SAN FRANCISCO OPERA 2016 NATIONAL BROADCAST SERIES ON THE WFMT RADIO NETWORK BEGINS AUGUST 20 WITH VERDI’S LUISA MILLER STARRING LEAH CROCETTO AND CONDUCTED BY NICOLA LUISOTTI
Weekly radio series airs through October 22 and includes nine performances—
Eight from the 2015–16 season and one archival 1982 recording of
Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, featuring
Leontyne Price, Régine Crespin, and Carol Vaness
Michael Fabiano in the title role and Nadia Krasteva as Princess Eboli in Don Carlo;
Malin Bystrӧm in the title role and Karita Mattila as Kostelnička in Jenůfa. © Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 9, 2016) — The 2016 season of San Francisco Opera’s national radio broadcast series on the WFMT Radio Network begins on Saturday, August 20 with the Company’s Fall 2015 production of Verdi’s masterwork, Luisa Miller. Soprano Leah Crocetto stars in the title role alongside tenor Michael Fabiano as Rodolfo, with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Company Music Director Nicola Luisotti.
Hosted by Dianne Nicolini, these weekly national broadcasts of San Francisco Opera productions, recorded live at the historic War Memorial Opera House, are presented within WFMT Radio Network’s 2016 American Opera Series, which also includes broadcasts from the Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Symphony. San Francisco Opera performances air at 10 a.m. PDT / 1 p.m. EDT on Saturdays from August 20 to October 22 (times may vary, please check local listings).
Additional broadcasts include Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, conducted by Mr. Luisotti with Nadine Sierra in the title role; Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, led by Sir Mark Elder and featuring baritone James Rutherford, tenor Brandon Jovanovich, and soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen; Mozart’s The Magic Flute sung in English by a cast including soprano Sarah Shafer and tenor Paul Appleby; Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, featuring baritone Lucas Meachem in the title role, alongside mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as Rosina; a double billing of Gordon Getty’s Usher House and Claude Debussy’s La chute de la maison Usher, featuring baritone Brian Mulligan and tenor Jason Bridges; Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites in a 1982 performance in English featuring Leontyne Price in the role of Madame Lidoine, Régine Crespin as Mme. De Croissy and Carol Vaness as Blanche; Bizet’s Carmen, with mezzo-soprano Irene Roberts singing the title role; Verdi’s Don Carlo, conducted by Nicola Luisotti and featuring tenor Michael Fabiano, soprano Ana María Martínez, baritone Mariusz Kwiecień, mezzo-soprano Nadia Krasteva, and bass René Pape; and Janáček’s Jenůfa, featuring sopranos Malin Byström and Karita Mattila conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek.
Now in its tenth year, WFMT Radio Network’s thirty-week American Opera Series is designed to provide public and commercial stations with outstanding live opera performances. Currently the San Francisco Opera broadcasts can be heard on stations in more than 30 states across the country. The WFMT Radio Network is one of the world’s most respected producers and distributors of classical, jazz, folk, and public affairs programming.
In the San Francisco Bay region, San Francisco Opera’s monthly broadcast series on Classical KDFC airs on the first Sunday of each month at 8 p.m. PT. Broadcasts are also available for streaming on demand at kdfc.com for four weeks following the original air date. For more information about San Francisco Opera’s radio broadcasts, visit sfopera.com/discover-opera/tv-and-radio-broadcasts.
WFMT Radio Network/San Francisco Opera 2016 Broadcast Schedule:
WFMT’s Fall 2016 San Francisco Opera broadcast schedule follows. All broadcasts are recorded live at the War Memorial Opera House. The weekly San Francisco Opera broadcasts air at 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT on Saturdays beginning August 20 through October 22, 2016. As times may vary, please check local listings for the WFMT Radio Network. For national station listings and more information about the broadcasts and operas, please visit sfopera.com/discover-opera/tv-and-radio-broadcasts.
