Behind the Curtain - Summer 2011

Vo l u m e I I • S u m m e r 2 0 1 1

Curtain S A N F R A NCI S C O O PERA

B E H I N D

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A P u b l i c at i o n E x c l u s i v e ly f o r Sa n F r a n c i s c o Ope r a C o n t r i b u t o r s

It’s about the Voice J o a n Tr a i t e l D i s c u s s e s t h e G r e a t S i n g e r s F u n d

“W “General Director David Gockley is determined to keep San Francisco Opera a singers’ house to captivate a new generation of opera patrons by exposing

finest voices.”

– Gregory Henkel Director of Artistic Administration

Letter from David Gockley on page two

Photo by Drew Altizer

them to the world’s

The Traitels know firsthand the power of a single ithout great singers, opera is not great experience. “There was a time when my husall it could be,” says San Francisco band wasn’t terribly interested in opera,” Mrs. Traitel Opera Board member Joan Traitel. remarks candidly. “But then he saw Plácido Domingo “That’s why my husband and I approached David in concert. What more could you want?

Gockley with the idea of creatThat really piqued his interest.” ing a special way of supporting singers exclusively.” The end re- “Every contribution “The feedback from audiences has been heartwarming,” notes Mrs. Traitel. sult is the Great Singers Fund, inis important!”

“I’ve even been approached by operaaugurated by the Traitels in 2008 goers who thank me for helping get to provide San Francisco Opera great singers for our opera company. However, it rewith enhanced support in attracting the world’s ally is a group effort. Donors at all levels need to feel best-known singers. A member of the SFO Board that they are part of the opera company,” she declares. of Directors since 1998, Joan and her husband “If the company stars some of the very best singers of were production sponsors for several years before the day, they share that artistry. How often do you get turning their support to the Great Singers Fund. the opportunity to be so connected to something so “The Fund makes a difference in the quality of beautiful?” According to Mrs. Traitel, a great perforopera in San Francisco,” she explains. mance is the reward.

When asked to name a favorite artist from the upcoming 2011–12 Season, Mrs. Traitel simply can’t stop at one. “There are so many! Renée Fleming is one of my very favorite singers, and I’m so pleased that she’s returning. The last time she was here was ten years ago.” Other favorites are Ramón Vargas, Thomas Hampson, Susan Graham, David Daniels and Sam Ramey. Pausing thoughtfully, she adds, “I hope people see the relationship between the Great Singers Fund and this season’s fantastic lineup.

More importantly, I hope people feel inspired to give financial support. San Francisco Opera needs contributions at all levels, and almost anyone who attends the opera can give something. Every contribution is important! We’re in a tough economic stretch, which makes great singers all the more precious. They make an evening special, and at the end you walk away happy. In hard times, we need moments like that more than ever.”

For more information on how you can support the Great Singers Fund, please contact Andrew Morgan Joan and David Traitel at (415) 565-3266 or amorgan@sfopera.com.

presence of the world’s finest singers on our stage, to productions that are sensitive to the music, to the introduction of the media and education programs, to the streamlin At the May 26 meeting ing of many of the company’s processes, we of San Francisco Opera’s have done much to provide exhilarating board of directors, my opera, while also preparing the Company contract renewal was put for the years and decades ahead. before the board for ap I am energized to be able to continue this proval. I am happy to rework for another five years, working with port that the board present San Francisco Opera staff, board volunat the meeting voted in favor of extending my teers and the community at large to ensure contract through July 31, 2016. that the Company maintains its interna The last five years have been some of tional profile well into the next 25 years the most professionally and personally reand beyond. warding of my life. The None of this would legacy and great history of “Although we face our be possible without the San Francisco Opera is an challenges, we also face generous support of awe-inspiring mantle to take cherished contributors on. Throughout my career tremendous opportunities.” like you. Thank you.

I have always admired the talents of the men and women who make this With best wishes, company the center of excellence that it is, and it is a great privilege for me to be a part of the work we all do here.

