Opening Week of San Francisco Opera's 101st Season continues with San Francisco Chronicle Presents Opera in the Park
Sunday, September 10 at 1:30 p.m.
Free Annual Event Features Music Director Eun Sun Kim Leading the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Stars from the 2023-24 Season
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (September 5, 2023) — As part of the opening week festivities celebrating the inauguration of its second century, San Francisco Opera, in partnership with the San Francisco Chronicle, presents Opera in the Park on Sunday, September 10. This annual, free concert at Robin Williams Meadow in Golden Gate Park will feature Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra with vocal soloists from the 2023–24 Season. Company General Director Matthew Shilvock will serve as emcee.
Vocal soloists who will be heard at this favorite Bay Area event, now in its 48th year, include sopranos Julie Adams, Aleksandra Kurzak and Olivia Smith; mezzo-sopranos Hyona Kim and Daniela Mack; tenors Roberto Alagna, Arturo Chacón-Cruz and Moisés Salazar; baritone Brian Mulligan; and bass-baritone Jongwon Han.
The San Francisco Chronicle is the presenting partner for Opera in the Park and the radio partner is Classical KDFC. San Francisco Opera also extends special thanks to San Francisco Recreation & Parks and the San Francisco Parks Alliance for their support of this Bay Area tradition, which is made possible, in part, by Opening Week Grand Sponsor Diane B. Wilsey with additional support provided by William and Gretchen Kimball Fund and Kaiser Permanente. Guest speakers who are scheduled to make remarks during Opera in the Park include Bill Nagel from the San Francisco Chronicle; Dianne Nicolini, Maggie Clennon Reberg and Robin Pressmen from Classical KDFC; and Steven Fredericks from the San Francisco Parks Alliance.
Established by former San Francisco Opera General Director Kurt Herbert Adler in 1971, the free concert celebrating the opening of the San Francisco Opera season draws thousands of music lovers annually for a free afternoon of arias, duets and popular songs in San Francisco's spacious Golden Gate Park. Many of opera's legendary figures, such as Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballé, Marilyn Horne and Renata Scotto, have performed at Opera in the Park.
Food and beverages are available at the park for sale, but many audience members bring picnics to enjoy on the lawn at this family-friendly event. Attendees are encouraged to bring refillable water bottles and make use of the water stations positioned around Robin Williams Meadow. In the traditional Opera in the Park finale, the audience joins the singers for a rendition of the brindisi (drinking song) from Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata.
This event is free; no tickets are required. An accessible seating section and restrooms are provided. A pedestrian ADA drop-off area is located on Bowling Green Drive and limited accessible parking is available. Public parking will be extremely limited and alternative transportation, such as Muni (5, 7, 21, 33, N) and Uber/Lyft ridesharing apps, are strongly recommended. A free bicycle valet parking area on the east side of the meadow has been organized in partnership with the Bicycle Coalition.
Artists and program are subject to change. For further information about San Francisco Chronicle Presents Opera in the Park, call (415) 864-3330 or visit sfopera.com/operainthepark.
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SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE PRESENTS OPERA IN THE PARK
Free Concert Celebrating the Opening of San Francisco Opera’s 101st Season
Sunday, September 10, 2023, 1:30pm
Robin Williams Meadow, Golden Gate Park
ARTISTS (subject to change):
Sopranos: Julie Adams, Aleksandra Kurzak, Olivia Smith
Mezzo-Sopranos: Hyona Kim, Daniela Mack
Tenors: Roberto Alagna, Arturo Chacón-Cruz, Moisés Salazar
Baritone: Brian Mulligan
Bass-Baritone: Jongwon Han
Eun Sun Kim, conductor
San Francisco Opera Orchestra (Kay Stern, concertmaster)
Emcee: Matthew Shilvock, San Francisco Opera General Director
*For the complete press release, including cast and calendar listing, open the PDF version above.