The Merola Opera Program is an internationally respected model for building strong careers in opera, with a proven balance of training, performance, and individualized support. Merola trains and develops the finest young opera singers, pianist/coaches, and stage directors and invites passionate supporters to be part of the journey.
Featuring Samantha Hankey, mezzo-soprano and Carrie-Ann Matheson, pianist. The Schwabacher Recital Series offers you the opportunity to hear gifted singers in an up-close and intimate setting. Since 1983, these recitals have featured renowned Merola alumni and have also been instrumental in launching the careers of internationally acclaimed artists.
Tessa McQueen (Nedda) and Olivier Zerouali (Silvio) sing the great love duet from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci with Sihao Hu (Tonio).
Conductor Louis Lohraseb Directors Omer Ben Seadia (Merola ‘14) and Anna Theodosakis (Merola ‘24)
Bay Area audiences are invited to revel in the drama passion and melody of classic opera, as the Merola artists present extended scenes from works by Donizetti, Gounod, Leoncavallo, Massenet, Puccini, and Richard Strauss, among others. Performed with a full orchestra, the Schwabacher Summer Concert will be conducted by the internationally renowned Maestro Louis Lohraseb, with direction by Omer Ben Seadia (Merola ‘14) and Anna Theodosakis (Merola ‘24).
This production will be a semi-staged concert of scenes, performed with orchestra.
Features five second-year San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows and Merola alumni: soprano Mikayla Sager, mezzo-soprano Gabrielle Beteag, tenors Victor Cardamone and Edward Graves and pianist Marika Yasuda. The artists will perform rarely heard musical selections in a program curated by tenor Nicholas Phan that spans from Brahms, Schumann and Monteverdi to Pauline Viardot, Nora Holt and Ruth Crawford Seeger.