David Gockley in 2008; and Christopher Theofanidis and Donna Di Novelli's "Heart of a Soldier" in 2011. The company also presented the West Coast premieres of Rachel Portman's "The Little Prince" and Jake Heggie's chamber opera "Three Decembers". San Francisco Opera also presented three world premieres in 2013: Nolan Gasser and Carey Harrison’s "The Secret Garden", based on the children's book by Frances Hodgson Burnett in conjunction with UC Berkeley's Cal Performances; Mark Adamo’s "The Gospel of Mary Magdalene"; and Tobias Picker and J.D. McClatchy’s "Dolores Claiborne", based on the novel by Stephen King. San Francisco Opera will present the world premieres
Frances Hodgson Burnett overcrowding and poverty that "defied description", according to Friedrich Engels, who lived in Manchester at the time. Frances had an active imagination, writing stories she made up in old notebooks. One of her favourite books was Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and she spent many hours acting out scenes from the story. Frances and her siblings were sent to be educated at The Select Seminary for Young Ladies and Gentlemen, where she was described as "precocious" and "romantic". She had an active social life and enjoyed telling stories to her friends and cousins; in her mother she found