Photos: San Francisco Opera's PRIDE CONCERT At War Memorial Opera House
The event took place on June 26th and was hosted by Sapphira Cristál.
On Friday, June 26 San Francisco Opera celebrated the LGBTQIA+ community with the second annual Pride Concert at the War Memorial Opera House. Check out the photos!
Sapphira Cristál, the classically trained opera singer, composer and drag queen known for her theatrical lip syncs and six-octave range, returned as emcee for the evening. Conductor Robert Mollicone lead the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and soloists Melody Moore, Nikola Printz and Reginald Smith, Jr. in a concert blending opera, musical theater and pop songs.
Sapphira Cristál (runner-up and Miss Congeniality of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16) is renowned as a charismatic emcee who forges a special connection with her audiences. A guest artist in Madonna’s Celebration Tour, she debuted her original operatic production, Soundcake, with Monét X Change and Thorgy Thor at Lincoln Center and brought her one-woman show, The Cristál Ball Tour, across North America.
Robert Mollicone conducted the San Francisco Opera Orchestra with soloists soprano Melody Moore, whose appearances with San Francisco Opera include the title role of Tosca, Susan Rescorla in the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis' Heart of a Soldier, Mimì in La Bohème and Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites; versatile artist and mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz, who recently portrayed Jade Boucher in San Francisco Opera’s 25th-anniversary production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking and who originated the role of Billie Jean King in Laura Karpman’s Balls with Opera Parallèle and in their London debut at the Royal Festival Hall; and Grammy and Emmy Award-winning baritone Reginald Smith, Jr., who returns to San Francisco Opera following his 2017 debut as Count Monterone in Rigoletto.
The concert also featured music by Michael Abels, Terence Blanchard, Brandi Carlile, Umberto Giordano, Charles Gounod, k.d. lang, Jacques Offenbach, Stephen Schwartz, Michael Tilson Thomas, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder and more.
On Sunday, June 28, cheer on members of San Francisco Opera and other arts organizations at the 56th annual San Francisco Pride Parade, one of the oldest celebrations of LGBTQIA+ identity in the world. For more information about the 56th San Francisco Pride Parade and Celebration, visit sfpride.org.
Sapphira Cristál
Melody Moore
Nikola Printz
Nikola Printz
Reginald Smith, Jr.
Reginald Smith, Jr.
Robert Mollicone conducting the San Francisco Opera Orchestra with Reginald Smith, Jr. (left) and Sadie Cheslak, Alexa Frankian, Thomas Kinch
Sadie Cheslak, Alexa Frankian, Thomas Kinch
Nikola Printz
Melody Moore and Reginald Smith, Jr.
San Francisco Opera's "Pride Concert" bows
DJ Juanita MORE!
Reginald Smith, Jr. with friends
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Pickleball Hillbarn Theatre (8/20-9/13) |
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Theresa Donahoe’s All the Great New Things to Come The Marsh (8/13-8/15) |
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Merola Grand Finale War Memorial Opera House (8/15-8/15) |
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Roar! The Marsh Berkeley (8/29-8/30) |
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Mamma Mia! San Jose Center for the Performing Arts (6/08-6/13) |
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The Fall Show Shotgun Players Ashby Stage (9/26-10/25) |
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Hadestown (Non-Equity) Orpheum Theatre San Francisco (1/07-1/10) |
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Elizabeth Du Val’s For When Things Fall Apart The Marsh (8/15-8/16) |