This last summer SF Opera produced Show Boat.  We captured it and had our first look at it yesterday.  The first cut was really pretty good. Our brain trust had some constructive notes.  The cast was terrific and their singing was superb.  The final mix is still being worked on and we will take a look at it one more time before it goes out.  I will keep you posted.

I had a great time directing the behind the scenes at SF Ballet on Oct. 1 - World Ballet Day.  Our talent were terrific and the crew was fantastic.  My thanks to the SF Ballet Bravo volunteers and staff at the SF Ballet.  Producer Judy Flannery was outstanding as usual as well as SF Ballet's Lauren Chadwick. This live 20 hr. streamed marathon on Youtube started with the Australian Ballet at 7 pm on Sept. 30 followed by the Bolshoi in Moscow, who tossed it to the London Royal Ballet, cross the Atlantic to the National Canada Ballet and it ended with the San Francisco Ballet.  The stream of the SF Ballet's 4 hours is still available on their youtube channel until 1 pm this Sat., Oct. 4 on
http://lnkd.in/b3Mm7p5.

Lucrezia Borgia

I directed the  SF Opera presentation, Lucrezia Borgia starring Renee Fleming. If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area watch it on KQED's Life channel next Monday at 7 pm. Comcast channel 189 and Digital channel 54.3. Check out the DVD reviews  http://www.amazon.com/Donizetti-Lucrezia-Borgia-Featuring-Francisco/dp/B00FABG404  Enjoy!

July 5, SF Opera Simulcast

I am ready for the simulcast at AT&T tomorrow, Saturday, July 5 at 8pm.  We will have 11 cameras  covering the the opera, La Traviata.   At 10:30 AM, I am heading out with Jess and Mark  to check the playback of the rehearsal capture in 29 x 9 and see how the lighting looks and how the scoreboard is color balanced. After that we will head back to have a meeting with our camera crew and go over the many notes for this live broadcast to the thousands at AT&T Park.  The screen is 101 feet high and 31 feet wide, so it is wider than cinemascope.  We have special masks installed on our camera viewfinders so the camera operators will frame properly.  It will be a challenge tomorrow because there are 3 new principles playing Alfredo, Violetta and Alfredo's dad, Germont.  In our scratch tape, they all move differently and act differently than the former cast we rehearsed with.  It's good that I am going in early tomorrow to talk to the crew and update the shot sheets.  I have given notes to the stage AD and lighting director and makeup and wig department.  It's going to be fun!

This will be my 7th, Simulcast for SF Opera and my 9th overall (Seattle Opera May 2012 and Opera Company of Philadelphia Oct. 2012)

Goldman Prize and Michael Pollan

April 27-28. It started with the load in at the SF Opera House for the 25th Anniversary of the Goldman Prize.  This  world wide prize honors six individuals who have taken an environmental  stand for Mother Earth and their communities http://www.goldmanprize.org/blog/celebrating-25-years-environmental-activism-2014-goldman-prize-ceremony.  They are selected from around the world and flown in for the ceremonies, where the audience members have the honor of seeing their stories through short documentaries. Each recipient is given $175,000 each and presented with the Goldman Prize at the event.  I had the pleasure of directing the Prize's first live webcast on You Tube and Image Magnification screens for the capacity audience at the SF War Memorial Opera House.  CNN journalist Soledad O'Brien was the host and the keynote speaker was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  Another highlight was the special performances of  Bonnie Raitt and Graham Nash.  Covering these two musicians were one of the highlights for me as I have always been big fans.

We covered the two hour event with 6 cameras and it was flawless.  Thanks so much for the crew and the Goldman Prizes' Lorrae Rominger, producer Marika Holmgren and event maestro Jim Schelstrate.
When the gig was over I ran into Ms. Raitt on her way to the reception for the recipients and found out that she has attended two operas, one here and one in Germany.  I mentioned that I worked on a TV show in 1975 called "Went Like It Came,"  in which she and Arlo Guthrie performed a few tunes.  It aired in the SF Bay Area.  She didn't remember - no matter.  It was great just walking with her for a block.

April 29 - May 1 had me directing and production consulting another live event at the Nourse Auditorium in San Francisco for Kikim Media and City Arts and Lectures. The journalist and author, Michael Pollan was speaking on his latest book, "In Defense of Food."

 I did a warm up with our audience, before I sat in the director's chair asking for reactions and applause.  (See photo: That's me standing behind the table)  We captured this presentation that will be part of a documentary on PBS that airs later this year.  The audience was fantastic and Michael Pollan had a great night presenting lots of  food facts, discussing what's in processed and fresh foo and a lively Q&A session ended the show.  Michael Pollan was great to work with  and he felt it was his best presentation ever. We covered Pollan's presentation with 4 cameras that included a jib/crane. We used Sony F55 and F5  cameras.  The crew was headed up by DP John Chater, sound and video was masterfully done by Conrad Slater and lighting by Alan Steinheimer and Eric Blum.  The set was designed by Acme Scenery Company.

It was a great week of creativity, good vibes and good tips on food!

Gramophone gives Moby-Dick DVD Annual Classic Music Awards 2014

Just heard that San Francisco Opera’s “Moby-Dick”  has been selected by prestigious Gramophone magazine (based in London) as the opera DVD  for their “Annual Classic Music Awards 2014.” This special edition of the magazine will come out in early February 2014.  We are the only opera DVD to receive this distinction by the editor.  This is great news and I am proud to be a part of the creative team gaining this recognition by Gramophone.