Yamaha Named Official Piano of The San Francisco Opera
BUENA PARK, Calif. — Offering a roster of international stars, a stunningly beautiful theatre and a breadth of community programs, San Francisco Opera, currently in its 84th season, is embarking on a new era. Flourishing under the guidance of new General Director David Gockley, a man credited by The New York Times as having "shaped the destiny of opera in America," the company's 2006 summer season was met with acclaim. This new creative leadership – along with a fleet of Yamaha pianos – continues to propel the company to new artistic heights.
"We were very impressed by the exceptional caliber of the instruments provided, the attention to detail in understanding our artistic needs, and the very high level of customer service provided," commented Keith Cerny, San Francisco Opera Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer. "The company is already enjoying the benefits of this new relationship."
The fleet comprises a wide range of instruments, including two Disklaviers, 14 Grand Pianos, four CVP-300 and three CLP-200 Clavinovas, an S6 grand, a variety of vertical uprights and a nine-foot CFIIIS Concert Grand.
"Our Yamaha pianos are very responsive to the touch and pleasant to the ear," states Maestro Donald Runnicles, San Francisco Opera's Music Director and Principal Conductor. "They make both coaching and chamber music a delight."
Music Exchange, the retailer which consulted on the sale, recently opened a location on Van Ness Avenue, just blocks away from the opera house, ballet and symphony. "It's an exciting, vibrant cultural and musical center," remarks Yamaha Product Specialist and opera aficionado Gerard Aragon.
"Obviously I knew about Yamaha pianos – they're everywhere," notes pianist and Head of Music Staff John Parr, who had been "familiar with the quality of the C6" and regards the S6 as "a wonderful recital instrument for a small hall that offers a huge range in tone color and great subtlety."
"I was excited to learn that there was a new Yamaha showroom in San Francisco and spent some time playing the pianos," Parr recalls. According to Aragon, once Parr tried the Disklavier performance reproducing piano, the notion of a potential partnership soon arose. As the long-time provider to New York's Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Yamaha is well-acquainted with the exacting standards of a major opera company, and San Francisco was no different. The instruments needed to fulfill a complex set of musical requirements. These include accompanying staging rehearsals, musical rehearsals for soloists and chorus, the coaching of individual singers, recitals both on and off-site, accompanying auditions for the company and warm-ups for the singers, and in the performances themselves. The pianos will also be used extensively in the Company's Merola Opera Program, a highly competitive and respected training course offering young artists an intensive curriculum encompassing all aspects of the operatic craft.
In addition to traditional acoustics, the staff was also introduced to an instrument that would provide unexpected value – the Clavinova CVP-300 series of digital pianos. "The Opera's pianists, who are classically trained and accustomed to playing concert grands, hadn't expected the Clavinovas to meet their exacting requirements for sound and touch," explains Aragon. "They were astounded at how well the Clavinovas matched up to the quality of sound and touch of concert-level acoustic instruments."
Aragon notes that the staff appreciates the CVP's flexibility in multi-track recording which they can use to work out compositions. Also valued is the instrument's ability to authentically reproduce traditional orchestra sounds, including horns, brass and strings, as well as an "amazing" harpsichord sound. Beyond using the harpsichord function in the staging rehearsals of The Marriage of Figaro, Parr is "very much in favor of using the Clavinovas in the artist's dressing rooms. The singers use them to warm-up and they're useful to transpose music into another key – and of course, they're always perfectly in tune."
Like the Clavinova, the Disklavier offers the ability to record accompaniments as an aid to learning roles.
"What pleases me most is that our fantastic music staff now has exceptional instruments for their creative use," said Parr. But he maintains that the instruments' appeal extends far beyond versatility and beauty of tone. "Yamaha Pianos also have a practicality about them. They hold their pitch well. This saves on tuning costs, which can get very expensive."
The Company's 2006 summer season featured productions of Tchaikovsky's Joan of Arc, Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Mozart's tour de force, The Marriage of Figaro, presented in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. Slated for upcoming seasons are a world premiere production by composer Philip Glass and librettist Christopher Hampton in 2007 and the commencement of a Wagner Ring Cycle in 2008.