Although we face our challenges, we also face tremendous opportunities. From the constant David Gockley, General Director

S u m m e r 2 0 1 1 , I ss u e N o . 4

Behind the Curtain is a publication for contributors to San Francisco Opera.

Edit o r s:

R a n d i Lu n d J u d i t h F ran kel

wr iters:

J u l i e F e i n s t e i n Adam s w w w. j u l i e f e i n ste in .c om

M a r k H e r nan dez w w w. b l a z i n g s ta ge .c om design:

J a n e t t e C a vecch e w w w. c a v e c c h e gr a ph ic s.c om D a v i d G ockley G e n e r a l Dir e c tor N i c o l a L uis o tti M u si c D i r e c tor Behind the Curtain is published semiannually by the Development Department at San Francisco Opera. If you have any address changes or would prefer not to receive this publication please contact: San Francisco Opera Development Department 301 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102 c o nta c t u s :

General Member: (415) 565-6416 Donor Benefits Hotline: (415) 551-6308 Medallion Society Information: (415) 565-6401

P h o t o b y Te r r e n c e M c C a r t h y

D ea r F r i e n d o f Sa n F r a n c i s c o Ope r a

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA 2009-10 SEASON FINANCIAL SUMMARY Fundraising 6%

Administrative and General Operations 10%

Visit us on the web at:

Guild Corporations 1% 4% Government 2% Foundations 17%

In-kind 4%

Marketing and Box Office 9%

Individual Donors 71%

CO N T R I B U T I O N S $36,584,341

sfoper a . com C o m pa n y S p o n s o r s Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Franklin and Catherine Johnson Mrs. Edmund W. Littlefield Bernard and Barbro Osher Se a s o n S p o n s o r

Contributions** 57%

Production & Artistic* 75%

Operating Revenue*** 33%

Endowment Draw 9%

San Francisco Opera is sponsored, in part, by a grant from Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund

EXPENSES $65,251,246

REVENUE $63,697,638

* includes Media and Opera Center

** does not include unrestricted bequests *** includes $19 MM ticket sales

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N G O T O S F O P E R A . C O M / F I N A N C E G O V E R N A N C E

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Photo by Judith Frankel

Corporate Partners

Photo by Drew Altizer

g i v in g

Announcing the Littlefield Challenge Matching Gift Encourages Next Generation Leadership

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an Francisco Opera just received a exciting prospect. With a possible $6 million generous $3 million challenge match coming as a result of this challenge, the profrom the Littlefield Family Foundation. spects are even more exciting!”

This wonderful gesture from our extraordinary Camerata is a group of visionary donors donor Mrs. Edmund W. (Jeannik) Littlefield who will fund the projects that will define and her family is intended to inspire others to the Company’s international reputation. In join them in demonstrating a serious, long-term addition to maintaining their annual support commitment to the Company. for the Company’s general oper “There are no words to deations, Camerata members make “The impact of scribe how grateful we are to the multi-year gifts in support of their generosity Littlefield family,” says General special projects and initiatives, Director David Gockley. “The including new works, signature to this Comapny impact of their generosity to productions, and new audience is immense.” this Company is immense. I am development efforts. The goal is to delighted that they have decided raise $50 million over five years. to set an example for others in their passion for Camerata membership levels start at our work, and their philanthropic zeal.” $75,000, payable over three years, with ad To help the Company generate support ditional levels of $150,000 and $300,000. for Camerata, San Francisco Opera’s newly Participants will be honored as Littlefield launched major funding campaign, the LittleFounders for the duration of the program. field Family has pledged to provide a dollar The Littlefield Challenge will also match for-dollar match to all Camerata commitments significant incremental annual gifts toward made between October 19, 2010 (the date of San Francisco Opera general operations. the Camerata launch) and December 31, 2011, For more information about the Littlefield up to $3 million.

Challenge and Camerata, contact Andrew “Looking ahead to my next five years in Morgan at (415) 565-3266 or email him at San Francisco,” says Gockley, “Camerata is an amorgan@sfopera.com.

