San Francisco Opera

Saturdays at 12:00 noon

WFMT continues the American Opera series with the San Francisco Opera and productions from recent seasons hosted by Elaine Warner and Dianne Nicolini. Performed in the War Memorial Opera House, the company’s home since October 1932, the series will include Wagner's complete Ring cycle.

Now the second largest opera company in North America, the San Francisco Opera was founded by Gaetano Merola and incorporated in 1923. The company's first performance (La Boheme) took place on September 26, 1923 in the city's Civic Auditorium, with Queena Mario and Giovanni Martinelli, and conducted by Gaetano Merola himself. Nine years later, the company moved into its new home, inaugurating the newly built War Memorial Opera House with a performance of Tosca on October 15, 1932 with Claudia Muzio, Dino Borgioli, Alfredo Gandolfi, and conducted by Merola.

Following Gaetano Merola's death in 1953, the San Francisco Opera was led by Kurt Herbert Adler until 1981; by Terence A. McEwen until 1988; by Lotfi Mansouri until 2001 and by Pamela Rosenberg until 2005. They are now under the exciting direction of David Gockley!

The San Francisco Opera has presented the United States debut performances of numerous artists including Vladimir Atlantov, Inge Borkh, Boris Christoff, Marie Collier, Sir Geraint Evans, Mafalda Fevero, Tito Gobbi, Sena Jurinac, Mario del Monaco, Birgit Nilsson, Leontyne and Margaret Price, Leonnie Rysanek, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Giulietta Simionato, Ebe Stignani, Renata Tebaldi and Ingvar Wixell; conductors Gerd Albrecht, Valery Gergiev, Sir Georg Solti and Silvio Varviso; and directors Francis Ford Coppola, Harry Kupfer and Jean-Pierre Ponnelle.

• For more information visit the San Francisco Opera website.
• For information on syndication visit the WFMT Radio Network web page.

Program Schedule