Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Opera, Classical Music and Dance
Since the Gold Rush days of 1849, San Francisco has prided itself
on the variety of its cultural institutions, and its ability to attract
world-class performers. Black-tie fundraisers and the Hotel Tax
Fund help support the performing arts, and there is great
popular support as well, evidenced by the full houses. The main
halls, including the War Memorial Opera House and the Louise
M. Davies Symphony Hall, are in the Civic Center performing
arts complex
(see pp128-9)
. The best times to see a performance
are winter and spring, when the opera, symphony, and ballet
seasons are all in full swing. However, tickets can be hard to
obtain, so it is sensible to book well in advance.
innovative
Oakland East Bay
Symphony
performs at
the Art Deco landmark
Paramount Theater.
Contemporary Music
One of San Francisco's leading
cultural centers, the
Yerba
Buena Center for the Arts
has
given a significant boost to
contemporary music. Bay Area
composers and performers,
including John Adams and the
internationally acclaimed
Kronos Quartet
, along with
others from all over the world,
give concerts in the Center's
theater as well as in the much
smaller Forum. Contemporary
composers occasionally hold
concerts in the Louise M.
Davies Symphony Hall.
The other main spot for new
music in the Bay Area is
Zellerbach Hall
on the UC
Berkeley campus, while the
Cowell Theater
at Fort Mason
also holds events approx-
imately twice a month.
One of the more unusual
musical adventures to be
found in San Francisco is
Audium
. In this dynamic “sound
sculpture,” the audience sits
through the performance in
total darkness, surrounded by
hundreds of speakers.
Opera
Beginning well before 1932,
when San Francisco built the
first municipally owned opera
house in the US, opera has been
popular in the city. In recent
years the San Francisco Opera
has achieved international fame
as one of the world's finest
attracting such stars as Placido
Domingo and Dame Kiri Te
Kanawa, and artist David
Hockney to design the sets. All
performances feature English
translations of the lyrics, which
are projected as “supertitles”
above the stage.
The main season runs from
September to December, and
the opening night is one of the
principal social events on the
West Coast. Summer special
events are held in June and July,
when tickets may be easier
to obtain.
Ticket prices range from
about $10 to $15 (for standing
room, sold on day of perfor-
mance) to more than $100. For
advance information, contact
the
San Francisco Opera
Association
. To find out about
ticket availability, contact the
War Memorial Opera House
box office.
Across the bay, the high-cal-
iber
West Edge Opera
performs
in April and May at the El Cerrito
Performing Arts Center.
the acoustics, a decision was
made to make alterations, and
building work began in 1991.
The hall reopened in 1992. It is
now San Francisco's principal
location for fine classical music
performances, and home to
the highly regarded
San
Francisco Symphony
.
The orchestra performs up to
five concerts a week during its
September to June season.
Guest conductors, performers,
and various touring orchestras
perform additional special
concerts, and in July a
“Symphony Pops” program is
held at the Louise M. Davies
Symphony Hall. Next door to
the Opera House, the
Herbst
Theatre
(closed for renovation
until 2015) hosts recitals by
prominent performers.
In addition to these big events,
there are numerous less formal
recitals and concerts in the Bay
Area. The
Philharmonia Baroque
Orchestra
, a period instrument
ensemble, plays at various sites
around the city, while the historic
Old First Presbyterian Church
has a series of chamber music
and individual recitals on Friday
nights and Sunday afternoons
throughout the year. The
Florence Gould Theater
in the
Legion of Honor
(see pp158-9)
is
often used for classical small
group performances, including
quartets, and there are also
demonstrations of classical or
pre-classical musical instruments,
such as the clavichord.
Across the bay,
Hertz Hall
on
the UC Berkeley campus
(see
pp178-9)
attracts rising stars of
the classical world for its winter
and spring seasons, while the
Ballet and Dance
Founded in 1933, the
San
Francisco Ballet
is the oldest
professional ballet company in
the US. Under the direction of
Helgi Tomasson it has proved
itself to be among the best in the
world. Starting off with an annual
production of Tchaikovsky's
Christmas classic
The Nutcracker
,
the season runs from February
to May. The schedule includes
classic works choreographed by
Balanchine and others, as well
as premières by such leading
artists as Mark Morris.
Performances by local talent
take place at the intimate
Theater Artaud
and the
ODC
Performance Gallery
, both
located in the Mission District.
The
Yerba Buena Center for the
Classical Music
The
Louise M. Davies
Symphony Hall
, part of the
Civic Center performing arts
complex, was inaugurated on
September 16, 1980. Following
a great deal of criticism about
