Opera Goes to Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs in Song

Schedule

Thu Oct 08 2026 at 01:00 pm to 02:00 pm

UTC-07:00
Location

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA

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Travel to Egypt via the wonderful world of opera and explore engaging and colorful music dramas about the Pharaohs and the land they ruled.
About this Event

Mention the words “opera” and “Egypt,” and most people immediately picture the grand spectacle of Verdi’s Aida – and rightly so! But there are many more interesting operas with Egyptian themes, featuring vivid characters like Moses and Aaron, Ramses the Great, Cleopatra, and of course King Tut. To coincide with the lecture at the JCCSF on “The Treasures of the Pharaohs" exhibition, San Francisco Opera’s Dramaturg Emeritus Kip Cranna will use video examples (with subtitles) to explore how composers’ deep fascination with ancient Egypt has inspired a surprising variety of intriguing operas.  

  

Clifford “Kip” Cranna is Dramaturg (Scholar in Residence) Emeritus of San Francisco Opera, where he served on the administrative staff for 40 years.  He holds a PhD in musicology from Stanford University and writes and lectures frequently on opera.  He teaches courses on opera appreciation at Stanford Continuing Studies, the Fromm Institute at the University of San Francisco, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLI) at U.C. Berkeley, San Francisco State University, and Dominican University.  He is the recipient of several awards, including the San Francisco Opera Medal. 

Get introduced to the major and extraordinary international exhibition, Treasures of the Pharoah, with a FAMSF docent lecture at the JCCSF. Join us on Tuesday, 10/6/26  

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Where is it happening?

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California Street, San Francisco, United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

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Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
Host or PublisherJewish Community Center of San Francisco

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