Britten and Mozart Operas Highlight Merola Opera Program 2013 Summer Festival

Merola Opera Program 2013 Summer Festival Includes Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro

Everett Auditorium and Nourse Theatre Added as New Performance Venues Joining Yerba Buena Gardens and War Memorial Opera House

SAN FRANCISCO, March 26, 2013 — Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro highlight the Merola Opera Program’s 2013 summer season which also includes the annual Schwabacher Summer Concert and the traditional Merola Grand Finale. Everett Middle School has been named as the new performance venue for the staged operas and the Schwabacher Summer Concert due to simultaneous renovations on both Herbst Theatre and Cowell Theater.

Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia opens the season at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 11 and 2 p.m. Saturday, July 13 at the Everett Auditorium at Everett Middle School and will be directed by Peter Kazaras and conducted by Mark Morash. The annual Schwabacher Summer Concert, conducted by Kevin Murphy and directed by Roy Rallo, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18 at the Everett Auditorium at Everett Middle School and again at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 20 in a free outdoor concert at Yerba Buena Gardens. The season continues with W.A. Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, August 1 and 2 p.m. Saturday August 3 at the Everett Auditorium at Everett Middle School directed by Robin Guarino and conducted by Xian Zhang. Maestro John DeMain leads the annual Merola Grand Finale at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 17 on the main stage of War Memorial Opera House.

Throughout the summer, the Merola artists will participate in various master classes and private coaching with such luminaries as Neil Shicoff, Jane Eaglen, Martin Katz, Warren Jones and Patrick Carfizzi, among others. Scheduled this year to be held in the historic Nourse Theatre, these master classes and behind-the-scenes events are open only to Merola members. Festival ticket buyers who wish to attend these exclusive events can join Merola as a member for as little as $10.

Led artistically by San Francisco Opera Center Director and internationally acclaimed soprano Sheri Greenawald, the Merola Opera Program is an independent nonprofit organization which operates in collaboration with the San Francisco Opera. Founded in 1957 and named for San Francisco Opera’s founder, Gaetano Merola, the Program is recognized as one of the most prestigious operatic training programs in the world. The Merola Opera Program typically receives more than 800 applications for approximately 30 positions. In addition to the public performances and master classes mentioned above, participants – who include singers, apprentice coaches and an apprentice stage director – also receive training in operatic repertory, foreign languages, diction, acting and stage movement.

Speaking specifically of the new venues, Merola Executive Director Jean Kellogg stated, “After viewing over 30 venues in San Francisco and the surrounding cities, we were thrilled to see the excellent venues of Everett Auditorium and Nourse Theatre and feel confident that audiences will be pleased with these new performance spaces.” Built in a classic Spanish style, Everett Middle School’s auditorium will seat nearly 600 patrons, 200 more than the Cowell Theater, enabling Merola to expand its frequently sold-out performances to additional audiences. Newly renovated by City Arts and Lectures, the 1,693-seat Nourse Theatre is the perfect venue for the master classes with its excellent acoustics and stunning architecture.

Festival ticket packages will be on sale in April to Merola members and May for the general public. Tickets for all performances may be purchased by calling San Francisco Opera Box Office at (415) 864-3330.

Full program details including artists and casting will be announced at a later date. Visit www.merola.org for more information.

SFUSD neither endorses nor sponsors the organization or activity described in this document.

CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE: 2013 Merola Summer Festival Calendar of Performances

Merola Opera Program Presents
The Rape of Lucretia
Benjamin Britten
Sung in English with English supertitles
7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 11
2 p.m. Saturday, July 13
Everett Middle School Auditorium, 450 Church Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
Tickets: $60/$40/$25

Merola Opera Program Presents
Schwabacher Summer Concert
7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 18
Everett Middle School Auditorium, 450 Church Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
Tickets: $40/$25

Merola Opera Program Presents
Schwabacher Summer Concert
2 p.m. Saturday, July 20
Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission St. between 3rd and 4th Streets
FREE

Merola Opera Program Presents
Le nozze di Figaro
W.A. Mozart
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
7:30 p.m. Thursday, August 1
2 p.m. Saturday, August 3
Everett Middle School Auditorium, 450 Church Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
Tickets: $60/$40/$25

Merola Opera Program Presents
Merola Grand Finale and Reception
7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 17
War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
Tickets: $45 Grand Tier & Orchestra Prime/$35 Orchestra/$25 Dress Circle
Reception begins at 10 p.m. in the Opera House Café
*Reception tickets are an additional $50 each

Festival ticket packages will be on sale in April to Merola members and May for the general public For information on how to become a Merola member, please call (415) 565-6427 or visit www.merola.org.

A festival package discount of 10 percent applies through June 10 if tickets for all festival performances Rape of Lucretia, Schwabacher Summer Concert, Le nozze di Figaro and the Merola Grand Finale are purchased together. Tickets for all performances may be purchased by calling San Francisco Opera Box Office at (415) 864-3330 open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

PHOTO CREDIT:

Everett Middle School / courtesy of SFUSD
Nourse Theatre / courtesy of City Arts & Lectures

PRESS AND MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACT:

Karen Ames Communications
Karen Ames karen@karenames.com
Kristin Schellinger kristin@karenames.com
(415) 641-7474

Merola Public Relations Assistant
Alexandra Elliott aelliott@sfopera.com
(415) 551-6299

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Led artistically by San Francisco Opera Center Director and internationally acclaimed soprano Sheri Greenawald, the Merola Opera Program is an independent nonprofit organization which operates in collaboration with the San Francisco Opera. Founded in 1957 and named for San Francisco Opera’s founder, Gaetano Merola, the Program is recognized as one of the most prestigious operatic training programs in the world. The Merola Opera Program typically receives more than 800 applications for approximately 30 positions. Throughout the summer, Merola artists participate in master classes and private coachings with opera luminaries. Participants – who include singers, apprentice coaches and an apprentice stage director – also receive training in operatic repertory, foreign languages, diction, acting and stage movement.