Schwabacher Recital Series Continues May 5 and June 16
MAY 5 BARITONE GABRIEL NATAL-BÁEZ AND PIANIST TZU KUANG TAN
JUNE 16 BASS-BARITONE KYLE KETELSEN, PIANIST CARRIE-ANN MATHESON
WITH 2026 MEROLA OPERA PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS
Gabriel Natal-Báez and Tzu Kuang Tan (May 5); Kyle Ketelsen and Carrie-Ann Matheson (June 16)
Schawbacher Recitals: May/June 2026.pdf Photos
San Francisco, CA (May 1, 2026) — The Schwabacher Recital Series, presented by Merola Opera Program and San Francisco Opera Center, continues its 42nd season next week with a concert of songs by Vaughan Williams, Schubert, Ravel and Latin American composers performed by baritone Gabriel Natal-Báez and pianist Tzu Kuang Tan (Tuesday, May 5, 7 p.m. at First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco). The last recital of this year’s series features bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen, pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson and several 2026 participants of the Merola Opera Program in a program of works by Verdi, Duparc, Rossini, Puccini and Mozart, among others (Tuesday, June 16, 7 p.m. at Barbro Osher Recital Hall). The Schwabacher Recital Series presents emerging and esteemed artists from around the globe, primarily alumni or faculty of Merola Opera Program, performing an eclectic selection of song literature in the intimacy of a recital setting.
MAY 5, FIRST UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY OF SAN FRANCISCO
GABRIEL NATAL-BÁEZ AND TZU KUANG TAN
On Tuesday, May 5, baritone Gabriel Natal-Báez and pianist Tzu Kuang Tan, two 2025 Merola Opera Program graduates, perform their program titled Paths of the Heart. The evening begins with selections from Songs of Travel by Vaughan Williams and songs by Franz Schubert. The duo then embarks on an exploration of Spanish literature with Don Quichotte à Dulcinée by Maurice Ravel (based on the Cervantes classic) and Miquel Ortega’s Dos Canciones del Romancero Gitano de Federico García Lorca, which was inspired by García Lorca’s poetry about the romances of Romani women. The concert closes with Latin American songs by Luis Antonio Ramírez, Manuel Ponce, Astor Piazzolla and Alfonso Esparza Oteo.
A 2026 winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Gabriel Natal-Báez is a Puerto Rican baritone and first-year Adler Fellow with a blossoming career in opera, art song and concert work. As a versatile singer with a repertoire that spans from the Baroque and Classical eras to contemporary works, Natal-Báez finds his greatest artistic expression in the Romantic and Bel Canto repertoire. This spring, he portrayed Marcello in San Francisco Opera’s touring production of Bohème Out of the Box. Natal-Báez has performed Marullo in Rigoletto with Teatro Lirico d’Europa and Le Podestat in Le Docteur Miracle. At Rice University, he has appeared as Beaumarchais in The Ghosts of Versailles and Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, and covered Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia. In May 2025, he premiered the role of the Explorer in Theo Chandler’s new chamber opera, Breathe in Light. As a participant in the Merola Opera Program, he covered the role of Raimbaud in Le Comte Ory and performed on Songfest: A Grand Night for Singing. His versatility also extends to the vibrant world of Zarzuela, where he has participated in multiple productions with Ópera de Puerto Rico. Recently, he sang alongside his teacher and renowned soprano Ana María Martínez in Noche Española, a concert celebrating Latino Heritage Month with Zarzuela and Latin American repertoire. In addition to his work as a singer, Natal-Báez holds a bachelor’s degree in humanities with a concentration in painting.
Pianist Tzu Kuang Tan is a “stunning talent, with ability to express the most profound emotions” (Seen and Heard International) who has “performed with as much delicacy, mood shifts, and dynamic variation as one could wish for” (Voce di Meche). Originally from Malaysia, Tan has performed as a song pianist and chamber musician in many venues throughout the United States, Singapore, Austria and Malaysia. He recently released the single “Aubade With A Chance of Rain” by Tom Cipullo, alongside mezzo-soprano and former Merolini Joanne Evans. Recent career highlights include a 2022 performance at the Music Academy of the West, where he appeared with Evans as part of the Marilyn Horne Song Competition. In 2024, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in Zankel Hall, performing alongside mezzo-soprano Ruby Dibble (Merola, 2025), as a participant in Carnegie Hall SongStudio. Tan is a member of Houston Grand Opera’s Butler Studio. Previously, he was a member of the music staff at the Butler Opera Center at the University of Texas at Austin, where he conducted his first opera, Audition Fever by Tzu-Chin Hsu. Tan is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studies under Tamar Sanikidze.
JUNE 16, BARBRO OSHER RECITAL HALL
KYLE KETELSEN AND CARRIE-ANN MATHESON
WITH 2026 PARTICIPANTS OF MEROLA OPERA PROGRAM
On June 16, the final concert of this year’s Schwabacher series will showcase bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen and pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson with participants of the 2026 Merola Opera Program: Shannon Crowley, soprano; Charlotte Kelso, soprano; Chester Seungyup Han, tenor; Ryan Bryce Johnson, tenor; baritone Paul Jang; and Deven Shah, pianist. Their program will feature songs by Ravel, Duparc, Rossini, Verdi, Schira and Respighi, along with excerpts from Act I of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Act II of Puccini’s Tosca.
American bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen is in regular demand by the world’s leading opera houses and orchestras for his vibrant and handsome stage presence and distinctive vocalism. He made his San Francisco Opera debut as Escamillo in Carmen in 2006, and he reprised the role in 2019. At the beginning of the 2025–26 Season, Ketelsen performed the title role of Don Giovanni with the Metropolitan Opera. From June 7–27, he returns to San Francisco as Orest in Elektra under the baton of Music Director Eun Sun Kim. Also, this season, he appears at Munich’s Bavarian State Opera in a new production of Gounod’s Faust and a revival of Weber’s Der Freischütz. He joins Hamburg State Opera for performances of Salome and Elektra and appears with the Madison Symphony Orchestra for its annual Christmas concert series. In the 2024–25 Season, Ketelsen made his Salzburg Festival debut as Leporello in Don Giovanni, which he also sang in Munich. He appeared in a new production of Faust with the Canadian Opera Company and sang Adahm in Die ersten Menschen with the Dutch National Opera. He returned to Hamburg for his role debut as Orest and appeared as Howard in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s The Listeners. In concert, he performed Der Freischütz with Kammerakademie Potsdam.
San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera Program Artistic Director Carrie-Ann Matheson has a multi-faceted international career as a pianist, conductor, educator and leadership coach. A native of Canada, Matheson began her career at the Metropolitan Opera as assistant conductor, prompter, pianist and vocal coach. Following her time at the Met, she joined the conducting and coaching staff at Opernhaus Zürich and worked at festivals, including Salzburger Festspiele and the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival. As a recital pianist, her collaborations with many of the world’s leading opera singers include Piotr Beczała, Benjamin Bernheim, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato, Jonas Kaufmann and Rolando Villazón. Matheson made her conducting debut at Opernhaus Zürich, where she led works such as La Finta Giardiniera, Don Pasquale and Iphigénie en Tauride. Passionate about nurturing the next generation of artists, Matheson has been master class clinician and guest coach at Canadian Opera Company, Wiener Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Music Academy of the West, Yale University, University of Toronto and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is an International Coaching Federation certified personal and leadership coach, specializing in working with artists who are striving to achieve their full potential.
*For the complete press release, including programs and calendar, open the PDF version above.