San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Esther Tonea, an Adler fellow, to receive award of $20,000 cash
Online extra
For The Chronicle’s playlist of this week’s picks, and to watch music videos of select songs, go to datebook.sf chronicle.com.
MXKA, a half-Black, halfMexican American singer with a sensual voice that shines steadily in her bilingual tunes.
Part of MXKA's upcoming Sade tribute EP, her take on “No Ordinary Love” is an interstellar drum- and bassinfused version of the classic that feels like riding a spaceship through a galaxy of passion, with producer Stylolive's electric guitar sitting shotgun.
French Cassettes, “On/Off ” (Tender Loving Empire):
The San Francisco indie-pop band just keeps getting better. “On/Off '' is the second single from French Cassettes since the release of 2020's standout album, “Rolodex.” It's a quirky tune that vibes with Ocean Beach surf rock guitars and a second movement that elevates singer Scott Huerta's polished lead vocals.
The new music video, shot on 16mm film for the song, features Johnny Knoxville of “Jackass” fame, who plays a nefarious mob boss in a jewel heist caper gone wrong.
Thao, “Ambition” (selfreleased):
The first new original song since her powerful 2020 album, “Temple” (one of The Chronicle's best local albums that year), sees the
Vietnamese American singer (formerly of Thao & the Get Down Stay Down) operating over a cowboy-pop guitar. She metaphysically addresses her overarching purpose as a songwriter, questioning who these songs are all really for, singing, “How do I get free, when nobody baby, wants it more than me?”
“Ambition” is “the first in a new batch (of songs),” Thao said in a statement. “We play it in the set on tour and I love to see and hear it change a bit each night. I don't know where it will reside in the future. I am happy for it to be out in the world now, as I aim to be more precious about evolving with songs and less precious about sharing them.”
San Francisco soprano Esther Tonea, an Adler fellow with the San Francisco Opera and an alumna of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, was among the winners of the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition on Sunday, May 1.
The six winners of the prestigious and lucrative event, formerly known as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, each receive a $20,000 cash award and a vigorous career boost. A 2009 winner of the competition, soprano Nadine Sierra — herself a former Adler fellow — hosted Sunday's Grand Finals concert on the Met stage, during which each of 10 finalists sang operatic excerpts.
Tonea, 28, is in her second year as an Adler fellow. As a 2019 participant in the Merola Opera Program, she was a standout in the world premiere of “If I Were You” by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer and made a profound impression in that summer's Grand Finale concert. When live performances resumed after the COVID lockdown, Tonea took part in the Adler fellows showcase concert, “The Future Is Now,” with a formidable aria from Bellini's “Il Pirata.”
This year's Met competition attracted an initial pool of more than 1,100 applicants from the U.S. and internationally. Those were narrowed over successive rounds to 21 semifinalists.
Along with Tonea, other winners were sopranos Julie Roset and Alexandra Razskazoff, mezzo-soprano Anne Marie Stanley, tenor Matthew Cairns, and bass-baritone Le Bu.
Previous winners of the competition who have gone on to acclaimed careers include sopranos Renée Fleming and Sondra Radvanovsky, mezzo-sopranos Stephanie Blythe and Jamie Barton, and tenors Michael Fabiano and Lawrence Brownlee. “The Audition,” a 2008 featurelength documentary by director Susan Froemke, depicts the previous year's iteration in depth.