San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak St at Van Ness, SF 94102 (Map)(Tickets) Sold Out

A small number tickets donated by those who could not attend will be available at the box office.

BARS is adding Sunday matinees to our traditional Saturday evening concert for our November and March performances this season.

Dawn Harms, Music Director

Part of the BARS LGBTQ Composer & Performing Artist series Dawn Harms, Music Director

Verdi - La Forza del Destino

Strauss - Trio from Der Rosenkavalier

Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano

Part of the BARS LGBTQ Composer & Performing Artist series Melody Moore, soprano

Marisol DeAnda, soprano

Part of the BARS LGBTQ Composer & Performing Artist series Heggie - Primary Colors

Frederica Von Stade, mezzo-soprano

Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 2

Part of the BARS LGBTQ Composer & Performing Artist series Part of BARS' LGBTQ Composer and Performing Artist Series, which strives to redefine perceptions of LGBTQ music and increase awareness of the beauty, talents, and accomplishments of fellow LGBTQ individuals and groups.

About Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano Described by the New York Times as “one of America’s finest artists and singers,” Frederica von Stade continues to be extolled as one of the music world’s most beloved figures. Known to family, friends, and fans by her nickname “Flicka,” the mezzo-soprano has enriched the world of classical music for three decades. Miss von Stade’s career has taken her to the stages of the world’s great opera houses and concert halls. She began at the top, when she received a contract from Sir Rudolf Bing during the Metropolitan Opera auditions, and since her debut in 1970 she has sung nearly all of her great roles with that company. In January 2000, the company celebrated the 30th anniversary of her debut with a new production of The Merry Widow specifically for her, and in 1995, as a celebration of her 25th anniversary, the Metropolitan Opera created for her a new production of Pelléas et Mélisande. In addition, Miss von Stade has appeared with every leading American opera company, including San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Los Angeles Opera. Her career in Europe has been no less spectacular, with new productions mounted for her at Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the Paris Opera. She is invited regularly by the finest conductors, among them Claudio Abbado, Charles Dutoit, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Leonard Slatkin, and Michael Tilson Thomas, to appear in concert with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Washington’s National Symphony, and the Orchestra of La Scala. With impressive versatility, she has effortlessly traversed an ever-broadening spectrum of musical styles and dramatic characterizations. A noted bel canto specialist, she excelled as the heroines of Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Bellini’s La Sonnambula. She is an unmatched stylist in the French repertoire: a delectable Mignon or Périchole, a regal Marguerite in Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust, and, in one critic’s words, “the Mélisande of one’s dreams.” Her elegant figure and keen imagination have made her the world’s favorite interpreter of the great trouser roles, from Strauss’ Octavian and Composer to Mozart’s Sesto, Idamante and - magically, indelibly - Cherubino. Miss von Stade’s artistry has inspired the revival of neglected works such as Massenet’s Cherubin, Thomas’ Mignon, Rameau’s Dardanus, and Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria. Her ability as a singing actress has allowed her to portray wonderful works in operetta and musical theater including the title role in The Merry Widow and Desirée Armfeldt in A Little Night Music. Her repertoire is continually expanding with the works of contemporary composers. She created the role of Tina in Dallas Opera’s world premiere production of Dominick Argento’s The Aspern Papers (a work written for her) as well as the role of Madame de Merteuil in the Conrad Susa’s Dangerous Liaisons and Mrs. Patrick De Rocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, both for San Francisco Opera. Frederica von Stade continues to create compelling new stage portrayals. In 2005, Los Angeles audiences saw her first-ever performances of the title role in La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein in a new production directed by famed movie director Garry Marshall for Los Angeles Opera. Later that season, she gave her first performances as Ottavia in L’Incoronazione di Poppea with Houston Grand Opera, a role she reprised for Los Angeles Opera in the 2006-07 season. She has made over seventy recordings with every major label, including complete operas, aria albums, symphonic works, solo recital programs, and popular crossover albums. Her recordings have garnered six Grammy nominations, two Grand Prix du Disc awards, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Italy’s Premio della Critica Discografica, and “Best of the Year” citations by Stereo Review and Opera News. She has enjoyed the distinction