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Get your front row seats for two of the leading opera companies in the world! First, enjoy Robert Lepage's groundbreaking new production of Wagner's The Ring Cycle on Great Performances at the Met. Then join celebrated mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade as she hosts the third season of San Francisco Opera's acclaimed series featuring four spectacular productions. All productions are presented in brilliant HD where available.
Support for Opera on KQED is provided by a generous gift from Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem.
Great Performances at the Met: Wagner's Ring Cycle
Wagner's Dream
Mon, Sep 10, 2012 - 8pm on KQED Plus
The award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke’s documentary chronicles the backstage story of the creation of the Metropolitan Opera’s ambitious new staging.
Great Performances at the Met: Wagner's Ring Cycle
Tue-Fri, Sep 11-14, 2012 - 7pm on KQED Plus
Sun, Sep 16 at noon and Sundays, Sep 23, Sep 30 & Oct
7, 2012 - 11am on KQED 9
Robert Lepage's groundbreaking staging of German composer Richard Wagner's The Ring took a high-tech approach to these four sweeping epic operas. Based loosely on characters from the Norse Sagas and the Nibelungenlied, the cycle follows the struggles of gods, heroes, and several mythical creatures over the eponymous magic Ring that grants domination over the entire world. The operas — Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung — will be preceded on Monday, September 10 at 8pm by the airing of award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke's documentary Wagner's Dream, which chronicles the backstage story of the creation of this ambitious new staging.
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera's The Magic Flute
Premieres Thu, Sep 20, 2012 - 8pm on KQED 9
Mozart's beloved The Magic Flute is a playful, yet profound look at the human quest for love, wisdom and virtue. Acclaimed opera director Stanley M. Garner helms the colorful and inventive production designed by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. Donald Runnicles conducts an enchanting cast headed by acclaimed lyric tenor Piotr Beczala as Tamino and soprano Dina Kuznetsova as Pamina. Other singers include Christopher Maltman (Papageno), soprano Erika Miklósa (Queen of the Night) and bass Georg Zeppenfeld (Sarastro).
San Francisco Opera's Salome
Premieres Thu, Sep 27, 2012 - 8pm on KQED 9
German soprano Nadja Michael stars as the seductress Salome in Richard Strauss's biblical drama. Tenor Kim Begley sings the role of King Herod with bass-baritone Greer Grimsley as Jokanaan (John the Baptist). The cast also features mezzo-soprano Irina Mishura (Herodias) and tenor Garrett Sorenson (Narraboth). San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducts.
San Francisco Opera's Il Trittico
Premieres Thu, Oct 4, 2012 - 8pm on KQED 9
Enjoy Puccini's rarely-performed triptych (Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi) in its entirety, the way its creator intended. Soprano Patricia Racette, a celebrated interpreter of Puccini's works, portrays the heroine in each of Il Trittico's three one-act operas. San Francisco Opera Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Summers conducts.
San Francisco Opera's Otello
Premieres Thu, Oct 11, 2012 - 8pm on KQED 9
In Verdi's masterful adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy, a great warrior is brought down by his own jealousy. This spectacular production stars tenor Johan Botha, one of today's preeminent interpreters of the title role. Soprano Zvetelina Vassileva sings the role of Otello's faithful and falsely accused wife Desdemona and Italian baritone Marco Vratogna is the manipulative soldier Iago. Conducted by San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti.
