San Francisco Opera breaks out of the pit for hands-on orchestra showcase
This was no ordinary orchestra concert.
Sure there was a seated audience in the usual place, in front of the performers, but on this sunny, breezy afternoon, there were patrons also behind the musicians — lounging on couches. Some stood on walkways overhead, while a cluster of three boys wandered around the performance space during the show.
The concert, dubbed 'Soundcheck,' was so casual that two children even sat within the orchestra, one next to bassoonist Rufus Olivier, another next to oboist Gabriel Young.
But that's how the San Francisco Opera wanted it to be –– unpretentious, relaxed, family-friendly.
Music Director Eun Sun Kim had long wanted to get the San Francisco Opera Orchestra out of the pit at the War Memorial Opera House. And here they were on Saturday, May 17, at St. Joseph's Arts Society, a deconsecrated church on Howard Street, performing a free event for a crowd of 350 that welcomed everyone, from toddlers and Opera newbies to longtime patrons.
'People are aware that there's an orchestra without knowing very much about it. I want the orchestra to be seen,' Kim told the Chronicle before showtime.
Indeed, the musician thought it was refreshing to perform in such a way where 'we're more out in the open and the audience is really focusing on just us,' noted Asuka Annie Yano, a member of the violin section.
On the podium, with microphone in hand, Kim discussed the instruments of the orchestra, asking members of each section to play a short selection. Many in the audience recognized familiar tunes like 'Libiamo' from Verdi's ' La Traviata ' and ' The Ride of the Valkyries ' from Wagner's 'Die Walküre,' the latter a preview of what's to come as Kim plans to bring Wagner's epic 'Ring' cycle to the Opera House as part of her initiative to conduct Verdi and Wagner works each season.
'So often we only get to experience a live performance through a single vantage point. Eun Sun's invitation for the audience to move around the orchestra is an invitation to experience music-making in a dynamic, immersive relationship between artists and audience,' said Matthew Shilvock, the Opera's general director.
To close out the hourlong concert, Kim thrilled the audience with Benjamin Britten's 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra,' conducting while simultaneously pointing to and calling out which instruments were playing.
And what a way to close things out @SFOpera 🤯🎼🤩 pic.twitter.com/h096hBY5sM
— Mariecar Mendoza (@SFMarMendoza) May 17, 2025
Oscar Zheng traveled in from Oakland with his 7-year-old daughter Faith, who noted she particularly enjoyed the flutes.
'I like the tiny ones best,' she said, referring to the piccolo.
The orchestra and attendees mingled before and after the concert, too, learning about instruments directly from the musicians. Double-bassist Shinji Eshima demonstrated his instrument to one group of entranced children, while a few feet away, Zachariah Spellman showed just how loud a tuba can be.
'It is vitally important that our young people get an education in music and this is the perfect place and a great location to do it,' said San Franciscan Chi Energy, who emphasized the value of exposing younger generations 'so used to synthesize sounds' to 'real instruments with real people playing them.'
'I thought it was a great use of the space and they were fun to see. It seemed like an educational event in a lot of ways,' said John Hunt, also of San Francisco, who plays jazz trombone professionally. 'I've never been in this space before and it was a revelation to come in here. I'm so glad I came.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
17 hours ago
- New York Post
Mom hailed as a ‘pro' after hauling her kids, 8 and 10, around Disney World — in a stroller: ‘She gave no f–ks'
A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do. How someone chooses to parent their children is a personal decision — but when you share on social media how you go about it, people are bound to share their ruthless opinions. That's what happened to a Massachusetts mom named Nicki Marie when she posted a TikTok video of herself pushing her two kids in a stroller while at Disney. Advertisement No, these weren't toddlers getting wheeled around — they were grown kids — 8 and 10 years old, to be exact. 'When I got divorced, one of the first things I thought was, 'How will I do Disney with just me and two kids?'' Nicki Marie told in an interview. Advertisement To find a solution to her problem, Nicki Marie brought her stroller — nicknamed 'Kim' into the mix. 'I'm trying to let down my guard so my kids see me having fun. I bring a stroller because I'm anticipating what could go wrong that day,' she said in the interview. Technically, no one has publicly shamed this mom's stroller using ways, so she's the one doing the teasing: 'I'm making fun of myself before you point it out to me,' the mom said. Despite poking fun at herself, she doesn't think too much about what other people think especially with her iconic voiceover choice in the video she shared, that said 'And she gave no f—s.' Advertisement However, people online have mixed thoughts on this single mom's stroller-loving ways. Most were positive and in support of her smart tactic. 'I'm making fun of myself before you point it out to me,' the single mom said. TikTok 'We went to Disney for the first time in March. My boys are 8 & 9, kinda wish we would have done a stroller lol.' Advertisement 'I fully support this. There is no way to make your kids walk these insane miles in the heat without taking a little water break in a shady stroller.' 'My husband and I are going next week, I'm just trying to figure out if I can have him push me in a stroller.' And of course, there were some haters — as expected. 'Absolutely not. My kids very rarely used a stroller and had no problem walking, including at Disney when they were 3. Hauling a stroller sucked.' 'None. Zero. After 30,000 steps and bell to bell, I'm not schlepping all the stuff and sleeping kids.'
