San Francisco Classical Voice

Friday's inaugural concert, "Magic Strings," in Calvary Presbyterian Church, is conducted by Susan McMane, the Chorus' artistic director. The theme is "the harmony of treble voices and string instruments," by way of works from the Venetian Baroque, Fauré's Tantum ergo, Eric Whitacre's Five Hebrew Songs, commissioned arrangements of American folk songs with country fiddle, and songs accompanied by the Chinese pipa and erhu.

The second program, "Voices of Hope and Peace," is due in the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church on Dec. 8, then in Davies Hall on Dec. 12. These holiday concerts feature works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Baldassare Galuppi, J.S. Bach, Zoltán Kodály, and others. The third program of the season, next June, is called "The Poet Sings." It consists of works by Hildegard von Bingen and settings of poetry by Shakespeare, Blake, and Dickinson to music by Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Villiams, and contemporary composers.

SFGC is also releasing its sixth CD project, "Voices of Hope and Peace," next month. The centerpiece of the new recording is Linda Tutas Haugen's commissioned Anne Frank: A Living Voice." Hope for peace is also expressed on the CD in works by Joan Szymko, Libby Larsen, David Conte, Frank La Rocca, Brian Holmes, and Daniel Gawthrop.

Wanted: Smugglers, Picadores, and a Tall Notary

The San Francisco Opera is holding a public casting call for volunteer supernumeraries to appear in the company's upcoming productions of Rossini's The Barber of Seville (Oct. 31 - Nov. 30) and Bizet's Carmen (Nov. 21 - Dec. 9). "No prior experience is necessary," says the announcement, just interest and a commitment to a number of rehearsals and performances.

Supernumeraries are extras, or "spear-carriers" — although there are no ancient armies in the two operas in question. The auditions are for nonsinging roles in Carmen, such as soldiers, toreadors, and picadors. Also needed: female supers to portray "ladies of the night." If memory serves, the women's chorus consists of cigar-makers and toreador groupies, so the reference to their morality may come from an excessively suspicious or judgmental director. The Barber of Seville requirement is very specific: "One male cover to perform the role of the Notary in the event that the original super cannot go on; the costume requires a slender male at least 6 foot, 4 inches tall." Good luck with that.

The casting call will take place on Oct. 19 from 7 to 9 p.m., Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall in Davies Hall; the entrance is at the corner of Hayes and Franklin streets. For more information, call (415) 565-3200.

Other Ways of Saving on Admission

Suppose you don't get picked at the casting call for supernumeraries (see item above), but you still want to get into the War Memorial without mortgaging the house. Here are some possibilities from the "community-friendly" San Francisco Opera:

Rush tickets, available beginning at 10 a.m. on the day of the performance: students, $25; seniors (over 65), $30; military (on active service), $30. Standing room tickets are $10. General Director David Gockley has announced a new program providing orchestra seats for $50 instead of the full price, which ranges from $100 to $205. The new "Bravo TIX" are available through memberships in the BravoClub, which is open to those between ages of 21 and 40.

Unlike various rush programs (or the New York Met's subsidized $20 orchestra seats, reported in last week's column), which restrict purchase to the day of the performance, Bravo TIX are available to order in advance for any performance during the season.

The Barefoot Soprano, Blogging

"I opened the new Carnival Center with Maxim Vengerov tonight," writes soprano Measha Brueggergosman, in a diary published yesterday in Canada's National Post. "Ohhhh, Maxim. That man is hardcore smokin'! He took a year off from violin to learn to dance the tango. Anyone who does that gets my admiration. And don't even get me started on my conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas. That man rocks my world forwards and backwards."

Brueggergosman, who has made a great impression in Davies Hall in years past, both with her voice and her unusual choice of footware (none), is describing the Oct. 6 opening of Miami's new concert hall, where MTT's "other orchestra," the New World Symphony, is a major player. Brueggergosman will join world-rocking MTT as soloist in the Nov. 2-4 San Francisco Symphony performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 4 and Schoenberg cabaret songs.

