May 28–June 27, War Memorial Opera House
Music Director Eun Sun Kim leads Strauss’ ELEKTRA in Keith Warner’s staging set in a contemporary museum
Rossini’s THE BARBER OF SEVILLE returns in director Emilio Sagi’s production with two brilliant casts
One-night-only events THE BARBER OF SEVILLE ENCOUNTER and PRIDE CONCERT transform the Opera House into a celebratory space
Rossini’s The Barber of Seville; Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s Elektra; Pride Concert.
Photos: Cory Weaver (l, c), Kristen Loken (r)
Tickets available at (415) 864-3330 and sfopera.com
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (March 25, 2026) — San Francisco Opera’s 103rd season continues with a summer lineup featuring one of the art form’s greatest comedies, one of its most gripping tragedies, a Pride celebration and other highlights. Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim leads Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s pathbreaking 1909 one-act thriller, Elektra, and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) returns with two brilliant casts conducted by Benjamin Manis. The Company’s Pride Concert, introduced last summer, features the San Francisco Opera Orchestra taking the stage for a one-night-only celebration. This spring, the Bohème Out of the Box production comes to San Francisco and open-air venues around the Bay Area, the Schwabacher Recital Series continues at various venues and A Sevillian Town Square: A Barber of Seville Family Experience offers children a special introduction to the opera.
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE by Gioachino Rossini
May 28–June 21
Scenes from The Barber of Seville. Photos: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera
Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) follows the charismatic jack-of-all-trades Figaro who helps a pair of young lovers outwit an overbearing guardian to be together. The timeless romantic comedy returns in Spanish director Emilio Sagi’s colorful production for San Francisco Opera, last staged in 2015. Following his Company debut conducting a sold-out run of Bizet’s Carmen in 2024, Benjamin Manis leads two casts in The Barber of Seville.
Joshua Hopkins, who was Harry Bailey in the Company’s co-commission It’s a Wonderful Life by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, and debuting baritone Justin Austin alternate as Seville’s multi-talented barber, Figaro. Russian mezzo-soprano Maria Kataeva makes her American debut as Rosina, sharing the role with Chinese mezzo-soprano Hongni Wu, who appeared as the Crab General and Venus Star in the world premiere of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s The Monkey King last fall.
Rosina’s dashing suitor, Count Almaviva, will be performed by two tenors who are each making house debuts: South African Levy Sekgapane and American Jack Swanson. The role of Doctor Bartolo will be performed by baritone Renato Girolami and bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi, both of whom delighted audiences as Dr. Dulcamara in San Francisco Opera’s 2023 performances of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love.
Bass Riccardo Fassi makes his Company debut as the music teacher, Don Basilio. San Francisco Opera Medal recipient Catherine Cook reprises her inimitable portrayal of the maid Berta, a role which Cook has performed in each of the Company’s presentations of The Barber for Seville since 1996, including the 2021 drive-in performances during the pandemic. Second-year Adler Fellow Olivier Zerouali and third- year Adler Fellow Thomas Kinch portray Fiorello and an Officer, respectively, and first-year Adler Gabriel Natal-Báez is Ambrogio.
ELEKTRA by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal
June 7–27
Scenes from Elektra. Photos: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera
Elektra was the first collaboration between composer Richard Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the artistic partnership that created such 20th-century masterworks as Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Frau ohne Schatten and Arabella. Requiring one of the largest pit orchestras of any opera in the repertoire, Elektra reimagines the classic Greek tragedy through a modern lens informed by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung’s studies of the human unconscious. Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in this pivotal score filled with Strauss’ dense harmonies, thundering rhythms and soaring lines. Keith Warner’s production, introduced here in 2017 and directed by Anja Kühnhold in revival, sets the action in a contemporary museum where a young woman finds herself trapped in an exhibit about ancient Greece and lives out Elektra’s obsession with vengeance for her murdered father.
Elena Pankratova, who recently won critical acclaim in Wagner’s Parsifal under Kim’s baton with Houston Grand Opera and is a frequent soloist at the Bayreuth Festival, makes her house debut in the formidable title role. Elza van den Heever portrays Elektra’s sister Chrysothemis. Last seen on the War Memorial Opera House stage in Mozart’s Idomeneo and Beethoven’s Fidelio, both conducted by Kim, van den Heever’s San Francisco musical roots also include the Adler Fellowship, Merola Opera Program and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Following unforgettable performances as Madame de Croissy in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites during San Francisco Opera’s Centennial Season, Michaela Schuster returns as Elektra’s embattled mother, Klytemnestra.
