Nearly a year ago, the virtuoso Italian soprano Mirella Freni passed away at age 84. In tribute to her memory, longtime San Francisco Opera Intermezzo Lounge manager Tom Taffel shares a story about the excitement that surrounded her performances—and the brief encounter he’ll cherish forever.

They’re some of the most dazzling young opera performers of their generation—and they’re based right here in San Francisco.

Every year, artists from around the world travel to California to take part in the Adler Fellowship Program, a prestigious opera residency designed to showcase top emerging talent. But this year’s cohort of singers, pianists and vocal coaches face a performing-arts industry reeling from pandemic-related closures.

Because Richard Wagner meticulously documented most every incident in his life, we know that he began writing the music for the Ring cycle in La Spezia on the Italian Riviera in the summer of 1853. After a rough night at sea, he landed in the port of La Spezia near where fishermen brought their daily catch, and was transported to a locanda on Via del Prione 45. With his lingering seasickness and the noisy animation of the busy town, Wagner fell into a deep sleep, and he tells us, “I thought I was falling down in a whirlpool—this abyss into which I was falling—and I awakened having heard the opening chords of Das Rheingold.”

Real-time remote collaboration music service used for upcoming live performances. 

New digital content series, In Song, launched featuring mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges.

Live drive-in performances of The Barber of Seville and Adler Fellows concerts coming in April and May.