Latest news with #PrideConcert
San Francisco Chronicle
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. Opera's first Pride concert fills the house with color and community
Every June, the exterior columns of the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House become a symbol of LGBTQ Pride as they're illuminated in a rainbow scheme. Now, for the first time, the interior of the historic auditorium is a canvas. For the San Francisco Opera's first Pride Concert on Friday, June 27, stage artist Tal Rosner created immersive projection experiences that leapt off the stage. Rosner and San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock were both excited by the technology's possibilities. 'Its an old building, it's beautiful and intricate,' said Rosner. 'Everything I do is part of the emotional journey of the audience, but we're also really celebrating the architecture of the building in a fun way. All these different songs have different environments.' The Pride Concert was presented in partnership with San Francisco Pride (the organization that organizes the parade and Civic Center festival) and showcased music by LGBTQ composers and songwriters. The night's singers were baritone Brian Mulligan, who is gay; mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, who is bisexual; and Nikola Printz, who is trangender and nonbinary. San Francisco Opera Music Director Eun Sun Kim and Robert Mollicone conducted the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, while 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 16 runner-up (and classically trained opera singer) Sapphira Cristál emceed. The night included a bevy of community co-partners: The Tenderloin Museum, the National AIDS Memorial, Compton's Cafeteria Riot, the Marigold Project, the GLBT Historical Society and the Castro landmark the Twin Peaks Tavern. Among the special happenings were a pre-show discussion with S.F. Pride director Suzanne Ford, a display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and queer history art installations and exhibitions. 'When times are bad, you find out who your real friends are,' said Horn, who is also the president of the War Memorial Performing Arts Center. 'We have seen so many people who we thought were our allies disappear, the corporations, some of the nonprofit organizations, our lawyers. But the San Francisco Opera is proud to stand up.' Shilvock said there was never a question that the concert would go on. 'This is what the arts are for, to be in community, to allow us to be who we are,' said Shilvock. 'We've always been a part of Pride and in the parade since the 1980s. The Pride community has always been linked to the Opera, now let's bring the festivities in here.' The program, curated by San Francisco Opera's managing artistic director Gregory Henkle, opened with Leonard Bernstein's overture to 'Candide' conducted by Kim. The 1956 musical has some of Bernstein's best theatrical music, and as Kim approached the delicate excerpts from the song 'Glitter and Be Gay,' there were knowing titters. Explosions of color reminiscent of painter Marc Chagall filled the auditorium, while points of colored light highlighted the architecture of the opera house. Printz warmly sang San Francisco composer Jake Heggie's 'Vesuvio, il mio unico amico' from his 2015 opera 'Great Scott,' the story of an opera diva, Arden Scott, returning to her hometown. Heggie, who is gay, agreed that the LGBTQ community has long had an association with the opera world as both artists and ardent fans. 'It's highly emotional, dramatic, and a way to see something you were feeling inside expressed on the stage,' said Heggie, whose opera 'Dead Man Walking' returns to San Francisco Opera this fall with Barton in the lead. 'Historically, gay men and women could find each other at the opera house,' he said. 'Queer people didn't have a lot of places they could go and experience that.' Mulligan's fine delivery of Yeletsky's aria from Tchaikovsky's 'Pique Dame' and Barton's dark and rich 'Mon coueur s'ouvre á ta voix,' from Saint-Saëns' 'Samson and Dalila,' were treats before the rousing Bachanale from the same opera. The pop half of the program took flight with Barton and Printz' delightfully light, yet soulful, 'Closer to Fine' by the Indigo Girls. Singing the hit, re-popularized in 2023 by the ' Barbie ' movie, there was no 'opera singer doing pop music' stiffness. Among the night's best projections were the Saul Bass-meets-mass transit abstractions as the San Francisco Opera Orchestra took on Billy Strayhorn's jazz hit 'Take the 'A' Train.' Another visual highpoint was the sweeping images of San Francisco's queer history from the GLBT Historical Society Museum as Barton gave a moving take of Melissa Etheridge's 'Uprising of Love.' Mulligan's finest moments of the night were dramatically different: a tender, haunting version of Freddie Mercury's 'You Take My Breath Away' that contained layers of nuance about repressed queer desire. He let that emotion out in Jerry Herman's anthem 'I Am What I Am' in the boundary-breaking 1983 drag musical 'La Cage aux Folles.' The audience went there with him, cheering as he sang 'it's time to open up your closets.' Printz closed the night with 'I was Born his Way' (not the Lady Gaga song, Cristál joked) but the gay disco hit made famous by gospel artist Carl Bean, culminating in a dramatic burst of color overtaking the house. Following the performance, patrons were invited to a dance party in the lobby with San Francisco drag mother Juanita More spinning. The sounds of San Francisco disco queen Sylvester bumped from the speakers as operagoers bumped into each other on the dance floor. Regardless of what politics bring, plans are already underway for next year's Pride concert, Shilvock said. Surveying the crowd, San Francisco drag legend Donna Sachet remarked: 'This is proof we exist, even as the government is trying to erase us.'
