SF OPERA LAB PRESENTS CHAMBERWORKS, TWO ECLECTIC PROGRAMS FEATURING MUSICIANS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ORCHESTRA, TENOR BRIAN THORSETT AND SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ADLER FELLOWS; APRIL 7 AND 20, 2016 IN THE DIANNE AND TAD TAUBE ATRIUM THEATER

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SF OPERA LAB PRESENTS CHAMBERWORKS, TWO ECLECTIC PROGRAMS FEATURING MUSICIANS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ORCHESTRA, TENOR BRIAN THORSETT AND SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ADLER FELLOWS

APRIL 7 AND 20, 2016 IN THE DIANNE AND TAD TAUBE ATRIUM THEATER

[left and right: SF Opera Lab ChamberWORKS ©Stefan Cohen; center: Poet Scott Bourne and Composer Shinji Eshima ©Sandy Jennings-Eshima]
(March 25, 2016) –Season One of SF Opera Lab continues with ChamberWORKS on April 7 and April 20 at the Taube Atrium Theater. Musicians of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra curate two eclectic and intimate nights of music and song featuring tenor Brian Thorsett and San Francisco Opera’s Adler Fellows.

ChamberWORKS on April 7 features San Francisco Opera Orchestra concertmaster Kay Stern, cellist Emil Miland, co-principal horn Kevin Rivard, pianists John Churchwell and Mark Morash and tenor and Merola Opera Program alumnus Brian Thorsett. The program includes works by Franz Schubert, David Conte, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Benjamin Britten, Joseph Haydn, Lou Harrison and the premiere of Bourne to Shelley by composer and bassist Shinji Eshima.

Shinji Eshima has been a member of the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet orchestras since 1980. As a composer, he is best known for his full-orchestra commissioned scores for San Francisco Ballet’s RAkU and Swimmer ballets, both choreographed by Yuri Possokhov. A documentary film of RAkU is soon to be released. Eshima says of his work, “Bourne to Shelley combines the contemporary poetry of American-born Scott Bourne, former world champion skate boarder, turned Parisian runway model/author/poet, with excerpts from hymn by the early 19th century English Romantic poet Percy Shelley. The piece for tenor, horn and piano, part of my Frankenstein project, seeks to find an answer for the necessity of human love.”

Piano Trio by David Conte was commissioned by the Cha Family Foundation for the International Chamber Music Festival, Shanghai Conservatory and San Francisco Conservatory. Fanfare magazine wrote of the trio, “A major addition to the repertory, with moments of palpably exciting drama interposed with those of quiet reflection, containing Conte’s trademark exquisitely flowing melodic lines.” Conte is Professor of Composition and Chair of the Composition Department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

ChamberWORKS on April 20 features San Francisco Opera Orchestra associate principal cellist Thalia Moore, associate principal violist Sergey Rakitchenkov, harpist Olga Ortenberg-Rakitchenkov; and current San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows Julie Adams (soprano) and Noah Lindquist (pianist). The program includes works by André Previn, Ernest Chausson, Richard Strauss, Marin Marais, Carlos Salzedo and more.

Intimate, eclectic, adventurous—SF Opera Lab, San Francisco Opera’s newly launched programming arm, celebrates the power of the human voice theatrically in intimate spaces, including the Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco Opera’s new Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera. SF Opera Lab’s inaugural season of innovative programming continues through May with: Ÿ
Svadba-Wedding—Composer Ana Sokolović’s virtuosic a cappella chamber opera for six female singers in a new production directed by Michael Cavanagh (April 2–10) Ÿ
The Triplets of Belleville Cine-Concert—Screenings of the Oscar-nominated French film with live performance of the original score, with “foley” and chanteuse (April 14–23). Ÿ
Voigt Lessons—A one-woman show starring soprano Deborah Voigt, developed with Terrence McNally and Francesca Zambello, with music direction by Kevin Stites (May 6 & 8). Ÿ SF Opera Lab also presents a series of Pop-Up events at diverse venues around the Bay Area; the next Pop-Up takes place on April 1, 2016 at The Chapel in San Francisco’s Mission district.
For more information about SF Opera Lab, visit sfoperalab.com.

The Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater is a state-of-the-art performance venue designed to be configured in multiple ways, providing both performer and audience members with a very personal approach to the concert experience. From traditional theater-style performances and seating, to cabaret settings with café tables and performances in the round, to more experimental configurations, the Taube Atrium Theater offers intimate and adventurous experiences with its public offerings.

The theater is also distinguished by the Constellation® acoustic system from Berkeley-based Meyer Sound, an extraordinary innovation in acoustical science enabling artists to customize different acoustic environments for their performances with the press of a button. San Francisco Opera is the first opera company to use this technology, providing a virtually unlimited palette of acoustic possibilities to create the most compelling sound experience.

The Taube Atrium Theater and the John M. Bryan Education Studio are the centerpieces of San Francisco Opera’s new Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera (located on the fourth floor of the Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco). Adjacent to the War Memorial Opera House, the Wilsey Center for Opera opened in late February 2016 and consolidates most of the Company’s operations into a single campus in the vibrant arts district of San Francisco’s Civic Center/Hayes Valley. For more information about the Wilsey Center for Opera, visit sfopera.com/wilseycenter.

