Musical Notes for the New Season

As we go to press, summertime fades to fall, and a small but dedicated band of arts writers and editors gird themselves for "hell week." That's what we half-jokingly call the welter of opening nights and galas that signals the official start of the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony seasons. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it, and if the truth be told, a lot of feverish fun. As we slip (or in some cases, torture ourselves back) into evening clothes fresh from the closet, we can still offer some notice of promising concerts and productions scheduled between now and December on both sides of the corner at Grove and Van Ness.

Single tickets for the San Francisco Symphony season have been available since July 21, and judging from press releases and the calendar, there is a positive emphasis on American composers that may help guide your decisions. There is at least one work by an American writer on most programs, and more than 20 works and two new recordings are scheduled through late June. Of course, the season ends with one of Musical Director Michael Tilson Thomas's trademarked mini-festivals, dedicated to none other than Beethoven. But his loyalty to fellow Americans is featuring prominently during his 20th season with the SFS.

Yes, 20th season! Once the jumbled bill of the opening gala is behind him, MTT will get down to business and celebrate his anniversary with characteristically cohesive focus. Opening-week concerts excise the glamorous but vaguely irrelevant pieces from the first night, and feature instead young "Golden Age pianist" Benjamin Grosvenor in Ravel's jazzy and delightful Piano Concerto in G Major. The rest of the bill is devoted to Russians: Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

Mid-September brings another gifted pianist to Davies Symphony Hall, with Leif Ove Andsnes in Beethoven's Concerto No. 1, and SFS' first performances of "Alternative Energy" by youthful American Mason Bates. I'm still a hold-out on the jury about this endlessly promising composer, but his music is never less than attractive, and he always has some interesting things to say.

Late September is notable for the appearances of organist Cameron Carpenter playing the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Ice Field" by American Henry Brant, written specifically for the orchestra and the spatial acoustic of DSH. There is some Bach and the Tchaikovsky Fifth added to lure listeners in. American composers Lukas Foss and Charles Ives feature in a program that finishes the busy month on a bill weighted by Richard Strauss' monumental "Also sprach Zarathustra." The grand Ruffatti organ is certainly getting a dusting this month.

October is looking like a sort of Rachmaninoff tribute, with the SFS featuring pianist Garrick Ohlsson essaying the exciting and beautiful Concerto No. 3 on one bill, as the SFS' "Great Performers" series features Jean-Efflam Bavouzet ripping through the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with conductor Vladimir Jurowski conducting the visiting London Philharmonic Orchestra. The SFS rounds it all off with Rachmaninoff's thrilling Symphonic Dances on a program that includes violinist Isabelle Faust playing Benjamin Britten's Concerto, with Stephane Deneve conducting. There is also a chance to experience American Samuel Barber's rightfully admired Adagio for Strings.

Copland's "Appalachian Spring" is another revered bit of Americana, and it opens a concert in late October that includes the far less-known "Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety" by American iconoclast Morton Feldman. Visiting conductor and pianist Christian Zacharias will also play some Mozart and lead a Haydn symphony. I'm thinking this is looking like one of those unexpected treasures.

Late October and early November return MTT to the podium with the Mahler Seventh, and there is no need to discuss. Just hope it isn't too late to grab some seats. The SFS continues through Thanksgiving with terrific guest soloists joining MTT (violinist Gil Shaham) and guest conductor Susanna Malkki (pianist Jeremy Denk).

And the winter comes, but don't be a Scrooge. The highly successful "Film with the San Francisco Symphony" series will feature live music accompaniment to "Home Alone" in December. The score by John Williams is delightful, and the movie is a funny and sentimental treat. It should be a nice oasis in the seasonal madness.

