Ferry riders seeking a cultural diversion on their sojourns across the Bay will now be able to explore a new offering by the San Francisco Opera (SFO) for portable streaming devices.
As part of its centennial celebrations SFO recently released the first installment of Streaming the First Century.
The new online hub at sfopera.com/firstcentury provides free access to selected historic recordings from the Company’s distinguished past, along with rare artist interviews, archival photographs, program articles, oral history excerpts and newly captured conversations among past and present San Francisco Opera creative luminaries.
Each interactive Streaming the First Century session, released one per month from September through December, includes two complete historic recordings, audio excerpts from four additional performances and introductions to each preserved audio experience by contemporary scholars, artists and Company members who add historical context and insights.
The contents of the sessions, drawn from only-at-San-Francisco-Opera moments not found with similar casts on commercial recordings, are thematically inspired by the 2022–23 Season providing deeper engagement with the Company’s past presentations of Slavic, French, Italian and German repertoire.
A “Down the Rabbit Hole” feature includes further avenues for exploration into the Company’s history.