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SF Opera Lab ChamberWORKS program and calendar information

April 7 (8 p.m.), 20 (8 p.m.), 2016

Taube Atrium Theater at the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera
Veterans Building, Fourth Floor
401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102

Approximate running time:  1 hour, 30 minutes (April 7 concert will have one intermission)
(Programs and artists subject to change)

Musicians of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra curate two eclectic and intimate nights of music and song featuring the 2016 San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows. Program highlights include the premiere of Bourne to Shelley by San Francisco Opera Orchestra bassist Shinji Eshima and Piano Trio by David Conte (April 7); Adler Fellow soprano Julie Adams performs works by Previn, Strauss, Marais, Chausson and Ponchielli (April 20). For more information about SF Opera Lab programs, visit sfoperalab.com.
TICKETS:  $35 (general admission seating). Tickets available at sfoperalab.com or by calling the San Francisco Opera Box Office at (415) 864-3330. The Box Office at the Taube Atrium Theater will be open starting 60 minutes before each show.

ChamberWORKS
THURSDAY, APRIL 7 at 8:00 p.m.

ARTISTS:
Brian Thorsett, tenor
Kay Stern, violin
Emil Miland, cello
Kevin Rivard, horn
John Churchwell, piano
Mark Morash, piano

PROGRAM:
Franz Schubert – Auf dem Strom, D. 943 (c. 1828)
Brian Thorsett, tenor
Kevin Rivard, horn
Mark Morash, piano

David Conte – Piano Trio (2011)
Kay Stern, violin
Emil Miland, cello
Mark Morash, piano

Esa-Pekka Salonen – Concert Étude (2000)
Kevin Rivard, horn

Benjamin Britten – Canticle III: Still Falls the Rain, Op. 55 (1954)
Brian Thorsett, tenor
Kevin Rivard, horn
Mark Morash, piano

Joseph Haydn – Duet for Violin and Cello in D Major, Hob. VI: D1 (c. 1768)
Kay Stern, violin
Emil Miland, cello

Lou Harrison – Suite for Cello and Piano (1995)
Emil Miland, cello
Mark Morash, piano

Shinji Eshima – Bourne to Shelley (World Premiere)
Brian Thorsett, tenor
Kevin Rivard, horn
John Churchwell, piano

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ChamberWORKS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20 at 8:00 p.m.

ARTISTS:
Julie Adams, soprano
Craig Reiss, violin
Jenny Cho, violin
Sergey Rakitchenkov, viola
Thalia Moore, cello
Olga Ortenberg-Rakitchenkov, harp
Noah Lindquist, piano

PROGRAM (additional works to be announced; please visit sfopera.com for updates):

André Previn – Vocalise (1995)
Julie Adams, soprano
Thalia Moore, cello
Noah Lindquist, piano

Ernest Chausson – Chanson perpétuelle, Op. 37 (1898)
Julie Adams, soprano
Craig Reiss, violin
Jenny Cho, violin
Sergey Rakitchenkov, viola
Thalia Moore, cello
Noah Lindquist, piano

Amilcare Ponchielli – Eternamente (1874)
Julie Adams, soprano
Thalia Moore, cello
Noah Lindquist, piano

Richard Strauss – Morgen, Op. 27, No.4 (1894)
Julie Adams, soprano
Craig Reiss, violin

Marin Marais – Suite in D Minor from Pièces de viole, Book I (1686), arr. Robert Boulay
Sergey Rakitchenkov, viola
Olga Ortenberg-Rakitchenkov, harp

Carlos Salzedo – Whirlwind, from Five Preludes for Harp Alone (1917)
Olga Ortenberg-Rakitchenkov, harp    
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Classical KDFC is Media Sponsor of SF Opera Lab.

Support for the creation of the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera is made possible by the following individuals and companies:
FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Norby Anderson, Mr. & Mrs. William K. Bowes, Jr., Edward Paul Braby, M.D., Jaquelin Hume Foundation, Leslie & George Hume, Bradford & Dorothy Jeffries, Franklin & Catherine Johnson, Peggy & Boyce Nute, Dianne & Tad Taube, Barbara Moller Ward, in honor of David Gockley, Webcor Builders, Diane B. Wilsey and Anonymous (2).  

BUILDER’S CIRCLE: Jane Bernstein & Bob Ellis, Donna Dubinsky & Leonard Shustek, William & Barbara Edwards, Jennifer Coslett MacCready, Meyer Sound, Mark W. & Mauree Jane Perry, Betty & Jack Schafer, Ann Classen Treadwell, in memory of Zelda Ann Classen, and S. Shariq Yosufzai & Brian E. James.

San Francisco Opera is sponsored, in part, by The Dolby Family, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn, Franklin and Catherine Johnson, Edmund W. and Jeannik Méquet Littlefield Fund, Steven M. Menzies, Bernard and Barbro Osher, Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem, Dianne and Tad Taube, Phyllis C. Wattis Endowment Funds and Diane B. Wilsey. San Francisco Opera is supported, in part, by a grant from Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund.
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