Sound Culture

In San Francisco, a season buzzes with more excitement and anticipation than the winter holidays. The 88th season of the San Francisco Opera and the 99th season of the San Francisco Symphony are in full swing, with passionate operatic arias and bone-rattling symphonic sounds reaching every corner of the historic War Memorial Opera House and monumental Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall every week until July.

One of the world’s most immaculate ensembles, the San Francisco Symphony performs more than 220 concerts annually for an audience of nearly 600,000. The Symphony’s music selections often reflect a true San Franciscan’s fondness of high culture and sophisticated, ahead-of-time compositions. This season is no exception. According to the organization, the 99th season features a “trademark blend of adventurous programs, residences by acclaimed artists and composers, international tours of Europe’s most prestigious festivals and musical capitals, and award-winning media and education projects.”

All that jazz kicked off with the much-talked-about galas this first week of September—the true season openers to the sights, sounds, crowds, and excitement.  In his 16th season, music director Michael Tilson Thomas leads the orchestra in 17 weeks of concerts at home and abroad. The silver-haired music maverick, known to pull out all the stops to keep classical music alive, will highlight Mahler and Beethoven as well as feature SF symphony musicians as soloists. The week of September 22, English hornist Russ deLuna and principal trumpet player Mark Inouye are featured in Copland’s Quiet City, and principal clarinetist Carey Bell is the soloist the week of September 29 in Debussy’s Premiere Rapsodie. And in the second week of October, principal bassoonist Stephen Paulson performs with the orchestra in Villa-Lobos’ Ciranda das sete notas.

SFS attracts a more mainstream crowd this November as contemporary pop icon and singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright and the SF Orchestra perform the world premiere of Five Shakespeare Sonnets for three nights. In December, the SFS brings in long-time Bay resident and renowned American composer John Adams and celebrated pianist Yuja Wang during Project San Francisco, the Symphony’s annual collaboration with the world’s leading composers and musicians.

And if the days following Thanksgiving didn’t jolt you into the holiday spirit, Adams will when he conducts the SFS in three performances of the multilingual Nativity oratorio, El Nino, on December 2-4. The Symphony stirs more holiday magic for the city with pop artist Liza Minnelli performing holiday favorites December 5 with her sextet and performances of Mariachi Sol De Mexico, Handel’s Messiah and ‘Twas the Night, a concert of Christmas carols and holiday sing-alongs. And singers Peabo Bryson, Stephanie Mills, Be Vereen, and Oleta Adams perform at the Colors of Christmas concerts December 13-15.

Other conductors and artists who will grace the stage this season include Pablo Heras-Casado, Ton Koopman, Kirill Karabits, Carlos Kalmar, James Conlon, Kurt Masur, Joshua Bell, Hélène Grimaud, Anne Sofie von Otter, and Leonidas Kavakos.

And for those who missed out on the sizzling festivities of the season-opening galas, the SFS’s annual Chinese New Year concert and celebration are set for January 30, which include a lively show complete with a special dinner and festival reception. Tickets are available at 415.503.5500.

San Francisco Opera

Across the street, spine-tingling, harrowing sounds of sorrow and passion swell the hearts of patrons in 3,146 seats plus 200 standing-room space. The War Memorial Opera House is a historical splendor, a home to both the San Francisco Opera and Symphony until 1980 when the Davies Symphony Hall was built. In spring of 1945, the United Nations had its first conference there.

A night at the opera is a full royal affair inside the elegantly designed house with its faulted and coffered ceilings, colossal windows, and marble foyer. A dominating aluminum and glass panel chandelier looms over the theater space that is equipped with state-of-the-art lighting system. An extension behind the main stage for assembly and storage of sets allows for a three-opera cycle to be performed on consecutive nights, a perk to traveling opera fans who can come to San Francisco and see several productions. And in 2007, the San Francisco Opera introduced OperaVision, which is an innovative, high-definition way to give balcony audiences a better view of the stage.

The San Francisco Opera brings thousands of patrons to the Golden City every year, boosting revenues for San Francisco’s restaurant, hotel, retail, and transportation industry. Even with the recession, the SFO’s fall season drew in an audience of 118,000 last year.

Verdi’s Aida inaugurated San Francisco Opera’s 2010-2011 season, which was followed by the annual Opera Ball. The Aida production, which is equally moving in songs as it is stunning in sets and costumes, will show until December 5. The San Francisco Opera will present Jules Massenet’s Werther from September 15 to October 1 with tenor Ramón Vargas as the hero and Mezzo-soprano Alice Coote as his beloved Charlotte. Le Nozze di Figaro takes the stage from September 21 to October 22, and Madama Butterfly goes on October 12 through November 27. Another don’t-miss is Alfrano’s Cyrano de Bergerac, which runs from October 24 to November 12 and stars soprano Ainhoa Arteta and tenor Thiago Arancam, who is an SFO debut. Janacek’s The Makropulos Case, from November 10-28, will bring Karita Mattila back to the War Memorial Opera House where she will play ageless 300-year-old Emilia Marty. Finally, the season will close with Der Ring des Nibelungen from June 14 to July 3.

For tickets, contact 415.864.3330 or go to www.sfopera.com