San Francisco Opera's Vision
To be the most exciting force in the opera world
Our Mission
-To present opera performances of the highest international quality available to the widest possible audiences.
-To perpetuate and enrich the operatic art form.
-To be creative and innovative in all aspects of opera.
-To take a leadership role in training, arts education and audience development
This Mission Demands
-A diversified, highly committed, qualified Board of Directors working in partnership with an efficient and effective top quality management team and staff.
-Healthy financial performance with a balanced budget and adequate endowment.
-Involvement with our community.
-An image that reflects our artistic quality.
Music Director Eun Sun Kim leads new-to-San Francisco production by director Leo Muscato and an international cast headed by Michael Fabiano, Lianna Haroutounian, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, Mei Gui Zhang, Judit Kutasi Opening Weekend celebrations include…
Read More »Sculptural portrait of San Francisco Opera’s sixth General Director joins gallery of past Company leaders in the War Memorial Opera House lobby SAN FRANCISCO, CA - San Francisco Opera General Director Emeritus David Gockley was honored on…
Read More »102nd Season opening weekend features Music Director Eun Sun Kim on the podium September 6 for Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera and Opera Ball, free Opera in the Park concert on September 8 Season features the West Coast premiere of Poul…
Read More »Free outdoor mobile stage performances of Bohème Out of the Box in Albany (June 27) and Union City (June 29); Out of the Box: Encore Concert with Adler Fellows in Union City (June 29) First Act family workshops presented before all…
Read More »Christopher Moulds conducts Handel’s witty Baroque comedy in award-winning production by Christopher Alden set in a 1920s Parisian salon International cast features Company debuts of Julie Fuchs, Carlo Vistoli and Nicholas Tamagna, along with…
Read More »Production by Barrie Kosky and Suzanne Andrade reimagines fairy-tale opera through aesthetics of silent film, early animation and 1920s cabaret Eun Sun Kim conducts international cast featuring Amitai Pati, Christina Gansch, Kwangchul Youn, Lauri…
Read More »Michael Cavanagh (1961-2024) Awarded Opera Medal Opera director who created many unforgettable productions for San Francisco Opera recognized with Company’s highest honor San Francisco, CA - San Francisco Opera presented the Opera Medal,…
Read More »Acclaimed by the New York Times as a “masterpiece.” Innocence By Kaija Saariaho, Sofi Oksanen and Aleksi Barrière Healing at the Edge of Tragedy. A joyous wedding celebration takes a shocking turn when the darkest of…
Read More »San Francisco, CA -- San Francisco Opera’s popular Bohème Out of the Box returns to Bay Area communities this spring and summer. The free outdoor performances of an abridged version of Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème kick off…
Read More »SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Now in its 40th year, the Schwabacher Recital Series, presented by Merola Opera Program and San Francisco Opera Center, comes to a close this season with an intimate concert featuring mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey and pianist…
Read More »San Francisco Opera Workshop Series, Presented In Partnership With San Francisco Public Library, Continues This Spring Free In-Person Writing/Storytelling Workshops At Public Library Branches, March-May 2o24, Plus Online Workshops…
Read More »SAN FRANCISCO OPERA’S 2024–25 SEASON ANNOUNCED 102nd season opening weekend kicks off September 6 with Opera Ball and Un Ballo in Maschera; Free Opera in the Park concert September 8 Music Director Eun Sun Kim’s annual…
Read More »SAN FRANCISCO OPERA’S 101ST SEASON CONTINUES MAY 30-JUNE 30, 2024 American Premiere of San Francisco Opera Co-Commission INNOCENCE, the Acclaimed Final Operatic Creation of Luminary Composer Kaija Saariaho Music Director Eun Sun Kim Leads…
Read More »San Francisco, CA - At the conclusion of San Francisco Opera’s December 9 fall season final performance of The Elixir of Love, the Company honored composer and philanthropist Gordon Getty in an onstage ceremony. Standing amidst the cast of…
Read More »2023 Pulitzer Prize-Winning Opera and San Francisco Opera Co-Commission Conducted by John Kennedy and Directed by Kaneza Schaal Reprising His Acclaimed Portrayal of Omar ibn Said, Jamez McCorkle Heads an Ensemble Cast Featuring Brittany Renee,…
Read More »San Francisco, CA - As part of the opening week festivities celebrating the inauguration of its second century, San Francisco Opera, in partnership with the San Francisco Chronicle, presents Opera in the Park on Sunday, September 10. This annual,…
Read More »Grammy Award-Winning Co-Commission by Composer Mason Bates and Librettist Mark Campbell Exists at the Intersection of Creativity, Technology and Human Communication Kevin Newbury Directs and Michael Christie Conducts a Cast Featuring John Moore,…
Read More »Matthew Shilvock, Tad and Dianne Taube General Director of San Francisco Opera, today announced the appointment of Georgi Kelly as Chief Philanthropy Officer. Kelly joins San Francisco Opera from KQED, the NPR and PBS member station based in San…
Read More »San Francisco, CA - San Francisco Opera announces Yaritza Véliz as the winner of the 2022–23 Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Emerging Stars Competition. The Chilean soprano won over audiences in her “unforgettable,”…
Read More »San Francisco Opera's 101st Season Opens September 8 Music Director Eun Sun Kim Launches Company’s Second Century with Opening Night Concert and Multi-Season Initiative to Present Operas by Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner Each Season…
Read More »Go behind the scenes In Conversation with mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack and In Song director Elena Park San Francisco, CA - San Francisco Opera’s award-winning In Song video portrait series continues with its eighth episode, In Song: Daniela…