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Sapphira Cristál to host San Francisco Opera Pride Concert
Calling all opera queens: San Francisco Opera is hosting its first ever Pride Concert. The celebration features the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim and Robert Mollicone, with soloists mezzo-sopranos Jamie Barton and Nikola Printz and baritone Brian Mulligan. Hosted by Sapphira Cristál, the immersive setting will utilize animations by Tal Rosner, historic images from past Pride celebrations and milestones projected onto the walls of the auditorium, plus a post-show dance party. The 80-minute musical program will include selections from queer opera composers Leonard Bernstein, Jake Heggie, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Camille Saint-Saëns; as well as gay cultural classics from the film 'A Star is Born' (1954) and Jerry Herman's Broadway hits 'Mame' and 'La Cage aux Folles.' Other queer artists to be covered include Freddie Mercury, the Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge. Activations and exhibitions will occur throughout the night, concluding with a dance party with DJ Juanita More.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Democrats dupe Kennedy Center into hosting gay Pride concert
Democrat senators have duped the Kennedy Center into hosting a gay Pride concert after Donald Trump pledged to end its 'woke programming'. The performing arts institution in Washington, DC, which is led by a senior member of Mr Trump's administration, had apparently been told that the senators intended to put on a talent show. Instead, it was used to stage a Pride event where performers, among them the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, sang Broadway tunes in protest against Mr Trump. Ric Grenell, whom Mr Trump installed as president of the performing arts center after replacing its board with loyalists, said they had engaged in good faith with the request but instead had been used for a 'political stunt'. Earlier this year, the US president assumed control of the Kennedy Center, denouncing its programme as too 'wokey' and pledging to bring in a 'Golden Age of arts of culture'. Numerous artists have since boycotted the venue, which recently cancelled its 'Tapestry of Pride' to celebrate Pride month. John Hickenlooper, one of the Democrat senators to host Monday's event, said: 'What's happening in the world is deeply concerning, but even in our darkest hours, we must continue to seek out the light. 'The LGBTQ community has long embodied this resilience, maintaining joy and creativity in the face of adversity.' Mr Hickenlooper, along with senators Tammy Baldwin, Jacky Rosen, Brian Schatz and Elizabeth Warren, rented out the Justice Forum lecture hall for the 90-minute 'Love is Love' concert, which explored 'gay characters, gay culture, gay music and gay Pride'. It was produced by Jeffrey Seller, the lead producer of 'Hamilton', who recently cancelled a run of the musical at the Kennedy Centre scheduled for 2026. 'This is our way of reoccupying the Kennedy Centre,' he said. 'This is a form of saying, 'We are here, we exist, and you can't ignore us'. This is a protest, and a political act.' Mr Grenell said staff working for Mr Hickenlooper had approached the centre about putting on a talent show and that it had been 'pleased to welcome them'. 'We were only later notified by the New York Times that Senator Hickenlooper's event was instead an invite-only political stunt,' he said in a statement on social media. 'Once again, the Kennedy Centre was being used by political operatives to larp as victims of intolerance in order to get a story in the Times.' He continued: 'No one has been cancelled by the Kennedy Centre; we welcome everyone who wants to celebrate the arts, including our compatriots on the other side of the political aisle. 