For more information about Yamaha Pianos, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622-6600; email infostation@yamaha.com; or telephone (714) 522-9011.
About Yamaha:
Yamaha Corporation of America manufactures a complete line of musical instruments, professional audio products and customer-driven support products, targeted to both the amateur and professional markets.
 As the long-time provider to New York's Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Yamaha is well-acquainted with the exacting standards of a major opera company, and San Francisco was no different. |
The fleet comprises a wide range of instruments, including two Disklaviers, 14 Grand Pianos, four CVP-300 and three CLP-200 Clavinovas, an S6 grand, a variety of vertical uprights and a nine-foot CFIIIS Concert Grand.
"Our Yamaha pianos are very responsive to the touch and pleasant to the ear," states Maestro Donald Runnicles, San Francisco Opera's Music Director and Principal Conductor. "They make both coaching and chamber music a delight."
Music Exchange, the retailer which consulted on the sale, recently opened a location on Van Ness Avenue, just blocks away from the opera house, ballet and symphony. "It's an exciting, vibrant cultural and musical center," remarks Yamaha Product Specialist and opera aficionado Gerard Aragon.
"Obviously I knew about Yamaha pianos – they're everywhere," notes pianist and Head of Music Staff John Parr, who had been "familiar with the quality of the C6" and regards the S6 as "a wonderful recital instrument for a small hall that offers a huge range in tone color and great subtlety."
"I was excited to learn that there was a new Yamaha showroom in San Francisco and spent some time playing the pianos," Parr recalls. According to Aragon, once Parr tried the Disklavier performance reproducing piano, the notion of a potential partnership soon arose. As the long-time provider to New York's Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Yamaha is well-acquainted with the exacting standards of a major opera company, and San Francisco was no different. The instruments needed to fulfill a complex set of musical requirements. These include accompanying staging rehearsals, musical rehearsals for soloists and chorus, the coaching of individual singers, recitals both on and off-site, accompanying auditions for the company and warm-ups for the singers, and in the performances themselves. The pianos will also be used extensively in the Company's Merola Opera Program, a highly competitive and respected training course offering young artists an intensive curriculum encompassing all aspects of the operatic craft.
In addition to traditional acoustics, the staff was also introduced to an instrument that would provide unexpected value – the Clavinova CVP-300 series of digital pianos. "The Opera's pianists, who are classically trained and accustomed to playing concert grands, hadn't expected the Clavinovas to meet their exacting requirements for sound and touch," explains Aragon. "They were astounded at how well the Clavinovas matched up to the quality of sound and touch of concert-level acoustic instruments."
Aragon notes that the staff appreciates the CVP's flexibility in multi-track recording which they can use to work out compositions. Also valued is the instrument's ability to authentically reproduce traditional orchestra sounds, including horns, brass and strings, as well as an "amazing" harpsichord sound. Beyond using the harpsichord function in the staging rehearsals of The Marriage of Figaro, Parr is "very much in favor of using the Clavinovas in the artist's dressing rooms. The singers use them to warm-up and they're useful to transpose music into another key – and of course, they're always perfectly in tune."
Like the Clavinova, the Disklavier offers the ability to record accompaniments as an aid to learning roles.
"What pleases me most is that our fantastic music staff now has exceptional instruments for their creative use," said Parr. But he maintains that the instruments' appeal extends far beyond versatility and beauty of tone. "Yamaha Pianos also have a practicality about them. They hold their pitch well. This saves on tuning costs, which can get very expensive."
The Company's 2006 summer season featured productions of Tchaikovsky's Joan of Arc, Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Mozart's tour de force, The Marriage of Figaro, presented in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. Slated for upcoming seasons are a world premiere production by composer Philip Glass and librettist Christopher Hampton in 2007 and the commencement of a Wagner Ring Cycle in 2008.
For more information about Yamaha Pianos, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622-6600; email infostation@yamaha.com; or telephone (714) 522-9011.
About Yamaha:
Yamaha Corporation of America manufactures a complete line of musical instruments, professional audio products and customer-driven support products, targeted to both the amateur and professional markets.