Backstage with Matthew: Protecting Our Creative DNA

Almost nine years ago, I had dinner with composer Kaija Saariaho in the North Box Bar before a performance of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger. I was captivated as she told me about a new opera she was conceiving. It was provisionally titled The Uninvited Guest but would become Innocence. As Kaija described the impetus and deep personal belief she had for the work, I knew it was a piece that must come to San Francisco Opera.

There is no standard way that new work enters our repertory. Some pieces evolve through conversations with composers with whom we’re eager to work. Others are presented as opportunities to join an already-developed project. Some, like Innocence, come out of being in the right place at the right time. The uncertain origin for new projects is a thrilling part of the creative process.

The artistic legacy of San Francisco Opera is deeply infused with the vitality of new work, whether i) world premieres like John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra, seen on our stage for the very first time, ii) co-commissions when we’re part of the originating creative consortium like Gabriela Lena Frank’s Fridy y Diego, or iii) American premieres of critically important operas coming to the US for the first time. San Francisco Opera has a storied history of American premieres from Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites and Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten in the 1950s to Aribert Reimann’s Lear in 1981 (Reimann sadly passed earlier this year), to Messiaen’s St. François d’Assise in 2002, to name just a few.

Innocence, as both a co-commission and an American premiere, is an exemplar of our commitment to new programming. That commitment is a central part of the identity of this company, and you, our audience and donors, have made this possible for decades. As we navigate the future, it’s essential that we ensure a continued place for work that expands the repertoire.

San Francisco Opera is facing a critical intersection of two realities. One reality is surging with artistic energy and exploration, the inspiring musical leadership of Eun Sun Kim, and a dedication to telling new stories. It is a reality manifest in growing ticket sales and an unprecedented number of new audiences.

The second reality is a fiscal model that has stretched to breaking point over twenty years. Even with a box office firing on all cylinders, the percentage of revenue from ticket sales has declined from 60% in the 1960s to 16% today, a trend mirrored nationally. And, while an ever-greater need has been placed on our incredibly generous donors, our base annual support has remained static for 15 years. When I started working here in 2005, our annual fund was $29M; as we go into 2024-25, our annual fund is projected to be … $29M. With inflation it should be $51M. These trends are happening all over America and are forcing increasingly difficult decisions, as we see next year with our change to six mainstage operas.

The Company is committed to finding transformative financial solutions that allows us to solve the second reality without forsaking the first. Works like Innocence and the world premiere of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s The Monkey King in fall 2025 are absolutely vital parts of our creative DNA. A focus on bold stories has shaped our past and it must shape our future. The fracturing of the financial model requires radical change, but it is imperative that we remain an international leader in the creation of new repertory. We must be able to seize the serendipitous moments like dining with Kaija Saariaho, and becoming a part of one of the greatest new operas of our time.