Nineteen young singers took their places onstage of the War Memorial Opera House, filling the hall with dazzling arias, duets and ensembles during the celebratory Merola Grand Finale.
The concert, on Saturday, Aug. 16, capped eight weeks of intensive training for the Merola Opera Program’s 2025 class, a proving ground for singers vying for spots in San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Adler Fellowship. And what was on display was a parade of promise.
The evening’s program had a fine balance among pathos, comedy and tragedy. The opening chorus “Paris! Entrons dans la fournaise” (Paris! Let’s enter the furnace), from Jacques Offenbach’s La vie Parisienne, sparkled, and set the tone for the comic numbers that followed. Mezzo-soprano Meg Brilleslyper led off from there, with a saucy, alluring rendition of “Que j’aime les militaires” (How I love the soldiers), from the same composer’s La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein (The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein).
This year’s Merola cohort included a seemingly endless procession of outstanding lower men’s voices, and three of them — Joeavian Rivera, Justice Yates and Wanchun Liang — starred in “Don Basilio…cosa veggo! Buona sera, mio signore” (Don Basilio…what do I see! Good evening, my lord), from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, along with mezzo-soprano Ariana Maubach and tenor Minghao Liu.
Liang’s big, dark-toned voice shone in an aria from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, in which the title character schemes to steal an inheritance from the rightful heirs, while Baritone Gabriel Natal Báez and soprano Eva Rae Martinez gave a dramatically alert and vocally sumptuous rendition of a duet from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.
Baritone Benjamin Dickerson sang vividly in Schubert’s song “Erlkönig” (Elf-King, performed in Hector Berlioz’s orchestral arrangement), though he could have more strongly differentiated the voices of the different characters. Bass John Mburu was moving and magnificent in “Old Man River,” and collaborated with Rivera in a hilarious duet from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale.
Higher voices got their due as well. Chea Kang’s characterful soprano and mesmerizing presence made her an enchanting Sandman in an aria from Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel. Soprano Sofia Gotch and Brilleslyper charmed in the following duet “Abends will ich schlafen gehn” (When I go to sleep at night).
Minghao Liu, who has a bright, slightly dry, light tenor, securely nailed all of the high Cs in “Ah, mes amis…Pour mon âme” (Ah, my friends…For my soul) from Donizetti’s Daughter of the Regiment. Charlotte Siegel sang “Io son l’umile ancella” (I am the humble handmaid), from Francesco Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, with perhaps the most sumptuous soprano I’ve ever heard from such a young singer.
In the only Baroque work on the program, mezzos Anna Maria Vacca and Sadie Cheslak were poised and affecting in a duet from Handel’s Giulio Cesare.
Soprano Ariane Cossette and tenor Jin Yu gave an impassioned, rich-voiced performance of “Va! Je t’ai pardonné…Nuit d’hyménée” (Go! I have forgiven you...Wedding night) from Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Soprano Alexa Frankian, ear-catching as a member of the quartet from Verdi’s Falstaff, also gave an ardent performance of “Addio, mio dolce amor” (Farewell, my sweet love), from the rarity Edgar, showing off the special vocal shine that Puccini needs.
Elio Bucky, himself a 2025 Merola artist, directed with suave panache, giving each singer the opportunity to shine dramatically as well as vocally. Kelly Kuo conducted the wide range of styles with aplomb, ideally supporting the singers.
