S.F. Opera’s opening weekend includes concert by world-class diva Angela Gheorghiu
By Bruce Bellingham

Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu – one of the hottest and coolest opera stars in the world – will give a special recital at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. She’ll perform with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra with conductor Marco Armiliato. 

Gheorghui made her San Francisco Opera debut last year in Puccini’s La Rondine, but she’s been an international star for nearly 20 years. Her terrific acting and riveting stage presence made her a standout from the beginning.

Ms. Gheorghiu’s program will include classical Italian songs and arias from her notable operatic roles. For those who dislike surprises, the evening will open with Giuseppe Girodani’s “Caro mio ben.” She’ll also perform two arias by Puccini, “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta” from La Rondine, and “Un bel di vedremo” from Madama Butterfly. The first part of the show finishes with the famous “Pace, Pace, Mio Dio” from Verdi’s La Forza del Destino.

After the intermission, Ms. Gheorghiu will return with Ernesto di Curtis’s “Non ti scordar di me” … “Sibney” by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona and “Les Fille de Cadix” by Delibes. She’ll have to do a Romanian song, too, of course. The soprano will likely close with “O Sole Mio,” which was made famous by Elvis Presley. Well, it didn’t hurt.
Cal Performances will also co-present Jake Heggie’s new chamber opera, Three Decembers, with our great friend Flicka – that is, Frederic von Stade, who lives in Alameda on Dec. 11-14. 

Angela Gheorghiu: Zellerbach Hall, University of California, Berkeley; Saturday, Sept. 6, 7:30 p.m.; tickets $35-$100 available at the San Francisco Opera Box Office, War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave. (at Grove); www.sfopera.com; 415-864-3330; or Cal Performances’ Box Office, Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; www.calperfs.berkeley.edu; 510-642-9988