2025 is just starting, however the Bay Area's classical music organizations have already announced events fans won't need to miss.
(The 12 months also guarantees numerous great pop/rock/hip-hop live shows in addition to some fascinating movies).
Featuring a brand new concert by John Adams, a solo recital by a world-class soprano, piano music in San Francisco and Palo Alto, and probably the most dramatic – and shortest – live shows on this planet! – Operas, listed here are 4 performances you shouldn't miss in the brand new 12 months.
Adams at SF Symphony: January brings a brand new work from award-winning Bay Area composer John Adams; “After the Fall,” a piano concerto commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, may have its world premiere at Davies Symphony Hall on January 16, followed by two additional performances on January 18 and 19.
Led by conductor David Robertson, a frequent champion of Adams' music, this recent work features Icelandic pianist Vikingur Ólafsson, whose performances of Bach piano works were certainly one of Adams' inspirations for After the Fall. Ólafsson serves as a soloist in all three performances.
Also on this system is Carl Orff's “Carmina Burana,” with soprano Susanna Phillips, tenor Arnold Livingston Geis and baritone Will Liverman (who recently sang the role with the Oakland Symphony); They will likely be joined by the San Francisco Girls Chorus and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Charles Ives' “The Unanswered Question” opens this system.
Details: 7:30 p.m. January 16 and 18, 2:00 p.m. January 19, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $49-$199; sfsymphony.org.
Davidsen at Berkeley: Lise Davidsen is in top form. If you were certainly one of the numerous Bay Area opera lovers who recently saw her within the title role of “Tosca” within the Metropolitan Opera's live broadcast in theaters, you understand what we mean. After a meteoric rise through the world's concert halls and opera houses – and a headline-grabbing solo concert in New York last season – the Norwegian soprano is now probably the most respected vocal artists and has enjoyed an astonishing profession.
Now she's coming to Cal Performances for a single evening to sing an in depth program of songs and arias by Grieg, Purcell, Verdi, Schubert, Wagner and others. She will likely be accompanied by pianist Malcolm Martineau, one other great artist whose performances at Cal Performances have all the time been great.
Details: February 4, 7:30 p.m.; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; $37.50-$210; calperformances.org.
Hamelin across the bay: Marc-André Hamelin, certainly one of the best pianists the Bay Area has ever seen, returns for 2 performances in February. First, the Canadian artist will play a solo concert for San Francisco Performances, with a program starting from Haydn and Rachmaninoff to Stefan Wolpe and Frank Zappa. And in March, he’ll join the Dover Quartet at Stanford Live to perform his own piano quintet together with works by Mozart and Webern.
Details: February 8, 7:30 p.m., Herbst Theater, San Francisco; $65-$85; sfperformances.org.; 2:30 p.m., March 9, Bing Hall, Stanford University; $15-$84; livestanford.edu.
“Bluebeard’s Castle” Bela Bartok's opera, based on a French folk legend, is an opera fever dream. Featuring just two voices – the title character and his newlywed wife Judith – it’s certainly one of the opera's most haunting psychological dramas. Inspired by Charles Perrault's fairy tale, it follows Judith, interested by her husband's secluded castle and its seven mysterious doors, to a fascinating conclusion. The opera was Bartók's masterpiece and an exciting experience. The motion lasts just over an hour – making it ideal for opera newcomers who might balk at a piece lasting greater than three hours.
Opera San Jose's solid includes soprano Maria Natale, who sang the title role in the corporate's 2023 “Tosca,” and baritone Zachary Nelson as Duke. “Bluebeard’s Castle” is directed by Shawna Lucey, general director of Opera San Jose; Music director Joseph Marcheso conducts.
Details: February fifteenth – March 2nd; California Theater, San Jose; $57.50-$222.50; operasanjose.org.
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