In times of adversity, oppression, grief, and suffering, music has the power to unite, uplift, and remind us of our shared humanity. The Jewish people forced by Nazi Germany to live in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII experienced horrific oppression and suffering, and their indomitable spirit and resistance would spark the first major civilian rebellion in Nazi-occupied Europe. Theirs was the largest extended act of Jewish armed resistance ..read more

Her stages were often gymnasiums. And her call time could be bright and early at 8 a.m., just as the children were filing into the classroom for their morning lessons. In just 10 months, she estimates she and her little team performed 250 times ..read more

On October 15 we opened Poulenc’s , an extraordinary opera that takes us deep into the emotional and spiritual world of an order of Carmelite nuns during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution. It is one of the most transcendent pieces we have seen on the War Memorial stage, as attested to by and public reaction. It is only through October 30, with a on October 21, so I hope you’ll hurry to see it! In this Backstage with Matthew we’ll delve into what it means for a singer to create a performance of such searing intensity on the opera stage ..read more

“It's 3:00 a.m. in Romania right now,” he sighs, a cloudless blue Bay Area afternoon shining bright outside ..read more

Dear Members of the San Francisco Opera Family Something quite extraordinary is coming into being on the War Memorial stage at the moment and I wanted to share my reflections on our new The stage is surging with creative energy with our beautiful new productions of both and I hope you will come and see them both. But if you don’t yet have plans to see , I wanted to urge you to come and be a part of this. It is a profoundly beautiful statement of what opera can and should be—a unique expression on our stage that will speak to your very soul. It plays November 15–December 1 and there are only fi ..read more

“I'm always putting myself in situations where I like to see how far I can push myself, how much I can be uncomfortable, to see really where the substance lands inside of me—to see what I'm really made out of,” Butler says, as she prepares for the day’s rehearsals. for San Francisco Opera’s 100th season ..read more