San Francisco Chronicle

Merola Opera Program closes with free concert

- — Joshua Kosman

Young performing artists have to learn early to be flexible, and the singers and pianistcoa­ches of the Merola Opera Program are no exception. These 27 gifted young musicians came to the Bay Area this summer for an outoftheor­dinary iteration of the San Francisco Opera’s training regimen — shortened calendar, no staged production­s — and they all rolled with the punches.

As they prepare to leave the region, they gather one last time for the traditiona­l Grand Finale program, a collection of arias and ensembles calculated to show off what they’ve learned. There’s no orchestra for this occasion, and the venue is outdoors, but none of that should faze them.

 ?? Kristen Loken ?? Mezzosopra­nos Gabrielle Beteag (left), Gabrielle Barkidjija, Jesse Mashburn and Nikola Printz are participat­ing in the 2021 Merola Opera Program.
Kristen Loken Mezzosopra­nos Gabrielle Beteag (left), Gabrielle Barkidjija, Jesse Mashburn and Nikola Printz are participat­ing in the 2021 Merola Opera Program.

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