Despite a long, insistent trend by opera lovers since the death-in-action of Puccini and the rarification of late-late Strauss to turn back to those two composers in their prime—plus the basic glories of Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner—there still exists a move on both sides of the proscenium towards a widened, more diversified repertoire. The answer to that impulse in the last century would have been the appearance of new works. Opera lovers today are not favored in that way (except for a handful of recent bequests by Berg and Britten) and must look elsewhere—nearly always with inventive compromise—for the routine-breaker.

As we come to the close of this most unique of years, I find myself craving musical connection more and more each day. Music binds us in collective experience and it allows us to delve into our emotions and find resonance outside ourselves. The Cambridge Dictionary defines catharsis as “the process of releasing strong emotions through a particular activity or experience, such as writing or theater, in a way that helps you to understand those emotions.” If there was ever a time in which we needed opera to help us process the deep emotions of life, it is this year.

“What?!” Carrie-Ann Matheson’s hands are in the air. It’s mid-December, mere weeks before the celebrated pianist and vocal coach is set to take over as artistic director of the San Francisco Opera Center, and she’s just discovered something shocking about the man scheduled to lead alongside her.