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Review: S.F. Opera's ‘La Bohème' will make you feel all the emotions
You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to see it again. Giacomo Puccini's 'La Bohème,' the most-performed and quite possibly the most-loved opera in the standard repertory, has opened San Francisco Opera's summer season with a bang. Under the baton of guest conductor Ramón Tebar, with snappy work by revival director Katherine M. Carter, this production at the War Memorial Opera House comes about as close to musical and dramatic perfection as you can get. Each of the singers in the cast has real star quality — more on that in a bit. Just as importantly, they form a superb ensemble with the split-second timing of great comedians. Sure, there are big, famous arias, but the effectiveness of 'La Bohème' depends on swift movement from incident to incident. During the opening-night performance on Tuesday, June 3, Tebar's flexible, generous conducting matched that timing and gave this sophisticated score, full of complex tempo and metrical changes, cohesion and tremendous momentum. Add in the magnificent playing of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, performing despite unresolved labor negotiations, and the evening was sheer magic. The basic story is uncomplicated: Boy (the poet Rodolfo) meets girl (the seamstress Mimì). They fall in love. She dies of tuberculosis, an incurable scourge in the 19th century. (If this sounds familiar, Verdi's 'La Traviata,' also a great repertory staple, has a similar trajectory, though a vastly different emotional profile.) In tenor Pene Pati and soprano Karen Chia-ling Ho, the company has an ideal pair of leads. Pati's natural charm and beautiful, easy sound light up everything he does — he was an adorable Nemorino in 2023's ' The Elixir of Love. ' Meanwhile, Ho's shyness and fragility at her character's first entrance on Tuesday grew into real strength over the course of the opera, supported by her big, dark and beautifully controlled voice. There was real chemistry between the two, and you could believe that they'd fallen in love over a lost key only minutes after meeting. That's the baseline drama in the opera: Will Mimì live or die? Will she and Rodolfo stay together or be driven apart by illness? The story of the painter Marcello (baritone Lucas Meachem) and sometime kept woman Musetta (soprano Andrea Carroll in a sparkling and very funny company debut) runs parallel. The couples pair off, split up, come together again. Meachem and Carroll made their characters' love and affection perfectly clear, as well as the fact that the emotional cycle is likely to repeat indefinitely. This Marcello can barely bring himself to curse at Musetta wandering off with a new man at the close of Act 3, an interesting and persuasive dramatic choice emphasizing their hopeless love for each other. Carroll's Musetta might be a bit of a witch ('Strega!' as Marcello shouts), but she's as kindly toward Mimì as Meachem's warmhearted and enormously sympathetic Marcello is toward Rodolfo. Rounding out the cast of bohemians are the philosopher Colline and the musician Schaunard. Romanian bass Bogdan Talos, in his company debut, sang Colline's aria to his old coat, about to be sold to buy medicine for the dying Mimì, with poignant, heart-wrenching intimacy. Baritone Samuel Kidd, a current Adler Fellow, integrated Schaunard seamlessly into the antics, projecting enormous sorrow even as he turns his back on the fading Mimì. Bass-baritone Dale Travis was riotous as the landlord Benoit, outwitted by the bohemians when he tries to collect overdue rent, and as Alcindoro, Musetta's hapless admirer — roles Travis has played numerous times at the Opera. Members of the San Francisco Girls and Boys Choruses enlivened the Act 2 Latin Quarter scene with enthusiastic acting and accurate singing, and the Opera Chorus brought its customary excellence to many moments. David Farley's efficient production design allows easy transitions from the bohemians' garret to different places around Paris. The main dwelling, modeled on the works of painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, nonetheless seems a bit drab for a 19th century artist's studio. Regardless, Carter's direction brings a wealth of vivid interactions to crowd scenes and among the principals. Eight performances remain, divided between the opening-night singers and an enticing alternate cast for Rodolfo, Mimì, Marcello and Musetta. For a great afternoon or evening, get out your handkerchiefs and get yourself to the War Memorial Opera House.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Tour Kim Kardashian's amazing homes worth more than £96m
