Presenting California Sings

Drum roll, please……..

Welcome to CALIFORNIA SINGS!

Starting on October 4th, every Sunday evening at 9, we’ll turn up the volume on the vocal music scene in the Golden State. California is the home of world-class opera, and some of the best singing we’ll hear this season is right in our own back yard. The lights are dimming and the curtain is about to rise on the 2026-27 season, so let us take a look at some exciting highlights of what’s just opened and what’s to come.

San Francisco Opera’s season-opener is Giuseppe Verdi’s political thriller, Simon Boccanegra. Verdi’s 1857 version has all the integrity of his late middle era that also saw the creation of La Forza del Destino, and Un Ballo in Maschera, although SF audiences will see the 1887 revision with the dramatic courtroom scene. Let’s give a listen to a very recent recording that also happens to be the first studio rendering of this work, with Mark Elder at the helm of the Halle and the chorus of Opera North. First the prelude, and then the finale scene of Boccanegra’s last moments, giving his blessing and passing his legacy to his daughter. Simon Boccanegra runs through September 27.

Superstar soprano Renee Fleming has graced the LA Opera stage in roles such as Violetta in La Traviata, and Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire. But on September 22, audiences at Walt Disney Concert Hall heard a Renee they’ve never heard before. In a rare, genre-defying collaboration, Renee and legendary Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck presented their reimagining of the American Folk tradition in celebration of our country’s 250 years. From their new recording, The Fiddle and the Drum, here’s Renee Fleming and Bela Fleck in a very special track that features the late great Dolly Parton.

Next, lets head to LA Opera! Domingo Hindoyan begins his tenure as music director with a new staging of a perennial favourite, George Bizet’s Carmen directed and designed by Thaddeus Strassburger. and…..She’s back! Rihab Chaieb previously appeared in LA as Cherubino and Dorabella, but this season she will smolder as opera’s favourite Bad Girl. Opening Night at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is October 17 (through November 7) with a special 40th birthday Gala immediately following what will be the best gift of all, Rihab Chaieb in the title role of Bizet’s Carmen. Here’s a tease from the Glybourne Festival production in 2024, Carmen’s sultry Habanera.

Well, behind every operatic Bad Girl there is an equally Bad Boy. And they don’t come much badder than Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Opera San Jose opened their 26-27 season with Mozart’s hell-bound Lothario, last seen at The California Theatre 12 seasons ago! Music Director Joseph Marcheso and stage director Alek Shrader collaborate, with William Clay Thompson in the title role, running through September 27. For a taste of the Don in the infamous dinner scene, here’s Sir Bryn Tervel in triple overtime! From a recording called Bad Boys, Bryn essays all three roles, The Don, his servant Leporello and the statue come to life, the Commendatore.

Renee Fleming, from who we heard earlier tonight, is not the only classical superstar who knows her way round cross-over; here’s Bryn one more time, from a recent DG recording called Sea Songs, with the Welsh tune Fllat Hw Pw.

Sunday nights are indeed a grand night for singing on Classical California. Tune in for the inaugural program on Sunday October 4 for more on LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, Livermore Valley Opera and Opera San Jose. And then you can visit the CALIFORNIA SINGS page every week for more information on what we’ve featured as well as details on upcoming performances.

Classical California is delighted to offer you this new program because the Golden State has so much to sing about!

See you Sunday nights at 9pm, and in the meantime, just keep singing!