San Francisco Opera Launches its 101st Season Next Month

San Francisco Opera launches its second century on Friday, September 8 with Opera Ball and an Opening Night Concert featuring Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducting soloists Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus. The Company’s 101st season will include eight opera productions spanning classic works and new music including an unprecedented three Bay Area premieres of San Francisco Opera co-commissions.

2023–24 marks a new chapter in Eun Sun Kim’s tenure as music director where she will lead San Francisco Opera and its audiences on a journey through the works of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner with at least one opera by each composer in every season. Previously on the podium for Verdi’s La Traviata in 2022, Kim’s multi-season artistic initiative will now feature works from both composers beginning with Verdi’s IL TROVATORE (September 12–October 1) in Sir David McVicar’s acclaimed production and Wagner’s LOHENGRIN (October 15–November 1) in a new-to-San-Francisco-Opera staging by David Alden.

The premieres of three operas co-commissioned by San Francisco Opera from today’s leading composers and librettists mark the Company’s 101st season as an exploration of new stories and contemporary voices. First, THE (R)EVOLUTION OF Steve Jobs (September 22–October 7) by Bay Area composer Mason Bates and Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Mark Campbell takes the stage in September. Opening on November 5, the 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner for music, OMAR (November 5–21) by Grammy Award-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens and composer Michael Abels, brings its urgent, American story to the War Memorial Opera House. And in June 2024 comes one of the highlights of the opera season with the American premiere of INNOCENCE (June 1–21), the final opera by the late Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho with libretto by Sofi Oksanen and dramaturgy and multilanguage translations by Aleksi Barrière.

Completing the season’s mainstage presentations are a trio of comedic works, including Donizetti’s THE ELIXIR OF LOVE (November 19–December 9) in a new co-production by director Daniel Slater and associate director/choreographer Tim Claydon that takes place on the Italian Riviera in the 1950s. To open the 2024 Summer Season, Music Director Eun Sun Kim leads the Bay Area premiere of directors Barrie Kosky and Suzanne Andrade’s internationally acclaimed production of Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE (May 30–June 30). Rounding out the 2024 summer offerings is Handel’s PARTENOPE (June 15–28) in the Olivier Award-winning production by director Christopher Alden which updates the action from an ancient Neapolitan setting to a 1920s Parisian salon.

OPENING WEEKEND (September 8–10)

Music Director Eun Sun Kim and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus inaugurate the Company’s second century on Friday, September 8 with opera’s power couple, tenor Roberto Alagna and soprano Aleksandra Kurzak. The concert is the musical centerpiece of San Francisco’s most glamorous party of the year, Opera Ball. This annual benefit, co-presented by San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Opera Guild, is co-chaired by Francesca Gutierrez Amann and Sue Graham Johnston. For information and tickets to Opera Ball, the BRAVO! Club’s opening night cocktail dinner celebration and other ways to participate in the launch of San Francisco Opera’s second century, visit  sfopera.com/operaball.

Opening weekend concludes with the San Francisco Chronicle Presents Opera in the Park on Sunday, September 10. The free annual concert features the stars of the Company’s fall season at Robin Williams Meadow in Golden Gate Park.

The Company also participates in Flower Piano, the popular community alfresco event featuring 12 pianos at the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park. On Saturday, September 9 from 3-4 p.m., pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg performs virtuosic arrangements of grand opera paired with Impressionistic works that capture the serenity of the gardens. For program and ticket information, visit sfbg.org/flowerpiano.

DOLBY FAMILY’S OPERA FOR THE BAY DISCOUNTED TICKETS

The Dolby Family’s Opera for the Bay discounted tickets program continues throughout the 2023–24 Season with $10 tickets for Bay Area residents who are new to the opera. Those with a home address zip code between 94000-95999 who have not purchased tickets in the past three years are eligible. Opera for the Bay tickets go on sale one month prior to the opening of each production/concert and are limited to 2 seats per patron. Inventory is limited and may sell out quickly. Visit sfopera.com/dolby for more information.

LIVESTREAMS

The Opening Night Concert and third performance of every opera production will be livestreamed. Tickets for the opera streams include a 48-hour on-demand viewing window, except for the Opening Night Concert which will be streamed live only. Tickets are available now for $27.50. All times below are Pacific Time (PT). For more information visit sfopera.com/digital/livestream.