Since 1992, William Burden has portrayed a diverse array of roles with San Francisco Opera, including Laca in Janáček’s Jenůfa, Captain Vere in Britten’s Billy Budd and George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life. He returns as Klytemnestra’s lover and accomplice, Aegisth. Bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen, last seen with the Company as Escamillo in Carmen, is Elektra’s long-lost brother and would-be avenger, Orest. During the run of Elektra, Ketelsen will be presented in recital on June 16 at the Barbro Osher Recital Hall with San Francisco Opera Center Artistic Director and pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson as part of the Schwabacher Recital Series.
PRIDE CONCERT: June 26 at 8 p.m.
Pride Concert. Photos: Kristen Loken (l), Matthew Washburn (r)
San Francisco Opera presents its second Pride Concert in the Opera House on Friday, June 26, the eve of San Francisco’s Pride Weekend. The one-night-only event features the San Francisco Opera Orchestra on stage in a program celebrating LGBTQIA+ composers, performers, anthems and more. Following the concert, a dance party ensues in the main lobby.
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE ENCOUNTER: June 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Encounter. Photos: Kristen Loken
On Wednesday, June 17, the Company’s popular Encounter series continues with The Barber of Seville Encounter. After watching Act I of Rossini’s opera in the auditorium, audience members will explore the transformed lobby and hallway spaces of the Opera House for an immersive exploration of the opera’s themes of disguise, young love and playful scheming. Part opera, part party, the evening offers new ways to encounter one of the art form’s all-time classics. Recommended for audiences ages 21 and over.
A SEVILLIAN TOWN SQUARE—A BARBER OF SEVILLE FAMILY EXPERIENCE: May 9 at 2 p.m.
2025 La Bohème family event. Photos: Kristen Loken
Bearitone the Opera Bear and his friends at San Francisco Opera invite you to stroll through a lively Sevillian Town Square within the Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater. Inspired by Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, this family-friendly experience offers a chance to explore Figaro’s bustling barbershop and sneak through the Count’s closet of disguises. Games, treats, live performances and a special puppet show complete the joyful and participatory adventure. To register for this free event, visit sfopera.com/sevilliantownsquare.
BOHÈME OUT OF THE BOX
April 11–26
Scenes from Bohème Out of the Box. Photos: Kristen Loken (l), Stefan Cohen (r)
Returning for its fourth consecutive year, San Francisco Opera’s popular Bohème Out of the Box presentation of a one-hour version of La Bohème with piano accompaniment in a converted shipping container will visit Bay Area communities throughout April. The cast includes current and former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows Alexa Frankian (Mimì), Edward Graves (Rodolfo), Sofia Gotch (Musetta), Gabriel Natal-Báez (Marcello), James McCarthy (Colline), Olivier Zerouali (Schaunard) and Eugene Brancoveanu (Benoit/Alcindoro). Adler Fellows Brian Cho and Ji Youn Lee will alternate performances at the piano, and Jose Maria Condemi directs.
The afternoon performances are scheduled for Crane Cove Park in San Francisco (April 11, 12), Christie Park in Emeryville (April 18), Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland (April 19), Filoli Gardens in Woodside (April 22, 23—NOTE these performances are at capacity) and Todos Santos Plaza in Concord (April 25, 26). Registration is encouraged but not required. Families with young children are invited to participate in free First Act family workshops 30 minutes prior to all Bohème Out of the Box performances. For more information, visit sfopera.com/box.
SCHWABACHER RECITAL SERIES
April 1, May 5, June 16
Now in its 42nd year, the Schwabacher Recital Series, presented by Merola Opera Program and San Francisco Opera Center, kicks off on April 1 (7 p.m. at the Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater) with Mary Hoskins (soprano), Olivier Zerouali (baritone) and Ji Youn Lee (pianist). The second recital features Gabriel Natal-Báez (baritone) and Tzu Kuang Tan (piano) on May 5 (7 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco). The series concludes with Kyle Ketelsen (bass-baritone) and Carrie-Ann Matheson (pianist) on June 16 (7 p.m. at Barbro Osher Recital Hall).
For more information, visit sfopera.com/srs.
LIVESTREAMS
The third performance of each mainstage opera during the Summer 2026 Season will be livestreamed, including a 48-hour on-demand viewing window. Tickets for each livestream are available for $25 each.
*For the complete press release, including program and calendar listing, open the PDF version above.