To Steve Jobs we owe much that defines modern life—not just the iPhones, iPods, iPads, and iMacs that transformed how we gather and communicate information, but also the engineering, the packaging, and even the attitudes that changed those once onerous and time-consuming tasks into bursts of instant gratification. But who, really, was he?

San Francisco was an opera town from the very beginning, and those culture-craving Gold Rush-era locals loved modern opera. A top contender as their absolute favorite was Ernani. It was first heard in San Francisco in 1851, a scant two years after the world rushed in to create this city. It was one of the first three operas performed here, after Bellini’s La Sonnambula and Norma earlier that year.

Ernani, which premiered at Venice’s Teatro La Fenice on March 9, 1844, was Giuseppe Verdi’s fifth opera, but represented a significant departure and improvement from his previous works—Oberto (1839), Un Giorno di Regno (1840), Nabucco (1842) and I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata (1843). 

Virtual event honors the operas and artists of Ernani, Partenope, and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

Announcing new online content from the Department of Diversity, Equity and Community.

Rossini's La Cenerentola (July 18) and Janáček’s The Makropulos Case  (July 25).