'We especially welcome artists and audience members who come to the Kennedy Centre not for partisan political pranks but to experience excellence in the performing arts.' Earlier this month, many of the seats in the audience were filled by drag queens when Mr Trump visited for a performance of Les Misérables. One told local media they attended the musical to 'protest in our own way' by 'existing in the space that they've tried to block us from'. Ms Warren, a former contender for the Democrats' presidential nomination, said the concert was an attempt to fight the Trump administration's 'hateful attacks' with 'resilience and joy'. 'We're celebrating that joy at the Kennedy Centre with artists and stage workers for a special performance,' she said. 'I'll never stop fighting to make sure every single person is free to live exactly who they are.' Ms Baldwin, the first openly gay US senator, said the country had 'some big hills to climb' to reach 'true equality'. 'Look no further than the Trump administration's shameful attacks on the LGBTQ community and our right to live a life with dignity, respect, and free from discrimination,' she claimed. 'While this administration won't say it, we will: to all LGBTQ members of our community, we see you, we respect you, and we are proud to celebrate you.'
Fox News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Democratic senators host Pride concert at Kennedy Center to protest Trump takeover
Five Democratic senators joined forces with a "Hamilton" producer to stage a gay pride concert on Monday night in protest of President Donald Trump's takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The New York Times reported that Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado along with Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren rented the Justice Forum, a lecture hall within the Kennedy Center, for a 90-minute concert expected to feature "gay characters, gay culture, gay music and gay pride." "What's happening in the world is deeply concerning, but even in our darkest hours, we must continue to seek out the light," Hickenlooper said in a statement. "The L.G.B.T.Q. community has long embodied this resilience, maintaining joy and creativity in the face of adversity." The concert will be produced by Jeffrey Seller, the lead producer of "Hamilton" who described how he was asked to take part in "guerrilla theater" to the New York Times. "This is our way of reoccupying the Kennedy Center," Seller said. "This is a form of saying, 'We are here, we exist, and you can't ignore us.' This is a protest, and a political act." Seller and "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda previously canceled a planned production of the popular rap musical at the Kennedy Center for 2026 in protest of the Trump administration. The concert will feature several Broadway artists as well as the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, whose May performance at the Kennedy Center was canceled. Fox News Digital was told, however, that the decision came before the center's leadership change due to lack of ticket sales rather than politics. Fox News Digital reached out to the Kennedy Center and the five Democratic senators' offices for comment. In February, Trump fired several Kennedy Center board members, including the president and chairman, and replaced them with pro-Trump figures, who then named the president as chairman. Trump later appointed Richard Grenell, who was the first openly gay Cabinet member after serving the first Trump administration, as president and interim executive director.