Become

a

Jeannik Méquet Littlefield at Opening Night in 2007.

Producer

Did you know you can direct your annual gift toward an aspect of an opera that interests you most? Here are just a few ways you can direct your gift: A ffi l ia t e

P r od u c t ion

S ponso r s h ips :

You can direct your gift towards costumes, chorus, even a single player in the orchestra for a specific production. Affiliate production sponsorships start at $25,000.

E l e c t r oni c

Media :

Help fund our simulcasts, radio broadcasts, or cinema-casts. Sponsor OperaVision for a performance or a full season. You can even help fund a digital archive at the opera.

Media sponsorships run from $5,000 to $250,000.

A d l e r

Photo by Judith Frankel

Aida Costume Sponsor Jennifer MacCready with Micaela Carosi and Hendrik Hulshoff.

Fe llo w

S ponso r s h ips :

Our world-renowned Adler Fellowships are funded almost exclusively by individual donors through their annual gifts. Become an Adler Friend for a minimum of $5,000.

Sponsorships for individual Adler Fellows are $30,000 to $100,000 annually.

For information about designating your annual gift, contact Judith Frankel at (415) 551-6226.

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Photo by Cor y Weaver

c y c le

Conversation with Wagner Fans Ron & Emely Weissman

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Mon u m en t a l Unde r t a k ing

Here are some interesting facts about our 2011 Ring cycle: People involved onstage and in the pit: 415 Animals:

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Time to complete the full cycle: 17 hours Pages of orchestra music: 2,092 Notes sung by the women’s chorus: 15 Number of trucks to transport the set: 26 53- foot trucks Versions of the sword Notung used during the cycles: 6

Photo by Drew Altizer

rom the first few moments of San Francisco Opera’s Ring in 1972, then-graduate-student usher Ron Weissman was hooked. Over the years, he and wife Emely, long-time San Francisco Opera subscribers and Medallion Society members, have attended at least nine Ring cycles, including two more in San Francisco (1990 and 1999) and one in Bayreuth, plus partial cycles and an international symposium or two. Hardly an impressive record, Emely “You never know how says, compared to “Ringheads” who have journeyed to 25 cycles or more. Still, she the magic is going smiles, “We get a little nervous if we don’t to work on you.” know where our next Ring is coming from.”

“There is an anticipation unlike any other when the Ring is in town; the knowledge that you are about to be viscerally thrilled by the grandeur of the music, completely engaged by a gigantic plot, seduced into wrestling with questions of power and human existence. It’s not something you can do at will because there are years of preparation involved in every production. I hope we’ll have many new-comers taking advantage of this rare opportunity.”

Ardent admirers of Conductor Donald Runnicles, the couple holds multiple tickets for the upcoming productions. Ron is emphatic, “We would go anywhere within reason to hear him conduct the repertoire for which he is famous.

Maestro Runnicles’ first Ring in San Francisco in 1990 was spectacular – my favorite Ring of all time. This year’s could be even better!”

He continues, “We have experienced some extreme cycles: a Kabuki Ring, a Freudian Ring…. We’ve enjoyed Francesca Zambello’s American interpretation of the Ring.” Ron, a venture capitalist, found intriguing Ms. Zambello’s setting of Die Walküre partly in corporate America, with Wotan as an executive. He jokes, “My companies’ board meetings would certainly be enlivened if the CEOs entered carrying spears.”

“Wagner is so complex, there is no such thing as using him up,” observes Emely. “Every single performance, every listen, you make a discovery.

The fact is, you never know how the magic is going to work on you, but you know there will be magic.”

Number of supertitle slides: 2,650

Our 2011 Ring cycle had many noteworthy role debuts (Nina Stemme as Brünnhilde, Mark Delavan as Wotan, Jay Hunter Morris as Siegfried, Ian Story as Siegfried and others). Here are other major Ring roles sung at San Francisco Opera by artists for the first time in their careers: Kirsten Flagstad Brünnhilde, Siegfried (1935) Berit Lindholm Sieglinde, Die Walküre (1972) Eva Marton Brünnhilde, Siegfried (1984)

Ron and Emely Weissman at San Francsico Opera’s Opening Night.

