Dorothy Kirsten

San Francisco Opera presented the Opera Medal, the Company's highest honor, to Michael Cavanagh shortly before his death last month. The acclaimed Canadian opera director, who passed away on March 13 from leptomeningeal cancer at the age of 62, was a guiding, creative force behind a number of important new productions for San Francisco Opera over the past decade.

Immediately following the June 4 opening performance of Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s fairy-tale opera Die Frau ohne Schatten, soprano Nina Stemme, who performed the role of the Dyer’s Wife in the opera, was presented with the San Francisco Opera Medal.

San Francisco Opera’s 2023 Summer Season opens June 3 with Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly (Madama Butterfly) at the War Memorial Opera House. Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and a brilliant cast in a new production by visionary Japanese director Amon Miyamoto. San Francisco Opera Chorus Director John Keene prepares the artists of the Opera Chorus.

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 curated installation in the Harvey Milk Terminal 1 (located post-security in Departures Level 2) showcases the Company's first century and the art of operatic stagecraft.

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 each span over three decades. Mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook, who was Mother Jeanne in the afternoon's performance, and bass-baritone Dale Travis, who portrayed Marquis de la Force, were joined onstage by bass-baritone Philip Skinner to each receive the San Francisco Opera Medal.

San Francisco Opera has released production photos of Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelties (Dialogues des Carmélites) at the War Memorial Opera House, running October 15–30. Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Chorus and soloists in this powerful, 20th-century masterwork in the acclaimed production by French director Olivier Py. Check out the photos here!

San Francisco Opera's Centennial Season continues with Francis Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelties (Dialogues des Carmélites) at the War Memorial Opera House, October 15–30. Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Chorus and soloists in this powerful, 20th-century masterwork in the acclaimed production by French director Olivier Py.

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 presented with the San Francisco Opera Medal.

San Francisco Opera celebrates its first 100 years with a blockbuster 2022–23 opera season and an array of opportunities for deep engagement with the Company's history. San Francisco Opera's centennial will be marked by activities designed to commemorate the past and welcome the community into the exciting new era just beginning under the baton of Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim.

San Francisco Opera has announced plans for the Company's 100th season. As only the third American opera company in history to reach this centennial milestone, the Company's 2022–23 Season will honor San Francisco Opera's glorious past while inviting the public into an exciting new era of musical excellence under Kim's music directorship and a renewed commitment to innovation.

As only the third American opera company in history to reach this centennial milestone, the Company’s 2022–23 Season will honor San Francisco Opera’s glorious past while inviting the public into an exciting new era of musical excellence under Kim’s music directorship and a renewed commitment to innovation.

A field of top young vocalists from across North America offered thrilling performances as they competed in the 47th National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Artist Awards competition on Friday, January 7, 2022.

San Francisco Opera Center Director and Merola Opera Program Artistic Director Sheri Greenawald, whose December 2020 retirement was announced in March, received the San Francisco Opera Medal at a special Zoom event organized by San Francisco Opera and Merola Opera Program. The Opera Medal, the Company's highest honor, was awarded to Greenawald for her extraordinary service and leadership with the Company. 

On April 25, 2020, The Metropolitan Opera presented many of its top ranked artists performing from their homes or where they were staying on that date. Met General Manager Peter Gelb, the master of ceremonies, chatted with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin as they presented each performer. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, artists were recorded alone or with people they know well.

The Board of the Museum of Performance + Design takes great pleasure in announcing that San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson will be presented with the 2020 San Francisco Arts Medallion for his outstanding leadership in the arts on April 23, 2020, at Saint Joseph's Arts Society in San Francisco. The San Francisco Arts Medallion was created in 2005 by the Museum of Performance + Design (MP+D) to recognize those individuals whose leadership, action, and generosity have benefited the cultural life of the San Francisco Bay Area. Proceeds from the event benefit the preservation and educational programs at MP+D.

A field of top young vocalists from across North America offered thrilling performances as they competed in the 46th National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Artist Awards competition on Friday, January 10, 2020. The event culminated with tenor Matt Hill from Washington, DC, winning first place, earning more than $13,000 in cash and prizes. Hill is a student of Elizabeth Daniels and represents the NATS Mid-Atlantic Region.

San Francisco Opera unveils a new production of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca on Wednesday, October 3, with a cast led by Italian soprano Carmen Giannattasio in her Company and role debuts as Tosca, tenor Brian Jagde as Cavaradossi and baritone Scott Hendricks as Baron Scarpia with conductor Leo Hussain leading the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus in his first performances with the Company. Puccini's monumental work, which has a distinguished history at San Francisco Opera, will be staged by American director Shawna Lucey with new sets and costumes designed by Robert Innes Hopkins and built entirely in San Francisco Opera's scenic and costume shops.

In an onstage presentation following the July 1 performance of Richard Wagner's Gotterdammerung, San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock presented former general director David Gockley with the San Francisco Opera Medal, the Company's highest honor. An industry pioneer who helped shape the operatic repertory and build new audiences for the artform, Gockley served ten years at the helm of San Francisco Opera and is currently the Company's General Director Emeritus.

Sarasota Opera's Da Capo Society, the only young patrons group, ages 21 - 45, dedicated to a single arts organization in Sarasota, will host The Wizard of Oz themed costume contest Thursday, June 7th at 6pm to celebrate the launch of the new season of "Classic Movies at the Opera House." Launched in 2017, the "Classic Movies at the Opera House" series will occur twice monthly starting Thursday, June 7 and will include timeless films designed to be enjoyed on the big screen in the elegance of the Opera House. Each presentation will begin at 7:30pm.

Sarasota Opera is pleased to announce the line-up for the 2018 season of 'HD at the Opera House' and "Classic Movies at the Opera House".  This weekly series of filmed performances has allowed Sarasota Opera to expand its programming from the fall and winter season to year-around. The 2018 "HD at the Opera House" series will open on Sunday, May 20th and run through September 30th and will include presentations of Ballet and Theater from some of the world's most famous venues and companies including the Royal Opera House; Teatro alla Scala in Milan; Royal Shakespeare Company; Vienna State Opera; and the Royal Ballet. Each presentation will begin at 1:30pm.