of holding simultaneously the first and second places on national sales charts for Angel/EMI’s Show Boat and Telarc’s The Sound of Music. About Melody Moore, soprano American soprano, Melody Moore, to great critical success, recently sang her first Tosca at San Francisco Opera while filling in for Angela Gheorghiu on opening night and again later in the run. No stranger to the San Francisco Opera stage, Melody had the honor of portraying Susan Rescorla in the World Premiere there of Christopher Theofanidis’ Heart of a Soldier, which opened on the eve of the ten year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center. After having successfully debuted as Rita Clayton in Stephen Schwartz’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon, Melody returned to New York City Opera in early 2012 to sing the leading role of Régine Saint Laurent in the American debut of Rufus Wainwright’s new opera, Prima Donna. Melody recently sang the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at Atlanta Opera before returning to San Francisco Opera as First Lady in The Magic Flute. In early 2013 Melody made her Houston Grand Opera debut as Julie LaVerne in their new production of Show Boat. In the Spring of 2013 Melody was seen on the Opera Colorado stage as Elvira in Don Giovanni followed directly by singing in Rufus Wainwright's "Prima! Rufus! Judy!" concert at the Philadelphia International Arts Festival. Melody began the summer of 2013 with her debut at Opéra National de Bordeaux as Pamina in The Magic Flute. She will next be performing at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival singing the role of Senta in The Flying Dutchman. Recent critically acclaimed performances include two appearances with English National Opera as Mimi in Jonathan Miller’s production of La Bohème and as Marguerite in Des McAnuff’s production of Faust. Melody has also performed the role of Mimi with San Francisco Opera and Opera Cleveland. She has appeared with Los Angeles Opera as Contessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and in their Recovered Voices Project, highlighting recovered works by composers affected by the Holocaust, in the productions of Der Zwerg and Der Zerbrochene Krug. Melody has also performed the role of La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro productions at San Francisco Opera and Madison Opera. Elsewhere, she has appeared with the New Orleans Opera as Manon Lescaut, Orlando Opera in the title role in Suor Angelica, and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra production of Don Giovanni as Donna Anna. She has appeared regularly with the San Francisco based New Century Chamber Orchestra headed by Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and has recently sung Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. This year, Melody debuted in Munich with the Bavarian Radio Symphony in a concert performance of Gordon Getty’s opera, Plump Jack, conducted by Ulf Schirmer. Born and raised in Dyersburg, Tennessee, Melody, as a small child, first began singing with her parents at church and other community functions. She received her Master’s Degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her Bachelor’s degree from Kent State University. Her Kent State teacher, James Mismas, encouraged her to pursue a performance career and she credits his faith in her abilities with much of her current success. Melody Moore is a former Merola Opera Program participant and was a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow. She currently lives in San Francisco with her wife. About Jake Heggie, composer Jake Heggie is the American composer of the operas Moby-Dick, Dead Man Walking, Three Decembers, To Hell and Back, For a Look or a Touch, Another Sunrise, and At the Statue of Venus. He has also composed more than 250 songs, as well as concerti, chamber music, choral and orchestral works. His songs, song cycles and operas are championed internationally by some of the most celebrated singers of our time, including Isabel Bayrakdarian, Stephen Costello, Joyce DiDonato, Nathan Gunn, Susan Graham, Ben Heppner, Jonathan Lemalu, Jay Hunter Morris, Patti LuPone, Robert Orth, Kiri Te Kanawa, Morgan Smith, Frederica von Stade, Talise Trevigne, and Bryn Terfel, to name a few. The operas — most of them created with the distinguished writers Terrence McNally and Gene Scheer — have been produced internationally on five continents. Since its San Francisco premiere in 2000, Dead Man Walking has received more than 200 international performances. Moby-Dick will be telecast on Great Performances in the fall of 2013 and is set to receive its East Coast premiere in February 2014 by the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Since its 2010 world premiere at The Dallas Opera, Moby-Dick has also been produced by San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera, State Opera of South Australia, and Calgary Opera. Upcoming projects include Great Scott (libretto and story by McNally) for The Dallas Opera's 2015/16 season; plus works commissioned by Music of Remembrance, Houston Grand Opera, Pacific Chorale, Pittsburgh Symphony and the Ravinia Festival. www.jakeheggie.com