As the opera is being performed on stage inside the War Memorial Opera House, the video image of the performance will be projected on a 12 foot x 24 foot truck-mounted LED screen with concert-quality audio for the Plaza audience. The screen will be mounted on the Polk Street side of the Plaza, across from City Hall. This promises to be a great outdoor theater experience for thousands of Bay Area music lovers. And you'll be able to follow every bit of the action on screen with projected English subtitles.

Madama Butterfly is one of the world's most popular and enduring operas. You'll hear soaring and captivating music in this classic story of colliding hearts and cultures, set in nineteenth-century Japan. Internationally acclaimed soprano Patricia Racette stars as the tragic heroine Cio-Cio-San.

San Francisco Opera logo merchandise, including sweatshirts and caps, will be available for sale at the event. In addition, you'll find information about upcoming San Francisco Opera events and special ticket promotions available only to Simulcast attendees. You can also enter our raffle for free Opera tickets and other exciting prizes.

Food and beverage vendors on-site will sell hot and cold beverages and picnic fare (salads and sandwiches).

Only low chairs and blankets will be allowed on the grass. Higher chairs will be permitted along the sides of the Plaza on the concrete.

TRAFFIC ADVISORY: Polk Street will be closed between Grove and McAllister Streets from 7 - 11 pm on Saturday, May 27. One-lane closures are also expected on Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27 in the area surrounding the Plaza on Grove Street, Larkin Street, and Polk Street. To access the Civic Center parking garage, we suggest that you take Van Ness Avenue to McAllister.

We highly recommend that you take BART or other public transportation to the event. It's a busy night in the Civic Center area, and parking may be difficult.

The simulcast is presented by San Francisco Opera in collaboration with Staging Solutions of Houston, Texas and Rita Barela Productions, Inc., of San Francisco. Simulcast Director: Bruce Bryant.

The Simulcast is sponsored, in part, by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph B. Brucia, in memory of Giuseppe Brucia.

United Airlines is the Lead Corporate Sponsor for the inaugural simulcast of Madama Butterfly.

San Francisco Opera’s High Definition Broadcast System is made possible by a generous grant from Koret Foundation Funds. Additional support is provided by the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture.

Additional support provided by Franklin Templeton Investments

Media sponsors for the May 27 Simulcast and July 1 Dolores Park Concert:

Ride BART to the performance, or valet park your bicycle at the event.