innovator in the world of performing arts. In this video short, Ronny shares what opera he looks forward to working on in the future, what he likes to do with his spare time, and the highlight of his summer at Merola. Watch it now!
Getting to Know: Issachah Savage (Merola '13) - Part 1
In this video short, we hear what artists influenced Issachah's interest in opera. Watch it now.
Getting to Know: Issachah Savage (Merola '13) - Part 2
In Part 2 of this video short series, we hear some highlights of Issachah's summer at Merola and what Merola members can expect from his upcoming recital, Anything for Love and Honor. Watch it now.
Getting to Know: Issachah Savage (Merola '13) - Part 3
In Part 3, the final video short of our series, Issachah shares what he can't make it through day without and what he enjoys doing outside of opera. Watch it now!
From Mozart to the Surreal (2021 Season Preview)
Air Date: October 14, 2020
Sheri Greenawald, Director of San Francisco Opera Center and Artistic Director of Merola Opera Program
Kip Cranna, Dramaturg Emeritus of San Francisco Opera
Watch a special behind-the-scenes preview of Merola’s 2021 summer productions, Mozart’s sublime classic Le nozze di Figaro and Dominick Argento’s surreal 20th-century gem Postcard from Morocco, with San Francisco Opera Center Director and Merola Artistic Director Sheri Greenawald and Dramaturg Emeritus of San Francisco Opera Kip Cranna. This virtual event was originally broadcast on Zoom on October 14, 2020.
Merola #MasterChat with Susan Graham
Air Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Hosted by Sheri Greenawald
Hailed by The New York Times as “an artist to treasure,” world-renowned American mezzo-soprano Susan Graham (Merola ‘87) rose to the highest echelon of international performers within a few years of her professional debut, mastering an astonishing range of repertoire and genres along the way. A familiar face at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Graham also maintains a strong international presence at such key venues as Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet, Santa Fe Opera, and the Hollywood Bowl. She won a Grammy Award for her collection of Ives songs, and has also been recognized throughout her career as one of the foremost exponents of French vocal music.
Merola #MasterChat with Francesca Zambello
Air Date: Thursday, July 16, 2020
Francesca Zambello, General Director and Artistic Director
Hosted by Sheri Greenawald
Francesca Zambello is an internationally recognized director of opera and theater, as well as the General Director of The Glimmerglass Festival and the Artistic Director of The Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center. Her American directing debut took place at the Houston Grand Opera with a production of Fidelio. She debuted in Europe at Teatro la Fenice in Venice with Beatrice di Tenda and has since staged new productions at major theaters and opera houses in Europe and across the U.S. Zambello has worked at more than 50 major opera houses including The Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Paris Opera, the Bolshoi, Munich State Opera, Covent Garden, and Australian Opera. Zambello takes a special interest in new music theater works, innovative productions, and in producing theater and opera for wider audiences.
Merola #MasterChat with David Garrison
Air Date: Thursday, July 23, 2020
David Garrison, Actor and Director
Hosted by Sheri Greenawald
Broadway stage and television actor and director David Garrison began his career as a member of the resident company at the Tony Award-winning Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Although he is known for his television roles, Garrison is primarily a theater actor, particularly in musicals. His Broadway appearances include A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, for which he received a Tony Award nomination, Wicked, The Visit, Titanic, Torch Song Trilogy, The Pirates of Penzance, Bells Are Ringing, and A History of the American Film. Garrison will direct Merola’s 2021 production of Dominick Argento’s vivid one-act opera, Postcard from Morocco.
Merola #MasterChat with Eun Sun Kim and Gregory Henkel
Thursday, July 30, 2020 at 4:00 pm
Eun Sun Kim, Caroline H. Hume Music Director Designate of San Francisco Opera
Gregory Henkel, Managing Director: Artistic of San Francisco Opera
Hosted by Sheri Greenawald
Following “a company debut of astonishing vibrancy and assurance” (San Francisco Chronicle) in Rusalka, Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim has been named the Caroline H. Hume Music Director Designate of San Francisco Opera. In addition to her growing North American presence, Kim is a regular guest conductor at many important European opera houses. Gregory Henkel is San Francisco Opera’s Managing Director: Artistic, casts San Francisco Opera productions and oversees the San Francisco Opera Center.
Merola Opera Program 2019 Summer Festival - a look back
Look back at the Merola Opera Program 2019 Summer Festival through photos and video from the Merolini during their summer in San Francisco at events like Meet and Mingle with the Merolini and master classes with Warren Jones and Kevin Murphy, the Schwabacher Summer Concert, the world premiere of “If I Were You” by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, and the Merola Grand Finale. Additional photos by Kristen Loken and Frank Wing.
Thank You from the 2019 Merola Artists
The 2019 Merola Artists look back at the Merola Opera Program 2019 Summer Festival and thank you for your support. The Merolini reflect on some of their favorite moments of the summer from master classes to the Schwabacher Summer Concert, the opera world premiere of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer's opera, If I Were You, and the Merola Grand Finale. Thanks for supporting Merola Opera Program!
If I Were You (World Premiere) Trailer
What would you sell your soul for? Merola Opera Program presents the world premiere of If I Were You by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. Performances are August 1-6, at the Herbst Theatre. Catch two Merola casts for these world premiere performances. .
The Making of If I Were You - Part 1
Merola Opera Program presents the world premiere of If I Were You an opera in two acts by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, opening at the Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, August 1 - 6, 2019. Watch now to learn about what went into creating If I Were You.
The Making of If I Were You - Part 2
Merola Opera Program presents the world premiere of If I Were You an opera in two acts by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, opening at the Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, August 1-6. Watch now to learn the story of If I Were You and meet characters Fabian and Brittomara.
The Making of If I Were You - Part 3
Merola Opera Program presents the world premiere of If I Were You, an opera in two acts by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, opening at the Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, August 1 - 6, 2019. Watch now to learn more about the character Fabian and his journey in the story of If I Were You.
The Making of If I Were You - Part 4
Watch the world premiere of If I Were You being created. Hear from composer Jake Heggie, librettist Gene Scheer, director Keturah Stickann and her design team about how they see this new opera coming together and what you'll see on stage in August.
The Merola Opera Program is 60 Years Strong!
In 2017, the Merola Opera Program celebrated 60 years of sparking the future of opera. Enjoy an historical account of Merola from some familiar and beloved faces.
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