San Francisco Opera Guild, Peninsula Chapter

06/04/2024

This page -- San Francisco Opera Guild - Peninsula Chapter -- has been inactive for several years!

Unfortunately, I do not know how to delete the page. I would welcome any advice or assistance in doing so! Please email [email protected] if you can help.

For up-to-date information about SFOG's Peninsula Chapter and the San Francisco Opera Previews, please visit San Francisco Opera's website at sfopera.com.

San Francisco Opera Guild Opera previews of the music and history of selected operas

05/01/2023

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Masks are no longer required to attend SFOG Peninsula Chapter events. You may, of course, wear one if wearing it allows you to feel safer, but if you choose this option you should bring your own mask as we no longer provide them for audience members. And remember, as we've said before: It's always safer (and, now, necessary if you want to wear one!) to bring your very own mask!

09/17/2022

We're in great need of additional docents for the Opera Together (formerly Opera á la Carte) music-in-the-schools program for grades 4-12. This is a program that your chapter sponsors; part of your dues/donations support sponsorships for needy schools. Pre-pandemic, an average of 20 Peninsula schools signed up for this program each season.

Jennifer Bienaimé, a director of the SF Opera Guild, member of the SF Opera Guild Education Council, and a resident of Palo Alto, is our Peninsula Area Coordinator. She sent the urgent email below my signature to Guild directors. It includes instructions for signing up to be a docent. Since the scheduled training is one of two sessions in San Francisco on Monday, I connected with Jennifer and she said that they'd be happy to make alternate arrangements for training tailored to your availability and needs (including remote, from-home training). Also, although the program begins on October 3, our new docents could join the program later since it runs through December 2 and new schools are continuing to sign up.

For any other questions, you'll find Jennifer's email cc'd above.

If you can help out, please use the Link to Form provided below, fill out the form (in the Docent Preferences, check Opera Together), and use the comments line to indicate your training availability/needs.

I've also provided Jennifer's bio and a description of this year's Opera Together program below.

Much Thanks,
Judy
Judy Kahn
President
SF Opera Guild / Peninsula Chapter
Email: [email protected]

Here follows the text, lightly edited, of the email that Jennifer sent to Directors of the (parent) San Francisco Opera Guild earlier this week:

I am the Peninsula Area Coordinator for Opera Together docents (formerly Opera á la Carte). After Tuesday's Guild meeting, I learned that we only have four people from the Peninsula signed up for docent training. It would be great if our area could have a larger group of trained docents for the many La Bohème performances that our Peninsula schools will be doing this year. If you have the time and are interested in becoming a docent, please attend one of the two training sessions on Monday, September 19 in San Francisco. Kindly complete the form in the link below which will let Caroline Altman and John Morris know that you will attend the docent training. If you cannot attend on September 19, Caroline will work with you to set up training at a more convenient time.

Thank you for your consideration!

Sincerely,

Jennifer

LINK TO FORM: https://forms.gle/4GozFuDVSgCfht336
Docent Training in San Francisco

Monday, September 19 2pm to 3:30pm
Monday, September 19 7pm to 8:30pm
Bryan Education Studio, Veterans Building 4th Floor

401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco 94102

_____________________________________________-

Jennifer Bienaimé (biography from Guild directory)

Active Director Since: 2019

Jennifer’s nonprofit and community organization involvement includes: Bravo! Club Board, 2003-2005 holding Secretary, B!C Gala Co-chair and Interim President roles; Community Service League in Hillsborough Publicity Chair from 2010-2015;
Annual Fund Champion – International School of the Peninsula from 2010-2015.

_______________________________________________

Opera Together (formerly Opera à la Carte) live for grades 4-12 -- Puccini's La Bohème!

In this signature program that serves over 100 schools each year, students perform alongside professional artists in a 45-minute adaptation of Giacomo Puccini's classic opera, La Bohème. Masterfully designed for young audiences, the English-language production features four professional singers, one pianist, 11 of the school's own students in speaking and acting roles, and an optional student chorus of any size. Students memorize lines in advance, are coached by artists in a dress rehearsal, and then with props, scenery, and costumes, perform for their school. When all grades learn the chorus and read the story, Opera Together becomes a community project— a chance for the entire school to get involved.

When: October 3, 2022 through December 2, 2022.

Thank you for taking your time to fill out this form! Please share your information and preferences below. Docent participation for Opera Together runs October 3 until December 2, and Docent participation in our residency programs (Book to Bravo! and Voices for Social Justice) entails checking in th...

06/03/2022

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA GROUP SUBSCRIPTION includes TRANSPORTATION

A special group subscription to the upcoming San Francisco Opera season could to help those uncomfortable either with making the drive or worried about public transportation.

The subscription includes four SFO operas on Sunday afternoons with round-trip bus transportation from the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto (near 101 and San Antonio).

