The following is a list of four opera performances that I am scheduled to review at the San Francisco Opera and Santa Fe Opera from June to August 2026.
Elektra (Richard Strauss), San Francisco Opera, June 7(m), 11, 14(m), 19, 23 and 27, 2026.
[Photo: Elektra (Elena Pankratova, left) holds a battle axe she has found as she and her sister Chrysothemis (Elza van den Heever, right) consider whether it would be useful in revenging the murder of their father; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera..]
Keith Warner’s production of “Elektra”, created for the San Francisco Opera and two European companies is extraordinary. I quote from my 2017 review, cited below: “British director Keith Warner conceptualized the opera as an introspective exploration of the symbolic contents of one’s mind (Elektra’s) that relate to a traumatic event (the murder of her father by her mother and her mother’s paramour). Because Elektra’s story takes place in ancient times in the Mycenae, he decided to set the opera in an antiquities museum.”
Elektra is sung by Austrian soprano Elena Pankratova, in her San Francisco Opera debut. She is joined by Austrian mezzo Michaela Schuster as Klytemnestra, French soprano and former Merola Young Artist and 2005-2007 San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow Elza van den Heever as Chrysothemis, Wisconsin baritone Kyle Ketelsen as Orest and Florida tenor William Burden as Aegisth.
The production’s sets were created by Slovakian designer Boris Kudlicka, the costumes by French designer Kasper Glarner. The revival is staged by German director Anja Kühnhold. Maestra Eun Sun Kim conducts.
For my performance review of the 2026 production see: Review: Richard Strauss’ “Elektra”- A Stunning Vocal and Orchestral Delight – San Francisco Opera, June 7, 2026
For my review of the original production, see: Review: San Francisco Opera’s “Elektra” – Goerke, Pieczonka in a Gory, Gloriously Sung Night at the Museum – September 9, 2017.
Madama Butterfly (Puccini), Santa Fe Opera, July 3, 8, 11, 17, 24, August 3, 8, 10, 15, 20, 26 and 29, 2026.
[Photo: the lovers Butterfly (Karen Chia-Ling Ho, right) and Pinkerton (Stephen Costello, left( prepare for their wedding night in 2026’s performances of Lee Blakeley’s production; edited image, based on a Brownwwen Sharp photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.]
Taiwanese soprano Karen Chia-Ling Ho (Cio-Cio San), New York soprano Sun-Ly Pierce (Suzuki) and Taiwanese tenor Ya-Chung Huang (Goro) make their Santa Fe Opera debuts.
Pennsylvania tenor Stephen Costello is Pinkerton for the first ten performances. In the August 26 and 29th perofrmances, Pinkerton is sung by Ohio tenor Jonathan Burton.
Pennslvania baritone Jarrett Ott is Sharpless. South Korean baritone Yeong-taek Yang is Prince Yamadori. Chinese tenor Le Bu is the Bonze and California soprano Alissa Goretsky is Kate Pinkerton.
State of Washington Maestro John Fiore conucts. The revival is staged by Illinois director Melanie Becaling. The scenic design and costumes, as in the 2010 and 2018 mountings, are respectively the work of French set designer Jean-Marc Puissant and German costume designer Brigitte Reiffenstuel.
For my performance review of the 2026 production, see: Review: “Madama Butterfly”, Brescia Version with Karen Chia-Ling Ho, Stephen Costello, Jarrett Ott and Maestro John Fiore – Santa Fe Opera, August 3, 2026
For my reviews of Lee Blakeley’s 2010 and 2018 Santa Fe Opera production, see: Review: Kaduce’s Incandescent Cio-Cio-San, Jovanovich’s Injudicious Pinkerton, Emblazon Blakeley’s “Butterfly” – Santa Fe Opera, July 16, 2010 and Review: A Stunning “Madama Butterfly” Starring Kelly Kaduce – Santa Fe Opera, June 30, 2018.
The Magic Flute (Mozart), Santa Fe Opera, July 4, 10, 19, August 4, 13, 22, 25 and 28, 2026.
[Photo: Designer Robert Perdziola’s costume for the Queen of the Night; edited image from christopherluscombe.com.]
Shakespearean theater and operatic director CHirstopher Luscombe makes his Santa Fe Opera debut, creating a new production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” for the company. His production incorporates sets by British designer Simon Higlett and costumes by Pennsylvania designer Robert Perdziola.
Canadian tenor Josh Lovell is Tamino. New York soprano Joelle Harvey is Pamina. Illinois bariotne Will Liverman is Papageno, Romanian bass Alexander Kopeczi is Sarastro. and Wisconsin soprano Jeni Houser is the Queen of the Night.
The Queen’s three ladies are VIrginia soprano Jasmin Ward, Maryland mezzo Deanna Ray Eberhart and Illinois mezzo Lauren Randolph. The Speaker is Chinese bass-baritone Le Bu. Connecticut tenor Spencer Hamlin is Monostatos.
English Maestro Harry Bicket conducts.
Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky), Santa Fe Opera, July 18, 22, 31, August 6, 12 and 19, 2026.
[Photo: Tatyana (Olga Kutchynska, left) dreams she is embraced by Onegin (Mattia Olivieri, right) in a mysterious hut filled with monstrous creature as are described in Chapter V of Puhskin’s “Eugene Onegin”; edited image, based on a Bronwen Sharp photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.]
Five principal artists are in their debut Santa Fe Opera season, four debuting in this production – Italian baritone Mattia Olivieri (Onegin), Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska (Tatyana), Peruvian tenor Ivan Ayon-Rivas (Lensky) and Azerbijani mezzo Elmina Hasan. Alexander Kopecki is Prince Gremin.
Returning for this production, created for the Santa Fe Opera in 2021, are Italian director Alessandro Talevi, Northern Ireland’s Scenic and Costume Designer Gary McCann and New Zealand choreographer Athol Farmer.
Wisconsin Maestra Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts the first four performances (through August 6). Canadian Maestro Robert Tweten conducts the last two performances (August 12 and 19).
For my performance review of the 2026 production, see: Review: A Pushkin-Centered “Eugene Onegin” – Santa Fe Opera, August 6, 2026.
For my review of a 2021 perofmrance of this production, see:Review: Santa Fe Opera’s “Eugene Onegin”, Musically Appealing, Visually Striking – July 24, 2021,
For discussion of other opera oerformances to be reviewed, that were described in previous posts in this “Quests and Anticipations” series, see:
The San Francisco Opera performances of “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” [see: In Quest of Santa Fe Opera and San Francisco Opera 2025 and 2026 Productions].