Saturday, August 20, 2016 – Giuseppe Verdi’s Luisa Miller
CAST:
Luisa Miller: Leah Crocetto
Rodolfo: Michael Fabiano
Miller: Vitaliy Bilyy
Count Walter: Daniel Sumegi
Federica: Ekaterina Semenchuk
Wurm: Andrea Silvestrelli
Laura: Jacqueline Piccolino
Peasant: Christopher Jackson
ENSEMBLE: San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CONDUCTOR: Nicola Luisotti
CHORUS DIRECTOR: Ian Robertson
STAGE DIRECTOR: Francesca Zambello
Approx. Length: 2 ½ hours
Saturday, August 27, 2016 – Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor
CAST:
Lucia di Lammermoor: Nadine Sierra
Edgardo: Piotr Beczala
Enrico: Brian Mulligan
Raimondo: Nicolas Testé
Alisa: Zanda Švēde
Normanno: AJ Glueckert
Arturo: Chong Wang
ENSEMBLE: San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CONDUCTOR: Nicola Luisotti
CHORUS DIRECTOR: Ian Robertson
STAGE DIRECTOR: Michael Cavanagh
Approx. Length: 2 ½ hours
Friday, September 9, 2016 – Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
CAST:
Hans Sachs: James Rutherford
Walther von Stolzing: Brandon Jovanovich
Eva: Rachel Willis-Sørensen
Magdalene: Sasha Cooke
David: Alek Shrader
Sixtus Beckmesser: Martin Gantner
Veit Pogner: Ain Anger
Fritz Kothner: Philip Horst
Kunz Vogelgesang: AJ Glueckert
Balthasar Zorn: Joel Sorensen
Augustin Moser: Corey Bix
Ulrich Eisslinger: Joseph Hu
Konrad Nachtigall: Sam Handley
Hans Schwarz: Anthony Reed
Hermann Ortel: Edward Nelson
A night watchman: Andrea Silvestrelli
Hans Foltz: Matthew Stump
An apprentice: Laurel Porter
ENSEMBLE: San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CONDUCTOR: Sir Mark Elder
CHORUS DIRECTOR: Ian Robertson
STAGE DIRECTOR: Sir David McVicar
Approx. Length: 4 hours 40 minutes
Saturday, September 10, 2016 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute
CAST:
Pamina: Sarah Shafer
Tamino: Paul Appleby
Papageno: Efraín Solís
Sarastro: Alfred Reiter
The Queen of the Night: Albina Shagimuratova
Monostatos: Greg Fedderly
First Lady: Jacqueline Piccolino
Second Lady: Nian Wang
Third Lady: Zanda Švēde
Papagena: Maria Valdes
The Speaker: Anthony Reed
First Priest: Richard Walker
Second Priest: Edward Nelson
First Boy: Michael Sacco
Second Boy: Pietro Juvara
Third Boy: Rafael Karpa-Wilson
First Armored Man: Chong Wang
Second Armored Man: Anthony Reed
ENSEMBLE: San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CONDUCTOR: Lawrence Foster
CHORUS DIRECTOR: Ian Robertson
STAGE DIRECTOR: Harry Silverstein
Approx. Length: 2 hours 40 minutes
Saturday, September 17, 2016 – Gioachino Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Barber of Seville)
CAST:
Figaro: Lucas Meachem
Rosina: Daniela Mack
Count Almaviva: René Barbera
Doctor Bartolo: Alessandro Corbelli
Don Basilio: Andrea Silvestrelli
Berta: Catherine Cook
Fiorello: Edward Nelson
Ambrogio: Efraín Solís
An officer: Matthew Stump
ENSEMBLE: San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CONDUCTOR: Giuseppe Finzi
CHORUS DIRECTOR: Ian Robertson
STAGE DIRECTOR: Emilio Sagi
Approx. Length: 2 hours 50 minutes
Saturday, September 24, 2016 – Gordon Getty’s Usher House/Claude Debussy’s La chute de la maison Usher
CAST:
Roderick Usher: Brian Mulligan
Edgar Allan Poe: Jason Bridges
Madeline Usher / Lady Madeline: Jacqueline Piccolino
Madeline Usher (dancer): Jamielyn Duggan
Doctor Primus: Anthony Reed
Le Médecin: Joel Sorensen
L’Ami: Edward Nelson
ENSEMBLE: San Francisco Opera Orchestra
CONDUCTOR: Lawrence Foster
STAGE DIRECTOR: David Pountney
Approx. Length: 2 hours 10 minutes
Saturday, October 1, 2016 – Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites
CAST:
Madame Lidoine: Leontyne Price
Mother Marie: Virginia Zeani
Sister Constance: Betsy Norden
Madame de Croissy: Régine Crespin
Blanche: Carol Vaness
Chevalier de la Force: Howard Hensel
Marquis de la Force: Eric Halfvarson
ENSEMBLE: San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CONDUCTOR: Henry Lewis
CHORUS DIRECTOR: Richard Bradshaw
STAGE DIRECTOR: John Dexter
Approx. Length: 2 hours 50 minutes
Saturday, October 8, 2016 – Georges Bizet’s Carmen
CAST:
Carmen: Irene Roberts
Don José: Brian Jagde
Micaëla: Ellie Dehn
Escamillo: Zachary Nelson
ENSEMBLE: San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CONDUCTOR: Carlo Montanaro
CHORUS DIRECTOR: Ian Robertson
STAGE DIRECTOR: Joan Anton Rechi
Approx. Length: 2 hours 40 minutes
Saturday, October 15, 2016 – Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo
CAST:
Don Carlo: Michael Fabiano
Elisabetta: Ana María Martínez
Princess Eboli: Nadia Krasteva
Rodrigo: Mariusz Kwiecień
Philip II: René Pape
The Grand Inquisitor: Andrea Silvestrelli
ENSEMBLE: San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CONDUCTOR: Nicola Luisotti
CHORUS DIRECTOR: Ian Robertson
STAGE DIRECTOR: Emilio Sagi
Approx. Length: 3 hours 40 minutes
Saturday, October 22, 2016 – Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa
CAST:
Jenůfa: Malin Byström
Kostelnička: Karita Mattila
Laca Klemeň: William Burden
Števa Buryja: Scott Quinn
ENSEMBLE: San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CONDUCTOR: Jiří Bělohlávek
CHORUS DIRECTOR: Ian Robertson
STAGE DIRECTOR: Olivier Tambosi
Approx. Length: 2 hours 10 minutes
