Drive-in opera comes to Marin
The Bay Area’s classical music scene delivers operas, concerts, recitals and more this month: here are some of the events you won’t want to miss.
• “At Home” viewing: Cal Performances brings three top artists to its “At Home” series. Jeremy Denk, who has spent much of his pandemic down-time focusing on J.S. Bach (check out his 2020 video, “How to Think Like Bach”), appears April 15 to play the composer’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” Book 1.
And on April 29, soprano Renee Fleming returns with “Illuminations: Music and the Mind.” The program includes the world premiere of Tod Machover’s “VocaGammified,” along with works by Fauré, Henri Duparc, Gershwin, and others. Fleming will be accompanied by pianist Robert Ainsley and joined in discussion by UC Berkeley neuroscience professor Ehud Isacoff.
Dramatic soprano Christine Goerke, a Metropolitan Opera star and San Francisco Opera favorite who was recently named associate artistic director of Michigan Opera Theatre, kicked off the series. Goerke’s recital program, ranging from Handel to Richard Strauss, along with works by Mascagni, Robert Schumann and Cole Porter, with pianist Craig Terry as her accompanist, can be streamed through June. DETAILS » Christine Goerke is available on demand through June 30; Jeremy Denk, streams 7 p.m. April 15, available through July 14; Renee Fleming, streams 7 p.m. April 29, available through July 28; tickets $15 single, $30 for two, $60 per household, $5 UC Berkeley students; calperformances. org.
• New opera streams: San Francisco Opera returns to live performance April 23 through May 15 with Rossini’s “Barber of Seville,” with drive-in style performances at the Marin Civic Center. Until then, the company is streaming productions of a beloved Italian opera and an intriguing double bill based on Edgar Allan Poe.
A double bill of “The Fall of the House of Usher,” pairing Gordon Getty’s “Usher House” with Debussy’s “La Chute de la Maison Usher,” is on April 10 and 11. And don’t miss “Don Carlo” (April 17 and 18): Emilio Sagi directs Verdi’s political drama, with a starry cast featuring Michael Fabiano in the title role, soprano Ana María Martinez as Elisabetta, and bass René Pape as King Philip II. Nicola Luisotti conducts. DETAILS » Register at sfopera.com beginning at 10 a.m. on the first streaming date through 11:59 p.m. the following day; streaming productions are free; “Barber of Seville,” $250 per car to watch live performance, $50 per car to watch simulcast on drivein movie screen; sfopera. com.
• Whole lotta love: Opera San Jose celebrates love in its many permutations in a new production featuring three short operas. “Love and Secrets: A Domestic Trilogy,” curated by company general director Khori Dastoor, includes Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s comic “Il Segreto di Susanna,” Ned Rorem’s “Four Dialogues,” based on poetry by Frank O’Hara, and Tom Cipullo’s “The Husbands.” Running about 95 minutes total, the production was captured in OSJ’s Heiman Digital Media Studio, where the company filmed its stunning 2020 production of Jake Heggie’s “Three Decembers.” “Love and Secrets” features sopranos Vanessa Becerra and Marnie Breckenridge, mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon, tenor Carlos Enrique Santelli, and baritones Efrain Solis and Eugene Brancoveanu. Tara Branham directs the operas, and Joseph Marcheso and Christopher James Ray are the conductors. DETAILS » 6 p.m. April 15, $15 to $40 household; $50 opening night tickets include post-show cast party; available for on-demand viewing for 30 days; operasj.org.
• Salonen’s SoundBox: San Francisco Symphony’s SoundBox series resumes this month with “Patterns,” a program curated and conducted by music director Esa-Pekka Salonen.
It includes early music, minimalist works by Steve Reich and Terry Riley, and the world premiere of Salonen’s “Saltat sobrius,” based on Perotin’s “Sederunt principes.” DETAILS » Available April 15; $15; sfsymphonyplus. org.