San Francisco Opera Launches Digital Archive to Celebrate Centenary

"Streaming the First Century" allows listeners to dive into the company's previously unheard, historic performances

As part of the celebrations for their centenary year, San Francisco Opera has put together an immersive digital library that offers listeners the chance to listen to precious archival recordings from the company's history.

Entitled "Streaming the First Century," the archive is split into four separate sessions, with each session to be released individually between October and December.

The first session, "Slavic Sensibilities," delves into performances of Russian and Czech repertoire from the 1980s, including a production of Janáček's Jenůfa from 1980 and a performance of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtensk from 1981. Excerpts of similar works from 1945-1984 are also included.

Session Two, "Parlez-vous français?," will be released October 10 and features works by Massenet, Charpentier, Berlioz, and Messiaen. A production of Massenet's Werther from 1978 will be featured, alongside Charpentier's Louise in a performance from 1999. This collection also includes the oldest archival recording of the entire project, which will remain a secret until its release.

Session Three, "Italian Roots," focuses on productions of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci (1962) and Puccini's Turandot (1977). It will be released on November 7.

Rounding out the collection is Session Four: "Ho jo to ho!" which is centered on German repertoire. A 1974 production of Strauss' Salome will be juxtaposed with a 2008 realization of Korngold's Die Tote Stadt.

Listeners can also access Down the Rabbit Hole, which contains a wealth of archival interviews with the company's singers, conductors, directors, and members of the chorus and backstage crew.

You can view Streaming the First Century, here.