The operas and dates are:

Sunday, October 9 Eugene Onegin

Sunday, November 20 Orpheus & Eurydice

Sunday June 4 Die Frau ohne Schatten

Sunday, June 18 Madama Butterfly

Michelle Rosengaus of the OFJCC has bought 20 group tickets to each of four operas. The seats are in Orchestra 3 (the third of four Orchestra seating areas), so they are either in the center sections towards the rear or in the side sections.

The OFJCC has a large parking garage with free parking. I would expect the bus to leave around 11:45 am to arrive in time for the 1 pm pre-performance lecture, and to leave the Opera House about 15 minutes after the final curtain.

I don't know whether this service is available to those who have already purchased tickets to the upcoming season but suspect it's well worth inquiring!

Contact Michelle Rosengaus either by phone (650-223-8616) or email ([email protected]).

04/16/2022

Since I've recently had serious difficulty posting Events, I want to reassure everyone that Peninsula Chapter will indeed present Opera Previews this year and next, beginning soon!

Since a majority of you voted not to preview Mozart's Don Giovanni, our final preview of the 2021-22 San Francisco Opera season will be Dream of the Red Chamber, on June 7. As always, we'll begin at 7:30. PLEASE NOTE: Dream of the Red Chamber OPENS on June 14. Our preview therefore must be on June 7. My apologies for the error. See you in the Chapel on June 7!

San Francisco Opera's announcement of its 2022-23 opera season generated lots of excitement. So did my preview selection email. Here's Peninsula Chapter's line-up for 2022-23:

Tuesday, August 30, 2022: Adams, Antony and Cleopatra
Tuesday, November 8, 2022: Gluck, Orpheus and Eurydice
Tuesday, May 30, 2023: Richard Strauss, Die Frau ohne Schatten
Tuesday, June 6, 2023: Frank, El Ultimo Sueno de Frida y Diego.

Questions? Comments? I'm still at [email protected].

02/23/2022

This is great fun. One comment on the San Francisco Opera page opined that the great Pearlfishers duet, "Au fond du temple saint," should surely be included. I heartily agree!

11/14/2021

Obituary for our dear friend and fellow volunteer, Arnold Duncan
(Dec. 29, 1926-Oct. 20, 2021)
from the San Francisco Chronicle, November 21, 2021

Arnold Duane Duncan, beloved husband of Trudy, father of daughter Jodie and sons Scott and Mark, grandfather of granddaughter Jessica, and grandsons Taylor and David, walked gently into the arms of God on October 20, 2021.
Arnold was the second child of Phillip and Sarah Duncan, born in Omaha Nebraska. He graduated Class of 1944 from Omaha Technical High School, as class president. Arnold served in the US Navy Air Corp as an Aviation Radio Man (1945-46). After World War Two, Arnold attended Roosevelt University in Chicago, earning a BA in Marketing.
While living in Chicago, Arnold met the love of his life, Trudy Bender. Arnold and Trudy moved out to California where they married and raised their three children. In 1968, they moved to San Mateo where he has resided until his death. Together they shared their love of the outdoors with their children. Arnold was an avid hiker and backpacker, spending time every year in the Yosemite high country until well into his 80s. He climbed Mount Whitney twice, taking his sons the second time.
Arnold enjoyed his work in marketing and advertising. He started in 1951 at a small 2-man advertising agency, then joined Botsford Advertising. By 1973 he had become a partner at a new agency he founded of Moran, Lanig & Duncan, working there until he retired in 1988.
Arnold always found great joy in the arts and classical music. He and his wife Trudy were patrons of music and the arts, whether in San Francisco or on the Peninsula. He volunteered with SF Symphony Open Rehearsal program and served as its chairman in 1995-96. For 27 years Arnold served as docent and program coordinator for the Upper Peninsula League of SF Symphony Concert for Kids. Arnold served as area coordinator and docent for San Francisco Opera Guilds' Opera a la Carte, a signature program that exposes school children to opera. Arnold found great joy in bringing an unforgettable musical experience to so many young ears.
Arnold was active in the community. In the 80's, he participated in the Christmas in April program that rebuilt homes for underserved members of the community. He volunteered at both the de Young and the Legion of Honor museums in San Francisco. Arnold also served as an election inspector at his San Mateo precinct, and he was a lifetime member of the San Mateo Elks Lodge 1112. Arnold remained active with the Congregational Church of San Mateo, rarely missing a Sunday service, even when the pandemic forced the services to be held over Zoom. The moment in-person services resumed, Arnold, mask on, was there in person. When he saw a need, Arnold reached out with support for others throughout the church community and beyond.
A Memorial Service to celebrate Arnold's life of love and service will be held at 2pm on Saturday, November 20, 2021 at the Congregational Church of San Mateo, 225 Tilton Avenue, San Mateo, CA.