Features

Frederica von Stade, the beloved mezzo-soprano, is saying good-bye to her fans. She is in the middle of a series of farewell appearances, winding down a 40-year, Cinderella-like career in opera that began in 1970, when she unexpectedly won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and received a contract from Metropolitan Opera General Manager Rudolf Bing.

As she approaches an as-yet-unannounced date in late 2011 when San Francisco Opera will cosponsor her final official concert, von Stade will begin a new chapter in her life.

As the Summer music festival season approaches, a roundup of recommendations and a few meaningful reflections.

Kurt Rohde, winner of the prestigious Rome Prize, and also the violist/founder of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, will soon have the world premiere of his Concertino in the Bay Area. And two other San Francisco musicians have been benefitting from artistic residence in Rome. While Rohde's Rome Prize stay recently concluded, San Francisco–raised composer Lisa Bielawa, is a current Rome Prize winner; and ODC Dance Company founder/artistic director/choreographer Brenda Way was a Resident in the Arts, and served as a senior advisor to the Rome Prize winners, including Rohde.

Sign of the times: The Berkeley Festival and Exhibition is going mostly local this year. That’s in response to the depressed funding cycle that coincided with the serious recession of the past two years. Questions linger about the festival’s stability and long-term organization, but fortunately they stop at the concert hall doors.

Matías Tarnopolsky is understandably pleased. Less than a year after being appointed director of Cal Performances, he’s unveiled the first season entirely of his own programming, and it’s a knockout.

SFCV’s annual gala celebration was held at the home of Ann and Gordon Getty last Wednesday night. The fortunate guests were treated to a superb dinner in the formal dining room, and a look at the brilliant art collection that the Gettys have on display; the evening’s entertainment was provided by violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.