David Gockley photo by Michael Winokur
“There are new, small operas growing all over, like Opera Parallèle right here in the city,” says San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley in a recent San Francisco Classical Voice interview. Gockley is enthusiastic about the role contemporary works are playing in the resurgence of opera, both creatively and at the box office.
No newcomer to contemporary opera, Gockley has championed new works since his days at Houston Grand Opera and continues that commitment at SFO with successes like last season’s Moby Dick by Jake Heggie. This year Gockley has three world premieres scheduled in a period of seven months from March to October (Nolan Gasser/Carey Harrison, The Secret Garden; Mark Adamo, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene; Tobias Picker/J.D. McClatchy, Dolores Claiborne).
