Official Media Kit & Booking Assets
Event organizers and press outlets are free to use the following approved materials for promotional calendars, program books, and event marketing.
Approved Biographies for Event Programs
Option 1: Short Bio
100 WordsIdeal for concert programs and event flyers
Dr. Clifford “Kip” Cranna is the Dramaturg Emeritus of San Francisco Opera, where he served as Director of Music Administration for over thirty years and shepherded more than twenty world premieres. A recipient of the San Francisco Opera Medal and the Bernard Osher Cultural Award, he holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from Stanford University, specializing in Baroque and Renaissance history. Dr. Cranna is a highly sought-after public speaker, vocal adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Auditions, and dedicated educator teaching at the Fromm Institute and various Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes across the Bay Area.
Option 2: Medium Bio
250 WordsIdeal for guest lecture introductions and websites
Dr. Clifford “Kip” Cranna—Dramaturg Emeritus of San Francisco Opera—is one of the American operatic landscape’s most respected scholars and administrators. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, he worked under six successive General Directors at SFO, managing season logistics, union negotiations, and the commissioning of over 20 new American operas, including Jake Heggie’s landmark Dead Man Walking.
As a dramaturg and educator, Dr. Cranna bridges the gap between music history and the audience. He has written thousands of pages of program essays, edited supertitles, and delivered hundreds of popular pre-concert lectures. His profound cultural contributions have been honored with the San Francisco Opera Medal, the Bernard Osher Cultural Award, and the SF Opera Guild Star of Excellence.
Dr. Cranna holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from Stanford University, where he specialized in 17th-century historical theory, and a B.A. from the University of North Dakota. Today, he channels his lifelong passion into training the next generation as a vocal adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and as a popular lecturer for the Fromm Institute at USF and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLI) at UC Berkeley and SFSU. He resides in San Francisco with his husband of over 50 years, musicologist Bruce Lamott.
Technical & A/V Requirements
To ensure the highest quality presentation, please review the baseline requirements for Dr. Cranna’s speaking engagements:
Audio
One wireless lapel (lavalier) microphone or a high-quality podium microphone.
Visuals
A digital projector and screen setup supporting HDMI connection. Dr. Cranna frequently incorporates visual slides and historical audio/video clips.
Staging
A standard podium or music stand for lecture notes, along with a small table for water.
Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Clifford "Kip" Cranna
More About Kip
For journalists, event programmers, and the opera-curious — a short list of profiles, interviews, and archives with more on Kip’s life and work.
Profiles & Features
San Francisco Classical Voice · March 2026
A career-spanning feature marking Kip’s honor from Opera Parallèle, with the fullest account of his path from North Dakota to four decades at San Francisco Opera.
LA Opus · September 2022
A close look at what it was like working for each San Francisco Opera general director, plus Kip’s ongoing teaching and lecture life.
Interviews
BroadwayWorld · September 2022
Reflections on the company’s 100th anniversary and Kip’s own decades on staff.
Opera Warhorses · December 2008
An earlier conversation from the height of his administrative years, with early biography and his personal operatic favorites.
From San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
The company’s current staff bio — titles, honors, and teaching affiliations.
SFO · Streaming the First Century
On shepherding Dead Man Walking from workshop to world premiere.
SFO Video Series
Kip, in his own words, on what a dramaturg actually does — the source of his “midwifing” description of the job.