(Credit: Cory Waver/San Francisco Opera)

The San Francisco Opera has announced that it will stream performances from its archives beginning Saturday, May 9.

The company will begin with a recent performance of Boito’s “Mefistofele.” The production stars Ildar Abdrazakov in his staged role debut as Mephistopheles, Ramón Vargas as Faust and Patricia Racette in the dual roles of Margherita and Elena. Nicola Luisotti conducts.

It will be followed by Belllini’s “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” with Joyce DiDonato and Nicole Cabell, the 2012 Company premiere of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s “Moby-Dick” and Donizetti’s “Lucrezia Borgia” from 2011 starring Renée Fleming and Michael Fabiano.

The streamed operas will be presented on Saturdays at 10 am Pacific time on sfopera.com and will remain available until midnight the following day. However, 2020–21 San Francisco Opera subscribers and members will be able to access the streamed titles after their window of public access.

The streaming of past performances is the newest addition to Opera is ON, the Company’s online initiative to connect with audiences during the COVID-19 crisis. The platform also includes a series of “Odes to Joy” by San Francisco Opera artists, Spotify playlists curated by Company leadership and staff, blog articles from contributors throughout the Company, and fun, interactive content.