Osher Salon Open for Business

In the triple unveiling of San Francisco Conservatory facilities at the new Civic Center campus, this week was the turn for the most unusual of the three. The already-open, 140-seat Recital Hall is a small, spiffy performance space; the January opening of the 450-seat Concert Hall will reveal a large, opulent facility. But the new 120-seat Osher Salon is ... different. Located below street level, so you enter at the top of the room and walk down into it, the Salon should be a claustrophobic basement, but it isn't. With wood floor, wood ceiling, and walls of wood panels, it's warm and homey yet elegant, and the sound is first-class.

Over the walls' wood panels, there are full-length curtain strips that can be moved (manually and a bit awkwardly) to change the acoustics. The opening-night program showcased the hall as much as the performers, with two different configurations for the moveable seats and several acoustical settings. The settings worked for all performers, from young Jeffrey Chen, with an outstanding performance of John Adams' China Gates; to voices in recital and in opera; to percussion; and, for a grand finale, the Afiara String Quartet, playing Schubert's Death and the Maiden.

Music to and by the Schools

The San Francisco Opera Guild is conducting the 28th season of its "Opera à la Carte" program, with an in-school production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville. The program includes students from grades three through 12, who get involved with the presentation of the opera in 130 Northern California schools through Dec. 1. The students receive coaching and rehearsal with professional performers and join in a presentation for the entire school.

The cast for the core company (which is supplemented by students) includes such professional singers as Jennifer Ashworth, Angelique Lucia, Suzanne Lustgarten, Sandra Rubalcava, and Kindra Scharich as Rosina; Chris Corley, Jonathan Smucker, Brian Thorsett, and Andy Truett as Count Almaviva; and Mark Hernandez, Jason Sarten, Michael Taylor, and Joseph Wright as Figaro. Pianists are Monroe Kanouse, Mary Martin, Baker Peeples, Michael Touchi, and Ron Valentino.

Directed by Taylor, with music direction by Peeples, the production features sets by Jean-François Revon and costume design by Willa Anderson. The production is coordinated and produced by Ellen Kerrigan. The Guild program provides participating schools with an array of preparatory materials and teacher aids, including a preview CD, teacher’s guides and suggested curricula, libretti, and an educator workshop.

From the performance schedule: Oct. 17, Frank Otis School, Alameda; Blue Oak School, Napa; Sassarini School, Sonoma. Oct. 18, Leo Croce Elementary, Livermore; Piedmont Middle School, Piedmont; Merryhill School, Santa Rosa; St. Luke Lutheran School, Santa Rosa. Oct. 19, Bradley Elementary, Watsonville; Canyon Middle School, Castro Valley; Ulloa Elementary, San Francisco.

Victoria's Secret, the Musical

San Francisco's Lamplighters certainly have the knack of their patron saints, Gilbert & Sullivan, in coming up with catchy show titles. They have done doubly well for the upcoming annual gala, the 54-year-old organization's 41st such event. It's called Victoria's Secret, or An Inconvenient Ruth. The plot: Three Sherlock Holmeses investigate the apparent murder of Queen Victoria, of whom there are four look-alikes. With a full orchestra and a cast of 40, they plan to make Herbst Theatre rock on Nov. 18, after a Walnut Creek performance on Nov. 10 (in the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts).

Orchestral Terrorism, Says Principal Horn

The Seattle Times reports that the year-long controversy over Gerard Schwarz's reappointment as music director of the Seattle Symphony is taking a nasty turn. "Vandalism, mail tampering, a razor blade, anonymous threats — it all sounds like something out of a `Sopranos' episode," writes music critic Melinda Bargreen.

Calling harassment against him "orchestral terrorism," the charges have been made by the orchestra's principal horn, John Cerminaro. He is a longtime friend of Schwarz and an outspoken advocate of the conductor, who had hired him. Security at the orchestra's Benaroya Hall home is working on the matter, while management advised the musicians that "this behavior is not tolerated." The orchestra union denounced "the unfortunate actions of a very small group.... We are respectful, civil people."