Wagner’s ‘Tristan’ gets a jump on opera season
Opening night for most Bay Area opera companies is still a few weeks away, but opera lovers can start getting into shape for the season this weekend with a special concert performance of “Tristan und Isolde.”
Presented by the new Claude Heater Foundation, Wagner’s opera will be performed by an international cast Sunday afternoon at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.
Wagnerians will want to be there. “Tristan und Isolde” marks one of the great achievements of the composer’s career; inspired by Gottfried von Strassburg’s medieval epic, “Tristan,” Wagner’s 1859 opera offers a deeply moving experience. In its depiction of enchantment, contained in a gripping four-hour meditation on poetic love, sexual passion and death, the composer created what might be called the original surround sound.
The performance features tenor Roy Cornelius Smith and soprano Juyeon Song in the opera’s title roles. The cast also includes mezzo-soprano Tamara Gallo as Brangäne, bassbaritone Philip Skinner as King Marke, tenor Alex Boyer as Melot and baritone Geoffrey Di Giorgio as Kurwenal. Conductor Jonathan Khuner, who last week finished leading performances of Debussy’s gorgeous “Pelléas and Mélisande” for West Edge Opera, will lead a full orchestra in “Tristan und Isolde,” which includes video projections by Naomie Kremer. The performance is in German, with English supertitles.
The Claude Heater Foundation is named for American opera singer Claude Heater, a native of Oakland who resides in the Bay Area. Tristan was one of Heater’s signature roles. He performed it for a 1968 film
version produced for Belgian television, and as part of the foundation’s launch, portions of the film depicting Acts 2 and 3 of “Tristan” will be shown at the Berkeley City Club on Friday. Following the film, there will be a musical performance by violinist Sarn Oliver, cellist Misha Khalikulov and pianist Robert Pearce.
DETAILS >> “Tristan und Isolde,” concert performance, 2 p.m. Sunday; Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; $25-$80, with discounts for students and seniors; cityboxoffice.com.
FILM SCREENING >> Acts 2 and 3 of “Tristan und Isolde,” 1 p.m. Friday; Berkeley City Club, Berkeley; $10 includes film and musical performance; tristanfilm-berk.eventbrite.com. SET SAIL WITH SINGING ‘PIRATES’ >> Gilbert and Sullivan
fans, take note: The Lamplighters’ summer production of “The Pirates of Penzance” has its final performances in Livermore this weekend. Silliness reigns in this high-seas operetta — one of the Savoyards’ greatest hits — as young Frederic is indentured to a crew of inept pirates. The Lamplighters always make Gilbert and Sullivan’s patter songs shine (who can resist “I am the very model of a modern MajorGeneral”?), and this year’s production is directed by Nicolas Aliaga Garcia and conducted by David Drummond.
DETAILS >> 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Bankhead Theater, Livermore; $22.50-$47; 925-373-6800, lvpac.org. NEW BERNSTEIN RECORDING >> Bay Area music organizations continue to mark the Leonard Bernstein centennial. As part
of the celebration, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony have released a new recording of Bernstein’s “Arias and Barcarolles.” Just out on the SFS Media label, the digital-only release will be available Friday on most major music sites for streaming and download in stereo. It features the composer’s beguiling and very personal song cycle, which Bernstein and Tilson Thomas premiered in its original piano-four hand and voices version in 1988 in New York City.
Bernstein dedicated the sixth song of the cycle, “Oif Mayn Khas’neh” (At My Wedding) to Tilson Thomas. The performance of “Arias and Barcarolles,” recorded in September 2017, features mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard and bass-baritone Ryan McKinny.
IN SEARCH OF SINGERS >> The Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale is auditioning singers for its 33rd season. Directed by Elena Sharkova, the group will perform with Symphony Silicon Valley throughout its 2018-19 season, including October performances of Debussy’s “La Damoiselle élue,” the December holiday program “Carols in the California” and a program featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Dvorak’s “Te Deum” in June. Selected singers also will perform in Faure’s Requiem at the Montreal Chorale Festival in 2019. To schedule an audition, send an email to khuynh@symphonysiliconvalley.org.