Its subscriber base skews older, with an average age of 67. In 2019, San Francisco took in 76 percent of its potential box-office income, down from 81 percent in 2014. Attendance has been steadily declining in recent years, a problem faced by many opera companies. San Francisco Opera faced financial pressures even before the pandemic. More broadly, Kim must confront existential questions about opera’s future. Only about six out of 10 seats were full on opening night of “Fidelio,” though a matinee performance a few days later was more crowded. While live performances are back, it is unclear if audiences will return in force. Kim is working to help San Francisco Opera recover from the turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in the cancellation of 57 performances and the loss of more than $20 million in anticipated ticket revenue. (At the Metropolitan Opera, she leads Puccini’s “La Bohème” this winter and again in May.) She is one of several women who have recently taken top jobs at orchestras, a world that, despite some pioneers - like Sarah Caldwell, who founded the Opera Company of Boston - has long been dominated by male maestros. Her appointment has been celebrated as a sign of change in the classical music industry. Born in South Korea, she is also the first Asian to assume such a role. The stakes are high for Kim, who in August became the first woman to hold the post of music director at one of the country’s largest opera companies. “An artist is never satisfied,” she said, smiling, as she walked across the granite floors. She was already considering areas she wanted to work on, including how to reshape the opening of the second act to better capture a sense of despair, and ways to avoid being distracted by technical cues. 14, the company’s music director, Eun Sun Kim, was subdued. Cast members embraced, the audience gave a prolonged ovation and shouts of “Bravo!” echoed through War Memorial Opera House.īut as she exited the theater after the performance, on Oct. SAN FRANCISCO - The curtain had just fallen on San Francisco Opera’s production of Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” and the mood was celebratory.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |