August is out of sight, but seldom out of mind for San Francisco Opera — especially for the company’s Tad and Dianne Taube general director, Matthew Shilvock.
It was on Aug. 1, 2016, that Shilvock, then 39, became SF Opera’s seventh general director. A decade later on Aug. 1, 2026, Shilvock began his third term in the role. The new five-year contract extends Shilvock’s tenure through the 2030–2031 season.
Also relevant this August, the SF Opera Orchestra’s collective labor contract expired on July 31, confronting Shilvock and the SFO Administration with the possibility of jeopardizing the opening of the Opera’s 104th season on Sept. 12 — but the contract dispute is the subject of another article.
SF Classical Voice asked Shilvock about SF Opera’s influence now that he is empowered to lead it for the next five years.
“We’re seeing opera resonate with audiences in extraordinarily powerful and authentic ways,” he responded. “Audiences are hungry for experiences that are deep, analogue, emotional, tactile. And they are hungry to do this in community with others.
“I’m seeing this particularly in Gen-Z audiences, and it’s amazing to experience people discovering the opera for the first time, for example, through our Dolby Ticket Program.
“I just read an email from a first-time operagoer who saw this summer’s Elektra and said that it changed their life. I was in Edinburgh earlier this month for the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s The Galloping Cure, and I had the same experience.”
SF Opera has co-commissioned Mazzoli’s work, and will present its American premiere next fall.
Shilvock calls the present “both a thrilling and daunting time for arts companies everywhere. I’ve never seen a more exciting time for the Opera, with incredible trends around audience and donor growth. We’re seeing sold-out houses for both traditional and new operas; we’ve seen exciting subscription growth this year in full subscriptions.
“And we’re seeing very exciting increases in almost all levels of our philanthropy, including groundbreaking new gifts such as last year’s multi-year commitment from Jensen and Lori Huang.”
This interview took place before orchestra musicians challenged the company on salaries and the Opera’s finances, but Shilvock’s words foreshadowed the conflict:
“We continue to feel the weight of the huge economic strain on arts organizations, we must find a way to address this reality, support the arts ecosystem, and build on this positive energy,” Shilvock said.
What does he find especially interesting about the Opera’s Fall season?
“I love the variety of the works we’re bringing to life onstage this Fall. Simon Boccanegra is one of Verdi’s most intriguing works. He loved writing operas about politics and operas about families, and in Boccanegra you get both. I can’t wait to see the nuance of that come to life under the musical leadership of [SFO Music Director] Eun Sun Kim.”
Shilvock sees a connection between Boccanegra and Thea Musgrave’s Mary, Queen of Scots in that both operas center the theme, “heavy is the head that wears the crown.” Musgrave’s 1977 opera was first staged in 1979 by San Francisco Opera at the Curran Theatre, and was conducted by the composer.
“It’s been an absolute privilege to get to know Thea over the last few years,” Shilvock said. “She is 98 and still composing and energizing the world through music. I can’t wait for new generations to get to know this dramatic score and character study of a part of Mary’s life much less frequently told.”
Mary, Queen of Scots will be conducted by the Italian conductor Clelia Cafiero in a new co-production with English National Opera, directed and designed by Stewart Laing.
“Then comes the heady swirl of a Parisian love story with Massenet’s Manon. This is one of the most romantic of all operas, and what better way to express that than with husband and wife stars Pene Pati and Amina Edris in this sumptuous, sensual exploration of love. Both are graduates of our young artist programs [Merola and Adler], so this is a wonderful homecoming for two amazing singers in demand on all the main stages in the world.”
Eun Sun Kim is set to lead Manon, Boccanegra, and a Strauss concert. The conductor will also begin the Wagner Ring in June 2027 with Das Rheingold.
Shilvock has a special affection for SF Opera’s production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, calling it “one of the most gloriously perfect works of art ever written and a beautiful spotlight on human emotion.”