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Lighting crew finalize projections during a technical

James Morris Wotan, Das Rheingold (1985)

Photo by Kevin Berne

r in g

Nina Stemme and Jay Hunter Morris in Siegfried.

Photo by Kevin Berne

Photo by Cor y Weaver

Illuminating the Ring Lighting Director Chris Maravich Sheds L i g h t o n Te c h n i c a l C h a l l e n g e s

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Ring Director Francesca Zambello and Set Designer Michael Yeargan

Photo by Kevin Berne

at a technical rehearsal he worst reaction we can have is when an audience of Götterdämmerung. member says, ‘The lighting was very good,’” laughs Chris Maravich, Lighting Director at San Francisco Opera. “Our job is to make the audience completely forget they Further refinements happened during dress rehearsals, and the final are watching an opera.” dress run is a full performance with no stopping, “unless there is a

This is no small task for a production like the Ring, disaster onstage or a fire in the pit,” says Maravich. essentially four operas linked together to tell a single, cohesive This pre-production regimen for the most part avoids any mishaps 17-hour story. Approximately 20 to 24 electricians, along with a during a run, except for one memorable night. Maravich recalls: “It spotlight, a fog machine, board operators, projectionists, a stage was during the 1999 Ring cycle; we were on our final performance manager and two assistants, and a fire-watch crew govern the of Götterdämmerung. At the very end, the moment output of over $2 million worth of lighting. when Siegfried gets stabbed – before the funeral Half of this equipment was purchased in Four operas linked march and the final immolation scene – our whole the years following the 1996 War Memorial Opera House renovations. The other half together to tell a single, staff was in the booth drinking champagne.”

“Siegfried died,” Maravich continues, “but the was purchased in 2008 in anticipation of the cohesive 17-hour story. fall spotlight didn’t turn off. At that moment, 2011 Ring cycle, in addition to a $1 million the head electrician reported the light board projection system. had frozen! Luckily, a minute after the stabbing, the curtain came Even with state-of the-art upgrades,working in repertory in a down and the march happened in front of it, which gave us a 1930s-era house has its challenges. For this year’s Ring cycle, Marathree-minute interlude. The work lights went on backstage, and vich collaborated with the cycle’s original lighting designer, Marc the electrician turned the entire lighting rig off and back on.”

McCullough, over a six-month period to modify production plans.

“We hit the next light cue just as the curtain rose again,”Maravich One month before opening, Maravich’s team worked for three says. “The audience had no idea that the last scene almost went on days focusing 300 to 400 lights ranging in power from 500 to in total darkness!”

5,000 watts. Over the next ten days, eight-hours-a-day, lighting For more insights into technical production, go to sfopera. cues were rehearsed and refined moment-by-moment while “light com/Watch-Listen.aspx and click on “Media Gallery.” walkers” crossed the stage and stood on the performers’ marks.

T e c h n i c a l fa c t s a b o u t the 2011 Ring cycle: Lighting cues:

400

Hours of video edited to make the projections: 100+ Liters of liquid nitrogen used nightly to produce fog: 920 Amount of data needed to record video and audio of the cycle: 14 terabytes

Lighting crew finalize projections during a

More electrical power was used in the 2011 Ring Cycle than any other SFO production in history

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Photo by Roger Steen

a r ti s t

p r o file

A Singer Named Melody Former Adler Fellow

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ithin a minute of meeting her, Melody Moore announces, “You have to feel these,” and pounds a fist into her quadriceps. “When I moved here, I started using a bike to get around and I grew to love it. The hills in San Francisco are terrific! I go out of my way to bike over them.” Her enthusiasm is infectious. And yes, her quads are rock hard.

