Knowing when to leave will never let you reach the point of no return
With San Francisco Opera’s orchestra on strike and bass Andrew Potter retiring at 43, Miles Greenberg sees opera’s ethics and economics of impracticality at a breaking point
san francisco opera
Road shows
Brendan Latimer hitches a ride with members of the “site-responsive opera” movement who are taking their shows out of the opera house — and out of the box.
Monkey business
The Monkey King at San Francisco Opera combines spectacle and sentiment.
Grail against the machine
A new production of Parsifal at San Francisco Opera stirred something deep inside Michael Anthonio about how music soothes the soul
Act of contrition
The 25th anniversary revival of Dead Man Walking at San Francisco Opera is most moving in its quietest moments
All about her father
Adela Zaharia and Amartuvshin Enkhbat shine brightly in San Francisco Opera’s opening night Rigoletto.
Sing out strong
Pride weekend events at San Francisco Opera and Festival Opera are fabulous starts to the Bay Area summer
Sea no evil
A muted production challenges a talented cast in San Francisco Opera’s Idomeneo
The sweet escape?
A plodding La bohème in San Francisco never quite takes off
San Francisco Opera 2025-26
The San Francisco Opera announces its 2025-26 season.
It takes a woman
The plight of two women, each from different backgrounds, was on full display in San Francisco opera houses last week.
It’s Brittany, bitch
Sparks flew when the San Francisco Opera opened their new production of Richard Wagner’s monumental Tristan und Isolde on Saturday, October 19th, at the War Memorial Opera House.
Non son l’umile ancella
“[W]omen are interesting and important in real life. They are not an afterthought of nature, they are not secondary players in human destiny, and every society has always known that.” — Margaret Atwood, February 2017
It’s going to be a lovely party
Overall, this was a superb achievement and a thrilling season opener for the San Francisco Opera.
Down by the bay
Michael Anthonio crunches the numbers on San Francisco Opera’s recent seasons and goes straight to the top to General Director Matthew Shilvock for a look at where SF Opera has been and where it’s headed
In Napoli where love is queen
Final opera of the season. Little-known opera. A revival. So, you can probably skip it, right?
Psychological projections
“The distance between dreams and reality is called action.” – Brian Tracy
The age of Innocence
The score for Innocence was menacing yet comforting, and, essentially, violent and peaceful at the same time
San Francisco Opera 2024-25
The first of the major American opera houses to announce its 2024-25 season did so today
Love potion no. 8 1/2
A perfect escape for a city laden with recent layoffs and job cuts coming into Holiday season
Scholarly pursuits
“What would you do if the world you knew was suddenly gone and you were thrown into the deepest abyss stripped of all humanity? Would you fight to remember who you were?”
Swan’s weh
All in all, this was truly a superb achievement for San Francisco Opera and an auspicious first chapter in the Wagner opera journey with Eun Sun Kim.
Think different
Bay Area composer Mason Bates’s and librettist Mark Campbell’s contemporary opera about the life of the tech mogul Steve Jobs came home “to the place where it all began” in spectacular fashion
Got to get you into my strife
Power struggles, prejudice, feuds and revenge abound in San Francisco at the moment.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).