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Baritone Brian Mulligan on coming out with San Francisco Opera in style and song
For two decades, baritone Brian Mulligan has performed on many of the world's great stages, but his heart belongs to San Francisco. Now, in a full-circle moment, the internationally acclaimed singer returns to make history as one of the featured soloists in San Francisco Opera's first-ever Pride Concert, set for Friday, June 27, at the War Memorial Opera House. 'San Francisco Opera is unquestionably the most important opera company in my life,' Mulligan, 46, told the Chronicle by phone from his native town of Endicott in upstate New York. 'They have taken chances on me and given me opportunities that no place else in the world has done. I consider it my home opera company.' While the baritone snagged his first professional role at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 2003 when still a student at the Juilliard School, he's truly come into his own in San Francisco. Since making his debut at the War Memorial in 2008's ' La Bohème,' he's appeared there nearly two dozen times, singing everything from the title characters in ' Sweeney Todd ' and ' Nixon in China ' to a series of Wagner roles (mostly recently Telramund in 2023's ' Lohengrin '). He is set to return in October to sing the role of Amfortas in a new production of Wagner's 'Parsifal.' 'I've had so many firsts in San Francisco,' he recalled fondly, listing his first major Verdi role as Count Anckarström in 2014's 'Un Ballo in Maschera' among them. 'It's incredible to go back and see people, faces who know me and have helped me over the years to deliver performance after performance.' For the Pride Concert, Mulligan is slated to be joined by a few other San Francisco Opera favorites, mezzo-sopranos Jamie Barton and Nikola Printz, for a program featuring tunes by Harold Arlen and Jerry Herman, among others, as well as operatic fare by Tchaikovsky and Camille Saint-Saëns. Music Director Eun Sun Kim will share conducting duties with Robert Mollicone, while drag queen Sapphira Cristál serves as emcee. Mulligan spoke to the Chronicle about Pride and his passion for the Opera ahead of the upcoming concert. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Q: On the cusp of the city's 55th Pride Celebration, the San Francisco Opera is presenting its very first Pride Concert. What does that milestone mean to you? There was a long time (when) I felt my sexuality was a liability as an opera singer. Because almost all of the roles I play are straight people, being gay isn't exactly a good calling card. (But) over the years, I've proven myself as an actor. That's what being an opera singer is all about — portraying somebody else. Q: You've said that one of the reasons you leaned into opera growing up was because you were gay. Could you please elaborate on that? A: I started taking voice lessons when I was 17, and at that age, I didn't know or understand my sexuality. I knew that I was different, and (by) taking a step toward opera, which was also different, I was establishing my otherness — because most people don't know or understand anything about opera. Q: Fast-forward a few decades to this upcoming Pride Concert. Among the tunes you're preparing to sing are 'You Take My Breath Away,' Freddie Mercury's 1976 hit with Queen, as well as the aria 'I love you, dear' from Tchaikovsky's 'The Queen of Spades.' Did you make the selections? A: I had a hand in choosing the songs, but they were largely suggested by (the company). They explained that they were trying to highlight gay composers, iconic gay moments in opera and theater. (As) with any kind of recital program, it's about the order that you sing the pieces in. I'm starting with the Tchaikovsky; that will be most technically challenging because it's opera. After that, we'll move to the standard stuff. Q: Your 2022 solo CD, 'Alburnum,' features works by Mason Bates, Missy Mazzoli and Gregory Spears. You've also sung in contemporary operas, including John Adams' 'Nixon in China.' What is your attraction to new music? A: I often say to people, 'The greatest music may not have been composed yet.' There's a lot of phenomenal music that's been composed, but I have to believe that there's music that we don't know about yet. I really believe that one of the biggest draws for me in performing contemporary music is (that) often, it's written in English. I communicate best in English because it can (sometimes) be a struggle in other languages. No matter how good I get at German, French or Italian, I'm most powerful as a communicator in English. Q: As is the case with most successful opera singers today, your travel schedule is something akin to a rock star's. In the last few weeks, you were in Leipzig, Germany, before which you made your debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Where do you go to rejuvenate, and how do you keep it together on the road? A: Because I'm working more than 85% of the year, a few years ago I moved back to upstate New York, where my entire immediate and extended family lives — and I actually get to see them. So I come home to the absolute country. It's quiet. This morning, I opened the windows and I could hear all of the birds. It's incredible. I love living here. I have a small Norwich Terrier, Beauregard, who just turned 7, but he's still a puppy in many ways. He has a European passport, and he's been traveling with me everywhere — except Asia or the U.K. — since he was a baby, so he's completely used to it. I've found now that my life is centered around him, and wherever I go, I make sure it's near a place that's beautiful where we can walk. … He's improved my life, and since I need to (rest my voice) when I'm not performing, it's all silence with him. A: It's funny because I was thinking maybe I should wear some kind of glittery, sparkly, crazy Pride thing. But as time went on and I thought about it, Pride is actually more about being yourself and just owning who you are, and who I am is a simple tux kind of guy. I'm wearing a black tux with pink accessories — a pink tux shirt for part of the show and a pink pocket square.
