San Fran Opera chief quits

Sheri Greenawald has announced her retirement as director of the San Francisco Opera Center the Merola Opera Program.

The ex-singer has led the young artist development programs since the turn of the century. She will step down at the end of the year.

She says: ‘I was so fortunate to have been a soprano who worked happily for 30 years, singing music that was always inspiring, with fabulous colleagues who made the journey so amusing. I have been a voice teacher to all types of voices, from opera singers to church choir singers; I have directed operas, employing skills I learned at the hands of the greats in the business; I have cast many, many operas for Merola with my colleague Mark Morash, and I have led an administrative staff that has been nonpareil. There are no regrets! I wish all the best to those maintaining the continuum of the classical music business, and I will be watching and listening happily from my eyrie, wherever that may be.’