Telling the story behind the man who forever changed the world of technology. That's the job Mason Bates set out to do with his very first opera, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, which premiered at the San Francisco Opera on September 22. 

Created along with Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Mark Campbell, Bates calls the production a revolutionary hybrid opera—not unlike its titular character's revolutionary innovations. "It's a kaleidoscopic work for operatic voices featuring many new elements from sound design to techno beats, while also resembling a number-driven musical anchored by traditional elements. Everyone gets an aria!" Bates said. 

John Moore (center) in the title role of Steve Jobs. Credit: Cory Weave.

Originally premiering at the Sante Fe Opera back in 2017, the opera has been performed in eight cities across North America. The opera was also released as an album by Pentatone, the record label acquired by SFCM in 2022, where it went on to win a GRAMMY. Coming back to San Francisco though has been a a special homecoming for Bates. "SF Opera has been one of the most sacred artistic spaces I've repeatedly visited during my two decades in the Bay Area. Having this work come 'home' to the place of its composition, and the place of its setting, has been incredibly meaningful on so many levels," Bates, composition faculty at SFCM since 2014, continued. "Plus, my kids can come!"  

Conductor Michael Christie led the 65-member orchestra, which included acoustic guitar and Bates himself on electronics during the San Francisco run. "Look for me in the orchestra pit pounding away on an Akai drum pad and triggering sounds off two MacBook Pros," Bates said. "It has been great seeing so many students and faculty at this show!" he added.

The cast of the "The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs."

The opera, running September 22 to October 7, follows Jobs as he faces his own mortality and looks back at the triumphs, trials, breakthroughs, and breakdowns that shaped his life as a husband, father, and industry leader.

Bates hopes that just as Jobs pushed limits, SFCM students do the same in their own musical journeys. "Be as creative with your career as you are with your music," he said "The SFCM environment is perfectly attuned to the tech-creative world of Steve Jobs and his disciples." 

Learn more about studying composition at SFCM.