Operatic Buzz

Across Grove Street, the San Francisco Opera opens the 92nd season with Bellini's glorious bel canto opera "Norma." The symphonic sweep of the score is always irresistible, and all a good performance really needs are the best soprano and mezzo-soprano available. The new SFO production stars Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role, and she has already garnered some raves for her performances at the Met. Music Director Nicola Luisotti will also conduct the SFO debut of American mezzo Jamie Barton, stepping in for Daveda Karanas, who has withdrawn from the production for personal reasons. Barton has also garnered praise for her Met appearances as Adalgisa. As long as the chemistry works between the stars (and their individual lung power), it would take a really bad production to take down this immortal score. I haven't heard any troubling buzz about this co-production with Canadian Opera Company, Gran Teatre del Liceu and Lyric Opera of Chicago, so I'm looking forward to an old-fashioned opera-lover's wallow in Bellini's masterpiece.

Hard on the heels of the tragic Druid priestess, another embattled heroine enmeshed in religious turmoil takes center stage at the War Memorial Opera House. American composer Carlisle Floyd's "Susannah," set in a rural Appalachian setting, tells the story of an unjustly accused and victimized young woman in an all-American score that retells the Biblical tale of Susanna and the elders.

The hardest-working act in opera, soprano Patricia Racette sings the title role, with Brandon Jovanovich as her brother, and Raymond Aceto as the frightening traveling preacher Rev. Olin Blitch. Conductor Karen Kamensek makes her SFO debut in the company premiere directed by Michael Cavanagh ("Nixon in China," 2012).

General Director of the SFO since 2006, David Gockley has a long and fruitful history with the 87-year-old composer. His support of Carlisle Floyd has proved exceptional. "Susannah" is a great American opera, right up there with "Porgy and Bess," and anyone who has heard the exciting piece, filled with rich melody and stunning drama, will not want to miss this one. Heck, fans of Racette (and increasingly, Jovanovich) alone should create a need for more standing room.

The season continues with Verdi's own glorious cavalcade of good tunes, A "Masked Ball," with a cast starring Ramon Vargas ("Mephistopheles," 2013) and local and world-favorite Dolora Zajick as Amelia. Sharing in repertory the role of Amelia's husband will be two baritones, personal favorite Thomas Hampson ("Heart of a Soldier," 2011) and Brian Mulligan ("Nixon in China," 2012). Nicola Luisotti conducts. I can't wait to see how La Zajick is doing after her rather abrupt withdrawal from the title role in Dolores Claiborne last season, but it is obvious Gockley is holding no grudge.

Starting mid-October, Handel's "Partenope," with a libretto by the famed Anonymous, promises to be audiences' treat, with a plot featuring disguises and cross-dressing. Handel's comedy about Queen Partenope of Naples and her three royal suitors is enhanced by one of his most sparkling scores. Director Christopher Alden has moved the action to 1920s Paris. Christian Curnyn, a baroque music specialist, is conductor for a cast that includes the adorable Danielle de Niese and countertenor David Daniels ("Xerxes," 2011). Where Daniels sings, we should follow.

Puccini's "Tosca" follows in repertory, and it will undoubtedly be a hit just on the strength of everyone's fondness for the score. The return of the well-reviewed SFO mounting features soprano Lianna Haroutounian in the title role. She is paired with Brian Jagde as her lover Cavaradossi, and she will fight off the advances of the evil Scarpia sung by Mark Delavan. Riccardo Frizza conducts.

Rossini's "Cinderella" arrives in time for Thanksgiving, and I can't think of a more appropriate timing. Karine Deshayes makes her San Francisco Opera debut in the tuneful and heartwarming fairy tale. Spanish conductor Jesus Lopez-Cobos is in the pit.

More Puccini concludes the fall season as his beloved "La Boheme" returns to the War Memorial mid-November. John Caird, director of two acclaimed recent productions of "Les Mis�rables" and "Nicholas Nickleby," is in charge, and Resident Conductor Giuseppe Finzi leads two casts. Greek soprano Alexia Voulgaridou will make her company debut, and Michael Fabiano, known for his gorgeous tenor and attractive stage presence, will also appear with Nadine Sierra. Another cast features Leah Crocetto and tenor Giorgio Berrugi.