Melody’s connection to San Francisco Opera is deep. The fast-rising soprano is a Merola alumna and former Adler Fellow, and has a half-dozen mainstage credits under her belt. Now she’s gearing up for one of the most important assignments of her career: creating the role of Susan Rescorla, wife of Rick Rescorla, in Heart of a Soldier.

The ink is barely dry on the new commission, but she already has a favorite moment. “There’s a duet when Susan and Rick meet for the first time, in 1999. These were people who had lived full lives and fell in love as adults. The duet is incredibly tender.” As for the musical style of the opera as a whole, Melody remarks, “Christopher [Theofanidis] writes like the characters feel. I’ve done weird new music. This isn’t that.”

With a name like Melody, it might seem as if she was destined to be a musician. Not so. Born in Tennessee, her road to the big leagues was almost an accident. “I come from humble beginnings,” she says. “My father was a janitor. At nine years old I helped him buff floors. When I was twelve, I learned to pressure wash eighteen-wheelers. We weren’t poor, “When everything but we had to work hard.”

“When I was in grade school, we goes right, you moved to Texas,” she continues.

“In my junior year I was named are a conduit for fifth chair of the All-State Choir good music.”

– a big deal. The next year I was named second.” From here, Melody was awarded a scholarship to attend Louisiana State University. “That’s when I knew I wanted to do more,” she smiles.

Ultimately she graduated from the prestigious College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

Melody’s plans were nearly derailed, however, when her father died tragically. “I couldn’t continue,” she says simply. “I got a job managing a coffee shop and tried to breathe for about four years.” The experience ultimately reignited her resolve to become a singer. “When I decided to come back to singing, that’s when everything happened. It was very fast. I had made a commitment, and that was the missing piece.”

She adds, “I’ve been called one of the least high-maintenance singers that my colleagues have met.” Still, Melody’s practical attitude belies a deep connection to her art. “When everything goes right, you’re a conduit for good music. This is my life. I hope that’s what makes me an exciting singer.”

Bring a World Premiere to Life

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his September, San Francisco Opera presents the world premiere of Heart of a Soldier, by renowned

composer Christopher Theofanidis and starring baritone Thomas Hampson. You can help launch this important new commission by becoming a Production Sponsor.

Heart of a Soldier commemorates the tenth anniversary

of the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center, and will premiere on September 10, 2011 to kick off a city-wide memorial to that tragic day.

For information about sponsoring Heart of a Soldier, including a full sponsorship packet, contact Andrew Morgan at (415) 565-3266 or amorgan@sfopera.com.

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Kary Schulman, Director of San Francisco’s Grants for the Arts program.

Photo courtesy of

Eiko’s Legacy Gift

Grants for the Arts.

Opera is the passion

punch above our weight. We are the nation’s 12th largest city, considerably smaller than Houston and Philadelphia, for example. But in worldwide rankings of great U.S. art cities, we are always in the top tier. I believe that funding from Grants for the Arts has allowed our arts community to develop an unusual quality and depth.

SFO: What is your fondest memory of San Francisco Opera?

KS: Two stand out. In 1989, I saw Satyagraha, Philip Glass’s opera about Gandhi. I knew little about modern An Interview with Kary Schulman music, yet I was transported. So much so that I persuaded my daughter, then a teenager, to see it. This would be her first opera! I told her that if she was bored we could leave at intermission, but she was as moved as I was. She has since become an opera lover, all due to that first, risky introduction.

The other standout was the free simulcast of o one knows more about the arts in Madama Butterfly in Civic Center Plaza a few San Francisco than Kary Schulman, now years ago.

The sight of the Plaza overflowing with celebrating her thirtieth year as Direcan extraordinary cross-section of San Franciscans tor of the City’s Grants for the Arts program.

– residents of Tenderloin SRO hotels, Hastings Established in 1961, Grants for the Arts allocates College law students, ofa portion of hotel room tax fice workers, and random revenue to fund San Fran“San Francisco contributes passers-by, all absolutely cisco’s diverse arts activimore per capita to the arts transfixed – was unforgetties. Annual funding from tably poignant.

