When David Gockley arrived at the beginning of this year as the new general director of the San Francisco Opera, he found dwindling audiences, serious financial problems, and an awkward personnel situation. Any top opera boss, especially a "take-charge" type such as Gockley, wants to have a music director of his choice. In San Francisco, however, Pamela Rosenberg pre-empted that traditional privilege by getting a three-year extension of Donald Runnicles' contract, just before she turned over the administration to Gockley. Regardless of Runnicles' musical credentials, there is a need for the company's two top officials to work well together, and while that happened emphatically and prominently in the case of Rosenberg and Runnicles, it was not apparent in the new administration. There have been rumors from the War Memorial about tension or even conflict, leading up to today's announcement - a civil, diplomatic, even pleasant announcement that Runnicles will keep his job for the rest of his contract (the alternative would have been financially severe to the company), but Gockley will have a music director of his choice beyond that. For San Francisco audiences, the good news is that part of the long goodbye is Runnicles remaining on the podium in the future for Wagner and Britten - the source of his biggest successes here. So much for interpretation. Now, for the official version, in a release from SFO/PR at 4 p.m.: September 15, 2006 - DONALD RUNNICLES'S TERM AS MUSIC DIRECTOR AND PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR TO CONCLUDE AT THE END OF THE 2008-09 SEASON San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley and Music Director and Principal Conductor Donald Runnicles today announced their mutual decision that Maestro Runnicles's tenure will conclude at the end of the 2008-09 season. Mr. Gockley and Maestro Runnicles also announced that the Maestro will continue his long association with the Company, conducting productions beyond the 2008-09 season, including a new production of "Peter Grimes" and the completion of the new "Ring" Cycle, which continues into the 2010-11 season. Gockley is quoted saying that "I have enormous respect for Donald Runnicles both as a musician and as a musical leader in this company." Runnicles said: "While I eagerly focus on new musical horizons, I am equally excited that I will be leading the complete Ring Cycle almost 20 years to the day after I debuted with the Company in the same work." Runnicles, who has been music director and principal conductor since 1992, leads five of 10 productions this season: "Tristan und Isolde," "Der Rosenkavalier," "Manon Lescaut," "Don Giovanni," and (a strange choice, well executed) "Die Fledermaus." This summer was Runnicles's inaugural season as music director of the Grand Teton Music Festival; he also serves as principal conductor of New York's Orchestra of St. Luke's and is principal guest conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Janos Gereben www.sfcv.org http://einsiders.com/ [log in to unmask]