Read More »San Francisco Opera Celebrates Pride Month with June 22 "Pride Night at the Opera" and June 25 Pride Parade SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 20, 2023) — San Francisco Opera celebrates Pride month, honoring LGBTQ+ artists, staff, audience and…
Read More »Swedish Soprano Honored in Onstage Presentation Following June 4 Opening of Die Frau ohne Schatten Immediately following the June 4 opening performance of Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s fairy-tale opera Die Frau ohne Schatten,…
Read More »IN MEMORIAM KAIJA SAARIAHO (1952–2023) San Francisco Opera Mourns the Finnish Composer’s Passing SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 2, 2023) —San Francisco Opera mourns the passing of composer Kaija Saariaho. The Finnish musician, whose…
Read More »Museo Italo Americano's New Exhbition "Bravo—Celebrating San Francisco Opera, Its Italian Roots and Legacy" Runs through October 22 at Fort Mason Center The Museo Italo Americano celebrates the 100th anniversary of San Francisco Opera with a…
Read More »SAN FRANCISCO OPERA GUILD AND NEIMAN MARCUS PRESENT MARCHESA FASHION SHOW AND LUNCHEON ON MAY 4 With a Special Appearance by Marchesa Co-Founder and Designer Georgina Chapman Proceeds Benefit San Francisco Opera Guild Education Programs San…
Read More »Click here to View the Information About "San Francisco Opera’s StoryTelling Workshop Series, the Opera in You, Culminates With Free Public Event The Opera in You: Season Finale Showcase April 22 At The Green Room, Veterans…
Read More »San Francisco Opera and Taube Philanthropies Join Global Commemorations with Special One-Night-Only Concert SAN FRANCISCO, CA – San Francisco Opera and Taube Philanthropies present a special one-night-only concert, Rise Up And Resist: A…
Read More »San Francisco, CA — San Francisco Opera’s Bohème Out of the Box concludes its Bay Area travels with free performances in the East Bay at Emerald Glen Park Amphitheater in partnership with the City of Dublin on March 31 (7:30…
Read More »San Francisco, CA (March 21, 2023) — San Francisco Opera is taking opera out of the Opera House and to outdoor locations throughout the Bay Area each weekend through April 2. This week, Bohème Out of the Box comes to the South Bay for…
Read More »Renowned bass-baritone, educator and humanitarian activist Simon Estes received the San Francisco Opera Medal at the Company’s Medallion Society luncheon in the ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton on Wednesday, March 8. San Francisco Opera Tad and…
Read More »SAN FRANCISCO OPERA’S BOHÈME OUT OF THE BOX OPENS FRIDAY, MARCH 10 AT ALAMEDA’S WATERFRONT PARK Free, Live, Mobile Stage Performances of Puccini’s La Bohème (Abridged Version) Travels to East Bay, Peninsula and…
Read More »San Francisco Opera's Second Century Dawns with New Music and Fresh Explorations Music Director Eun Sun Kim To Lead Annual Presentations of Works by Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner Beginning with IL TROVATORE and LOHENGRIN Company Premieres…
Read More »SAN FRANCISCO OPERA TAKES BOHÈME OUT OF THE BOX INTO THE EAST BAY, PENINSULA AND SOUTH BAY MARCH 10–APRIL 2, 2023 Free, live, mobile stage performances of Puccini’s La Bohème (abridged version) travel to Alameda, South…
Read More »San Francisco, CA (December 20, 2022) — SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport recently unveiled a new exhibition in connection with San Francisco Opera’s centennial titled San Francisco Opera: A Centennial Celebration. The…
Read More »San Francisco Opera’s centennial celebrations continue with the addition of a fourth installment of Streaming the First Century, the Company’s free online hub for historic performance recordings, interviews and contemporary…
Read More »SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 17, 2022) — San Francisco Opera Center Artistic Director Carrie-Ann Matheson and General Manager Markus Beam announced today the 11 recipients of the 2023 San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship. In January 2023, the…
Read More »Countertenor Jakub Józef Orli?ski Makes Company Debut as Orpheus with Sopranos Meigui Zhang as Eurydice and Nicole Heaston as Amore, Conducted by Peter Whelan, Choreography by Rena Butler Matthew Ozawa’s Bold New Staging Depicts…
Read More »Calhoun To Succeed President Keith Geeslin In August 2023 SAN FRANCISCO, CA – San Francisco Opera on Nov 14th, announced Jack Calhoun has been elected president of the San Francisco Opera Association effective August 1, 2023. He will succeed…
Read More »SAN FRANCISCO, CA (October 31, 2022) — An onstage award presentation immediately following the October 30 matinee performance of Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites honored three cherished artists whose careers with San Francisco Opera…
Read More »San Francisco, CA (October 13, 2022) — San Francisco Opera presents Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata conducted by Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim in a new staging by director Shawna Lucey. This new vision of a beloved classic,…
Read More »Featured Historic Recordings Include: Massenet’s Werther (1978) with José Carreras, Maria Ewing and Kathleen Battle Charpentier’s Louise (1999) Starring Renée Fleming in the Title Role Massenet’s Manon (1939)…
Read More »SAN FRANCISCO, CA (September 26, 2022) — Immediately following the September 25 opening performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, bass Ferruccio Furlanetto, who performed the role of Prince Gremin in the opera, was…
Read More »Free Online Hub for Historic Recordings, Archival Interviews, Newly Recorded Conversations and Essays Honoring 100 Years of San Francisco Opera Performances Additional Interactive Sessions to Be Released Throughout Fall Season Start…
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