Grants from the Arts is one than any other city.” of San Francisco Opera’s SFO: You’ve mentioned most important sources of that the Opera is like a income. For more information, visit sfgfta.org. redwood tree. How so?

San Francisco Opera: Describe your KS: Earlier I referred to our interconnectedness. I liken the arts community to an ecosysrelationship with San Francisco Opera. tem. There are many different life forms, from KS: I’ve been a funder for over thirty years. In the smallest and newest to the largest and oldest, that time, I’ve watched the organization go from all in an ever-shifting dynamic of competition a rather insular group to a committed member of and interdependence. In our arts ecosystem, San our arts community. Frankly in the past there was Francisco Opera is a mature and highly evolved the perception that the Opera was self-sufficient life form, like a giant redwood. It is majestic, and didn’t need the community. As our interconawe-inspiring even. And yet vulnerable as are nectedness has become more obvious, the Opera the redwoods. has emerged as a generous arts citizen as well as an exemplary arts organization.

SFO: Why should others support San SFO: Do you feel your funding is having an Francisco Opera? impact?

KS: Because they love it and want to assure that KS: San Francisco contributes more per capita it will survive to enrich the lives of their children to the arts than any other city. I often say that we and grandchildren and great grandchildren.

“San Francisco Opera Is Like a Giant Redwood”

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of Eiko Kikawada’s life.

It was “a very natural decision,” she says, to make a legacy gift to San Francisco Opera through a bequest in her will.

You can join nearly 400 other opera patrons in the Bel Canto Society when you make your legacy gift. Help ensure a strong future for the Opera. You’ll receive invitations to special events and be honored with recognition in Opera publications.

If you prefer, you can make an anonymous gift. For more information, contact Mark Jones at (415) 565-3206 or legacygiving@sfopera. com, or visit sfopera. planyourlegacy.org.

Le g acy G ift D o no r Eiko K ikawada

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upcoming events

Photo by Drew Altizer

C a r o l a nd s Melinda Yee-Franklin, Director of Governmental Affairs & Public Relations, United Airlines, and her husband with Placido Domingo at Carolands.

J u ly July 3, 2011 KDFC radio broadcast of The

Photo by Cor y Weaver

Makropulos Case by Leoš Janácek 8pm – 90.3 in San Francisco; 89.9 in the North & East Bay; online kdfc.com

August A u gu st 7 , 2 0 1 1

2 0 1 0 Adle r C o n c e r t

KDFC radio broadcast of

Dorothy and Brad Jeffries with their sponsored Adler, Sara Gartland, at the 2010 Adler Final Concert.

Listener’s Choice 8pm – 90.3 in San Francisco; 89.9 in Photo by Cor y Weaver

the North & East Bay; online kdfc.com opera at the ballpark From left to right, San Francisco Opera Orpheus members Dave Ryu, Christina Ryu, and Marina Nelson along with Cristina Robinson, Kristen Jones, Todd Jones, and Travis Petraglia watch Aida at AT&T Park.

A u gu st 2 1 , 2 0 11 Opera at Ster n Grove Festival 2pm – Sigmund Ster n Grove

S ep t e m b e r Se p tembe r 4, 2011 KDFC radio broadcast of Das Rheingold

The Magic Flute for Families—The Movie!

by Richard Wagner 8pm – 90.3 in San Francisco; 89.9 in the North & East Bay; online kdfc.com Septem be r 9 , 2 0 1 1 Opening Night Gala 5pm – War Memorial Opera House Septem be r 1 1, 2 0 1 1 Opera in the Park Sharon Meadow Golden Gate Park September 25, 2011 Opera at the Ballpark Simulcast of Turandot 2pm – AT&T Ballpark

Families gather for Bay Area screenings of San Francisco Opera’s The Magic Flute Movie.

Membership events are subject to change.

Go to calendar at sfopera.com for updates.

Photo by Cor y Weaver

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