Calendar
2023 Performances
Tickets for the Merola Summer Festival 2023 performances are on sale now!
Metamorphosis: Recovery, Renewal, and Rebirth
The Rape of Lucretia
Schwabacher Summer Concert
Merola Grand Finale
Purchase tickets to all four 2023 Summer Festival productions for 20% off by phone at (415) 864-3330.*
Schwabacher Recital Series Recital #4
Thursday, May 18, 7:30pm
Bowes Center • 200 Van Ness Avenue
Erin Wagner, mezzo-soprano
Shawn Chang, pianist
The final Schwabacher recital highlights the deep artistic collaboration of mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner and pianist Shawn Chang. The 2022 Merola Opera Program participants designed the program, Everything must change, as a call to action as proclaimed through the music of Shawn Chang, Franz Schubert, Stefanie Turkewich, Viktor Ullman, Radiohead and Bernard Ighner.
Sunday in the Park with Merola
Sunday, May 21, 2023, 3–6pm
Marin Art and Garden Center • 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Ross, CA
Performing Artists Leah Crocetto (Merola ’08) and Ronny Michael Greenberg (Merola ’14)
Join us for a memorable spring afternoon strolling through beautifully landscaped gardens, drinking some of California’s finest wines, and visiting with new and old friends. This special event will include great food, wine tastings, performances by Merola alumni, an auction, and more, all in the idyllic Marin Art and Garden Center in the heart of Marin County. It promises to be a day to remember and will be made all the better if you are there!
WORLD PREMIERE: 26 Ways of Looking at a Black Man with Sidney Outlaw and Warren Jones
Friday, June 2, 7pm
Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theatre • 4705 Third Street
Tickets • $5-$35
Composed by B.E. Boykin
Merola Opera Program is excited to collaborate with the Bayview Opera House for a one-night-only recital with Sidney Outlaw and Warren Jones, where they will perform the WORLD PREMIERE of 26 Ways To Look At A Black Man composed by B.E. Boykin!
The program includes works by Faure, Brahms, William Grant Still, and Mohammed Fairouz’s Deep Rivers featuring 5 members of the Oakland Symphony.
The commission and performances are generously supported by the Ces Butner Horizon Beverage Charitable Fund and Michael Colbruno. Musicians sponsored by the Port of Oakland Foundation. COMMUNITY ACCESS tickets sponsored by TogtherSF.
Metamorphosis: Recovery, Renewal, and Rebirth
Thursday, June 29, 7:30pm
San Francisco Conservatory of Music • 50 Oak Street
Tickets • $80/$55
Curators Carrie-Ann Matheson and Nicholas Phan
At a tumultuous time in the world, this vocal and piano recital focuses on themes of change and growth with songs from Alma Mahler, Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Robert Owens, Florence Price, and many others. The illuminating program will take the audience on a journey from desolation to hope.
Performed with English supertitles.
This recital is generously underwritten, in part, by The Grace A. Diem and Alice E. Siemons Foundation, The Frances K. and Charles D. Field Foundation, and The Bernard Osher Foundation.
The Rape of Lucretia
Thursday, July 13, 7:30pm • Saturday, July 15, 2pm
Herbst Theatre • 401 Van Ness Avenue
Tickets • $80/$55
By Benjamin Britten • Libretto Ronald Duncan
Conductor Judith Yan • Director Jan Essinger
Famed for her steadfast devotion to her husband, Lucretia becomes a target in a brutal game of sex and power. Set to one of Benjamin Britten’s most searing and lyrical scores, this challenging and emotionally charged chamber opera explores issues that are at once timeless and starkly relevant today.
Performed in English with English supertitles.
This opera is generously underwritten, in part, by The Grace A. Diem and Alice E. Siemons Foundation, The Frances K. and Charles D. Field Foundation, and The Bernard Osher Foundation.
Schwabacher Summer Concert
Thursday, August 3, 7:30pm • Saturday, August 5, 2pm
San Francisco Conservatory of Music • 50 Oak Street
Tickets • $80/$55
Conductor Steve White • Director Omer Ben Seadia (Merola '14)
Revel in the drama and melodies of classic opera as artists from the 2023 Merola Opera Program perform extended scenes from works by Donizetti, Handel, Verdi, and others.
Performed with English supertitles.
This concert is named in memory of Merola’s late Chairman, James Schwabacher, and is generously underwritten, in part, by The Grace A. Diem and Alice E. Siemons Foundation, The Frances K. and Charles D. Field Foundation, The Bernard Osher Foundation, and Margareta and Staffan Encrantz.
Merola Grand Finale
Saturday, August 19, 7:30pm
War Memorial Opera House • 301 Van Ness Avenue
Tickets • $53/$43/$28
Reception Tickets $75
Conductor Kelly Kuo • Director Tania Arazi-Coambs (Merola ‘23)
A triumphant end to a transformative season, the Merola Grand Finale features all the young artists of the summer program in a dazzling array of opera’s most brilliant works. Conducted by Maestro Kelly Kuo and directed by 2023 Merola Stage Director Tania Arazi-Coambs, this evening showcases the extraordinary talent of the next generation of opera artists.
Performed with English supertitles.
Following the performance, join the Merola artists for a celebration in The Green Room at the Veterans Building. Reception tickets are limited, and are required in addition to the performance ticket.
Graciously underwritten, in part, by The Blanche Thebom Trust. Post-concert reception sponsored, in part, by Culinary Excellence.
Purchase tickets to all four 2023 Summer Festival productions for 20% off*
Offer available through the San Francisco Opera Box Office:
By phone: (415) 864-3330.
In person: 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco
Box Office Hours: Mon 10am-5pm, Tues-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-6pm (phones only)
*Discount is valid through June 12, 2023. Available by phone or in person at the San Francisco Opera Box Office only. Not available online. All four performances must be purchased at the same time. Discount does not apply to the Merola Grand Finale Reception, and cannot be combined with any other discounts.
Interested in coming to Merola member events? Become a Merola member today to have the exclusive opportunity to go behind the scenes and get to know the young artists.
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