(Above: Swedish soprano Nina Stemme by John Martin)
It's only fitting that in a city as cool as San Francisco you'd have an opera super who devotes his off-stage career to even cooler things. Putting the super into super, San Francisco Opera Supernumerary John Martin shares his intimate portraits of the SFO's Wagner Ring headliners, currently running at the War Memorial Opera House.
San Francisco Opera's Ring Cycle opened a couple weeks ago on May 29th with Siegfried, followed by Götterdämmerung. Last night, Das Rheingold premiered to be followed-up by tonight's Die Walküre, one of the Ring operas that we have a sweet spot for.
Donald Runnicles conducts the Francesca Zambello production, in co-production with Washington National Opera. Brünnhilde is sung by Nina Stemme, Wotan by Mark Delavan, Sieglinde by Anja Kampe, and Siegmund by Brandon Jovanovich.
(Above: Amelia Earhart's got nothing on the Valkyrie sisters -- photo by John Martin)