In the public eye for more than 15 years, reality star turned entrepreneur, Kim Kardashian is worth an estimated $1.7 billion (£1.3b). Having developed several multimillion-dollar businesses, with a growing family to boot, the SKIMS owner has an impressive property portfolio to match. Let's take a closer look at the homes she's picked up on her way to the top.... The social media influencer, entrepreneur and aspiring attorney has lived in a variety of homes around the Los Angeles area, including Bel Air and Beverly Hills. She currently splits her time with her four children between her Hidden Hills mansion, which she now owns entirely since she bought out ex-husband Kanye West, and a beautiful beach house in Malibu. But where did the most famous Kardashian grow up? Pictured here with her lawyer father, Robert Kardashian, and sister Kourtney, Kim grew up in the idyllic surroundings of Los Angeles. Her parents, Kris and Rob, raised children, Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and Rob until their divorce in 1991. Before the split, the Kardashian family lived together in this Beverley Hills 90210 mansion, a short hop from Rodeo Drive. According to property site Style of Home, after tying the knot in 1978, newly married Kris and Rob splashed out the tiny sum of $383,000 (£283k) on the home a year later, eventually selling it in 1994 for a huge $1.5 million (£1.1m). Adjusted for inflation, that's $3.2 million (£2.4m). The sprawling open-plan property in Beverley Hills stretches over 3,922 feet (364sqm) and was built in 1951. With four bedrooms and four bathrooms, the home had plenty of space for the young Kardashian clan. The décor has been updated since those days and it was for rent with in May 2025 for $17,500 (£13.5k) per month. In 1998, seven years after her mum Kris married Caitlyn Jenner, then known as Bruce, Kim graduated from Marymount High School in Bel Air, California, which she attended with future socialite friend, Paris Hilton. But it would be a few years before her career started to take off. At just 20 years old, the soon-to-be reality star secretly wed music producer Damon Thomas. But when Kim's dad passed away in 2003, her marriage broke down a year later. Around this time, she also became close with former high school friend Paris Hilton and began working as the celebutante's assistant, where she got her first taste of the limelight. In a 2019 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kim acknowledged that Hilton "literally gave me a career". But it wasn't until 2007 when the reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians first aired on E! Entertainment that Kim gained her first taste of fame. The show followed the daily exploits of the Kardashian-Jenner family, including stepfather Caitlyn Jenner and younger half-sisters Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner. A year previously, in 2006, Kim, Kourtney and Khloé opened their first DASH store in Calabasas. They closed them in 2018 due to other work commitments. Just before she was first thrust into the limelight on KUWTK, Kim moved out into her first home in 2005. Taking up 1,720 square feet (160sqm), the condo boasts three bedrooms and is located in the Beverly Grove area of Los Angeles. She sold up in 2010 for $885,000 (£686k), and it was sold more than 10 years later in 2021 for $1.3 million (£967k), so it hasn't increased phenomenally during that time. Just as well she moved on! After slowly climbing up the celebrity ranks, Kim released a perfume in 2009 and a year later bought her first mansion. This Tuscan-style gated resort villa was home to the star from 2010, when she bought it for $3.4 million (£2.5m). That would be $5 million (£3.6m) in 2025. The five-bedroom, five-bathroom abode sweeps across nearly 4,000 square feet (373sqm) and boasts a private pool, perfect for filming KUWTK scenes. Rich, hardwood flooring flows throughout a large chef's kitchen complete with a centre island that's lit by a plethora of hanging lights and panelled windows. The kitchen area opens out to the family room and a lower-level outdoor living space for large get-togethers and Kardashian family dos. Ornate floor and wall tiling adorn the upstairs bathroom, which is illuminated via recessed spot-lighting, while wall sconces and two large windows provide leafy views over the garden and beyond. During her three-year stint at the home, the businesswoman married former NBA basketball player Kris Humphries in August 2011. Despite featuring in a special titled Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event, Kim filed for divorce just 72 days into the marriage. The pair lived in the house together until their divorce was finalised in 2013, when Kim promptly sold the house for $3.6 million (£2.6m). If she sold it today that's $4.9 million (£3.6m). Shortly after her split from Kris Humphries, Kim started dating long-time friend Kanye West. After dating for two years, the pair married in May 2014. Unsurprisingly, their wedding was a high-profile celebrity-filled affair, held at Fort di Belvedere in Florence, Italy, following a seven-month engagement. Before the birth of their first child, North West, in 2013, the couple bought this villa in Bel Air for $11 million (£8.1m). It's