Festival Opera

11/28/2024

Wishing all of our friends a warm and joyous Thanksgiving! Festival Opera is grateful to our artists, supporters, and audience members for helping opera continue to thrive and inspire.

11/09/2024

Festival Opera’s General & Artistic Director, Zachary Gordin joins forces with the incomparable Daniel Lockert in a recital of repertoire and anecdotes that will tell a story of his journey and muses in a life of music. Songs of composers so influential to his path: Handel, Schumann, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Reynaldo Hahn, and Jake Heggie. Surprise guests to be announced, and a birthday reception (his 45th!) will follow the program. Join us for an afternoon of beauty, stories, and celebration!

Tickets $40, available online or at the door.
More info & advance tickets available at festivalopera.org

10/30/2024

FABULOUS recital by Sara Couden and Derek Tam last Sunday at the Piedmont Center for the Arts. Thanks to these incredible artists and our wonderful audience for a memorable afternoon!

10/25/2024

Festival Opera celebrates World Opera Day! Creating beautiful operatic productions, nurturing artists, and building community is what we do! Join us in celebration OPERA, which is a culmination of all the arts, centering the human voice and orchestra to tell stories in a way that moves us viscerally.

10/20/2024

One week away! Join us for this fun, Halloween themed recital, and come in costume if you dare! Sara Couden and Derek Tam are SENSATIONAL. Don’t miss this music, and be sure to stay for the reception!

Tickets available online or at the door.

Info/tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nothing-to-fear-tickets-913718355197

Festival Opera
Piedmont Center for the Arts

10/16/2024

The Festival Opera family mourns the loss of soprano Aimée Puentes, who graced us with her warm spirit and beautiful artistry in many performances. You’ll forever be remembered and missed, dear Aimée. We are grateful for the beautiful memories you gave us.

A statement from her family:

It is with broken hearts, that we share the passing of our beloved and beautiful sister, Aimée Patrice Puentes. Aimée passed on Sunday morning, October 13th.

Aimée was an internationally recognized lyric coloratura soprano. She could sing in any language with incredible diction and clarity. Aimée spent many years working with the San Francisco Opera as well as the San Francisco Symphony and coaching students from Santa Clara University.

Her former vocal coach of 19 years, the late and incredible, Kathryn Harvey said: “Aimée had a beautiful velvety quality in her singing voice with an incredible range of three octaves and the ability to transition between those octaves with seamless effort and flawless intonation. ”

Her voice will live forever in our hearts.

10/16/2024

So saddened to hear of the passing of the lovely Aimee Puentes. Talented, generous, kind and a joy to have in our life.

10/03/2024

Join us for this spectacular duo in recital on October 27th at 4:00pm! Piedmont Center for the Arts -
801 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont, CA

What do art song and Halloween have in common? Well… monsters! Beasts without and within, love gone horribly wrong, generalized anxiety and existential crises, conversations with death… The world of classical music is rife with horrors, and contralto Sara Couden is excited to introduce as many of them as possible to the audience this October. She will be working with the fabulous and multi-talented pianist Derek Tam, presenting works by a list of composers including Schubert, Strauss, Wieck, and Weill, as well as modern composers Jordan Rutter-Covatto, Erika Oba, and Chris Castro. Don’t worry, there’s nothing to fear, but fear itself!

09/27/2024

We’re grateful to our patrons and community of music lovers who were part of this lovely recital featuring Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano & Jeffrey LaDeur, pianist. Thanks for sharing a wonderful afternoon with these artists!

09/17/2024

More than artistic excellence and beauty, opera is about community and connection.

Thanks to San Francisco Classical Voice for this vote of confidence, and to our community for your support and presence.

The Walnut Creek company is looking to make a major comeback under General Director Zachary Gordin.

09/13/2024

Bay Area folks! Don’t miss this beautiful recital by Kindra Scharich and Jeff LaDeur on September 22 at Piedmont Center for the Arts. A gorgeous program with a set of German songs to start, followed by La Bonne Chanson to celebrate Gabriel Fauré!

Details and tickets at: https://www.festivalopera.org/artist-recital-series

Festival Opera

09/12/2024

Looking forward to a wonderful trio of Festival Opera Fall recitals at the Piedmont Center for the Arts: Sept. 22, Oct. 27. Nov. 17. Join us for these intimate afternoon concerts with a reception following. Tickets on sale now.

Festival Opera strives to advance the operatic art form, and to build community by producing culturally rich and diverse programming to enlighten, educate, and entertain at the highest artistic standard. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area.

08/28/2024

“This year’s fall classical music season is cause for celebration. Even a brief survey of what’s to come signals optimism, with presenters offering the kind of ambitious programming we haven’t seen in several years.

Following Festival Opera’s delightful double bill of “Voix Humaine” and “Dido and Aeneas” in July, the company under Zachary Gordin is presenting a series of three vocal recitals: “Lucky in Love,” featuring mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich and pianist Jeffrey LaDeur (Sept. 22), followed by events featuring contralto Sara Couden and pianist Derek Tam (Oct. 27), and baritone Gordin, accompanied by pianist Daniel Lockert (Nov. 17).”

- Georgia Rowe, Bay Area News Group

Info & Tickets: https://www.festivalopera.org/artist-recital-series

High-profile productions and concerts, including ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ at SF Opera; ‘Magic Flute at Opera San Jose; Chanticleer’s new show; could signal a cause for optimi…

08/24/2024

Lucky in Love
Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano
Jeffrey LaDeur, pianist

Sunday, September 22, 2024 - 4:00 PM
Piedmont Center for the Arts
801 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont, CA

Info & tickets at festivalopera.org

Lucky in Love celebrates the centennial anniversary of legendary French composer Gabriel Fauré by highlighting one of his most important song cycles: La Bonne Chanson. Inspired by his passionate love for soprano Emma Bardac and based on the exquisite poetry of Paul Verlaine, Fauré called La Bonne Chanson his “most exuberant writing.” Mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich and pianist Jeffrey LaDeur present this work, alongside other beloved scores that explore l’amour!

Mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich has been praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for her “fearless technical precision,” “deep-rooted pathos” and “irrepressible musical splendor.” As a dedicated recitalist, she has performed more than 250 art songs in 15 languages, and enjoys the full complement of recital, concert and opera engagements alike.

Jeffrey LaDeur is known for his rare blend of insight, spontaneity, and approachable, communicative stage presence. Clic Musique Magazine (France) lauded “…an irreproachable legato, a beautiful palette of nuances, and an always well-balanced sound.” Having inherited a rich tradition of pianism and interpretation from Annie Sherter, student of Vlado Perlemuter and Alfred Cortot, LaDeur has established himself as a compelling exponent of classic and new repertoire.