ROTARY LUNCHEON: Sheri Greenawald - Merola Opera

Sheri Greenawald, artistic director of the Merola Opera Program, will be our speaker.

In her talk, Becoming an Opera Star, Sheri will provide a behind-the-scenes discussion of what it takes to become the best. She will talk about some of the rising opera stars and their upcoming performances, the kinds of challenges top opera performers face, and the technical issues that are at play in certain operas. Her presentation will conclude with a vocal lesson.

Sheri Greenawald has had a distinguished international operatic singing career as a soprano, noted in particular for her enormous range of roles. She has sung leading roles with (among others) San Francisco Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Venice’s La Fenice, the Munich State Opera, Paris’s Châtelet Theater, Welsh National Opera, Seattle Opera Company, Houston Grand Opera, the Netherlands Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Naples’s Teatro San Carlos and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. She has worked with most of opera’s great conductors and directors, and she is featured on several recordings, including singing the role of Birdie in Blitztein’s Regina conducted by John Mauceri and recorded on Decca. A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Greenawald completed the Professional Studies Program at the Juilliard School of Music and has received a Rockefeller Grant, NEA Grant, and was Seattle Opera Association’s Artist of the Year in 1998. She has taught privately, was a visiting artist at the University of Charleston, an Artist in Residence at the University of Northern Iowa, was the vocal coach of the Santa Fe Apprentice Program in 1999 and opera director for the program in 2000, and has given master classes at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. She was engaged in 2000/2001 as a professor of voice and opera at the Boston Conservatory, with a full vocal studio, coursework on English and American Song Repertory, and directed for the Opera Studio.

Since May 2002, she has been the Director of the Opera Center for the San Francisco Opera and Artistic Director for the Merola Opera Program, both of which are distinguished young artist training programs.

NOTE: Christopher Wiseman, a member of our Club, has secured a discount code for the following Merola Opera world premier event: If I Were You. For dates, times, ticket prices, and additional information on this opera, please visit https://merola.org/ifiwereyou

When purchasing tickets, please use the promo code of MEROLA10 for 10% off tickets. If you have questions, please contact Christopher Wiseman at cewiseman@ymail.com The discount applies to all performances, but Christopher will be at the August 1 and August 6 performances.

Each luncheon ticket includes a three-course lunch. Tickets are $40 each; $35 for Club members who register online in advance (online registration closes at 5PM the day before the meeting). Payment by credit card or check is preferred. Tickets available for purchase only at the door.