Kate Royal, soprano May 24, 2011

San Francisco Performances presents soprano Kate Royal and pianist Christopher Glynn in a storytelling program, "A Lesson in Love," devised by Royal and spanning Bolcom, Schumann, Schubert, Debussy, Wolf and more. Their recital is 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 24 at the Herbst Theatre.

Royal's opera, symphony and recital engagements have catapulted her to the international vocal scene. She has appeared often with Sir Simon Rattle, and opera roles include Micaela (from Carmen), Donna Elvira (from Don Giovanni) and Miranda (from Thomas Ades' The Tempest).

Of this particular song cycle, Royal writes that it "tells the story of a young girl's first experience of love...in four chapters-Waiting, The Meeting, The Wedding and Betrayal....We travel with her on her journey from an eager anticipation of love to her marriage and the sudden and heartbreaking realization that she has been betrayed."

Royal has been called "a voice of strong, liquid beauty, unfaltering in any register" (The Times of London) and a "generous, open, frank voice that sounds as though it could burst into laughter or tears at any second...she's a persuasive storyteller" (The Independent).

She says that she discovered opera as her vocation seeing a Welsh National Opera production of A Rake's Progress at age 15, when "I realized opera was the one place I could combine all the things I loved: music, dance, drama, poetry, design and costume."

She stood in as the understudy for Pamina in The Magic Flute at Glyndebourne and found herself on a fast-rising trajectory. This program introduces her to San Francisco audiences. Tickets range from $35 to $60. For more information, visit sfperformances.org or call 415.392.2545.

Official Website: http://www.sfperformances.org