seen here in a video by X17 Online. They were there for fewer than two years when they sold up, but still managed to make a pretty profit, selling the six-bedroom, eight-bathroom pad for $17.8 million (£13.4m) in 2014. Today, that's $23.8 million (£17.6m). At the time, it was the most expensive home ever sold in the gated community of Bel Air Crest. In 2014, Kim and Kanye purchased this expansive estate in Hidden Hills for $20 million (£14.8m), set across three acres (1.2ha) of land, boasting beautiful vineyards, mature trees and rolling lawns, as seen in a house tour video with Vogue. According to People Magazine, Kris Jenner Tweeted that the home was valued at around $60 million (£44.3m) after the couple completely reimagined it. When adjusted for inflation, that's $76.7 million (£56.6m) today. Inside the palatial home, huge arching hallways and streams of white space make for a somewhat spiritual building. Speaking to Architectural Digest in February 2020, Kanye described the Hidden Hills mansion as a 'futuristic Belgian monastery'. Designed by the couple alongside Belgian architect Axel Vervoodt, they spent $20 million (£14.8m) on the extensive renovations. During the renovations, the couple and their children stayed across the road at Kris' home for three years, eventually moving out in 2017. The massive house boasts two kitchens, two pantries, several freezers and a huge walk-in refrigerator. Here we can see the family in one of two kitchens that has a vast, round wooden table. Kim paid $23 million (£17.3m) to buy out her husband's share of the Hidden Hills house following their divorce in 2022, and has maintained its monastic vibe since. She has continued to put her stamp on the property, adding new art and personal items, but explained to Vogue in 2022: "Everything in my home is really minimal. I find there is so much chaos out there in the world that when I come home, I want it to be just very quiet." Even the kitchen appears to be a temple to calm, with its light-coloured wooden cabinets and cool marble counter top, not a trace of clutter in sight, which is pretty remarkable considering the star lives here with her four children from her marriage. 'Shockingly, four kids have not messed up my cream house,' she says. In the living room, an unbleached Steinway piano takes pride of place by the window, in keeping with the general neutral colour scheme. Kim has admitted she gave up trying to learn to play years ago, but she's certainly got her hands full with reports in November 2024 suggesting she is undertaking a huge renovation project on her home. Several of the exterior walls were removed, exposing the interior, so perhaps Kim wants a change! Kim purchased a 2,260-square-foot (210sqm) condo for $1.6 million (£1.2m) in 2017, in Calabasas, before listing the property for $3.5 million (£2.6m) two years later. It was relisted in 2022 and 2023 but was reported to be still on the market in November 2024, despite having been redesigned by celebrated architect Vincent Van Duysen several years ago. She purchased another condo in the same area off-plan in 2016, which was listed at $2.7 million (£2m) in 2023 but didn't sell, so neither were snapped up. Not content with just one Hidden Hills mansion, Kim and Kanye invested in a second neighbouring property in October 2019 for $3 million (£2.2m). Earlier in the same year, they had also purchased a second adjoining house in an off-market deal for $2.7 million (£2m), securing seven-and-a-half acres (3ha) of land surrounding their primary Hidden Hills mansion. Inside, the home offers vaulted, wooden ceilings in the expansive main living room, along with four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a four-car garage. Encompassing 3,874 square feet (359sqm) in total, the ranch was a sizeable real estate investment for the former couple, and all for the sake of protecting their privacy. No Kardashian property would be complete without a pool and an expertly landscaped backyard. Featuring a covered patio and built-in barbecue terrace for hungry celebrity guests, it's not known if the pair ever resided at the property. In the wake of their divorce, Kim took ownership of the house. In September 2022, she placed it on the market for $5.3 million (£4.1m) with Tomer Fridman of The Fridman Group, earning herself a significant return on her initial investment. Across the road, you'll find the home's state-of-the-art equestrian facilities, which include a four-stall horse barn, a tack room, a feed room and a corral area. Kim's eldest daughter, North West, is especially fond of horse riding and even had a Western-style seventh birthday party back in 2020. News of Kim and Kanye's split came in 2021 after months of rumours and seven years of marriage. We now know that Kanye claimed the ranches in the divorce settlement, while Kim bought her husband out of the Hidden Hills estate for $23 million (£18m). The pair finally agreed on a settlement over custody and child maintenance in November 2022, sharing joint custody of their children. Ye pays Kardashian $200,000 (£157,000) a month in child support, and they split the cost of their children's security, schooling and university fees. Neither pays the other spousal support. Kim bought another Hidden Hills property in 2022 as a 'buffer' home when her ex-husband purchased a house nearby to be near his children. Clearly a tear-down purchase, she never got around to rebuilding the 4,200 square-foot (390sqm) pad. However, according to Hello Magazine, Kim put the fixer-upper back on the market later that year, less than six months after buying it. Priced at $7 million (£5.2m), she was hoping to make a profitable $700k (£517k) on what she paid for the estate. Perhaps the reason Kim decided to sell up her Hidden Hills buffer home so quickly was to snap up this beautiful seaside estate. Built in 1944, the Malibu beach house previously belonged to supermodel Cindy Crawford. Crawford reportedly purchased the property for over $50 million (£37m) from biotech engineer Walter de Logi's wife after he died in 2014. Hidden from sight behind a huge gate and at the end of a long stretch of driveway, how much did our favourite aspiring lawyer and model pay for the pad? Undergoing extensive renovations in the 1990s and more recently in 2016, Kim's new four-bedroom Mediterranean-style villa was once a six-acre (2.4ha) estate before being split into two lots. Cindy Crawford sold the smaller of the two parcels to a retired hedge fund manager, Adam Weiss. After listing it in March 2022 at a little under $100 million (£74m), Weiss sold up to the Skims founder in September 2022 in an off-market deal for a much lower $70.4 million (£52m). The savvy entrepreneur strikes again! Alongside a light and spacious gym, the 7,500-square-foot (697sqm) house hosts numerous roomy living areas illuminated via walls of glass throughout offering glittering views across Malibu beaches. Cindy Crawford still lives in her next-door parcel, where Kim will also be neighbours with Leonardo DiCaprio and Neil Diamond, no less. The Malibu estate is reportedly the fourth priciest California home sale of 2022, lagging slightly behind Bel Air's jaw-dropping The One mega-mansion, which sold at auction for a whopping $126 million (£94m). Outside, Kim and her brood can enjoy a full-size tennis court framed by mature trees, a wraparound deck for alfresco dining and a pool area with a cabana and fireplace. Moreover, a winding pathway leads down to a secluded beach, the perfect spot for one of the world's most famous women to relax by the sea. The house, which miraculously escaped the devastating LA fires in January 2025, was given its debut on Season Six of The Kardashians. Kim is joined by the rest of her family and can be seen lounging by her massive pool and watching the dolphins. Kim has said it has been her lifelong goal to own a home in Malibu, and she plans to undertake an extensive renovation project to create her dream home. Kim's pending home build project is also her most adventurous. She has commissioned Japanese architect Tadao Ando to design a vacation home on a piece of land in Palm Springs. She originally bought the undeveloped site in California's Madison Club in La Quinta for $6.3 million (£4.7m) in 2019 with then-husband Kanye. The land was awarded to Kim in her divorce settlement, but teams were still waiting to break ground in February 2025, delayed by various building permits not being granted. Sharing Ando's vision in several Instagram posts, Kim reveals a 'spaceship'-style building with a central circular courtyard right in the centre of the futuristic home. The imposing structure, which will be built in Ando's signature streamlined concrete, will reportedly feature multiple bedrooms and bathrooms and an outdoor elevator. The star visited the Pritzker prize-winning architect in Japan in April 2023 and has said that she is 'so deeply honoured... to have the opportunity to work with him and finally see this special project come to life." It was her ex-husband, Kanye West, who introduced Kim to the work of Ando when they visited Japan in 2018, and the proposed house has been dubbed the 'revenge mansion'. Sharing a picture of Ando working on drawings for her new home, Kim wrote: 'I visited his office in Japan so that we could make the finishing touches before we break ground.' Clearly excited by the project, the home is bound to boast spectacular views as the land it sits on grants views of the three surrounding mountain ranges: San Jacinto, Santa Rosa and the San Bernardino mountains. Let's just hope the building work is back on course soon. The mum of four is said to still spend much of her time in her main expansive Hidden Hills estate with the kids and 'momager' Kris Jenner close by. With her divorce from Ye long finalised and their assets divided, Kim is free to pursue her passion for buying and selling property. And building, too, it would appear. We can't wait to see what she does next…
