I have series tickets, and SF Opera hosts one of my favorite parties in the city - the SF Opera Encounter experience. This special annual party involves watching an act of the opera theme for the night, and then partying in the opera house the rest of the night. The place is LIT with performance art, themed drinks, art exhibits, a light up dance floor, and music that has everyone from age 17 to 97 dancing on the same floor. They also have a pride concert that is great, if you don't like standard opera. And there's a party after that concert too. The one thing is, though, I can tell they need donations and members. But as a millenial, they way NOT to get me to subscribe is by cold calling. I wish their membership folks had a more streamlined way of me renewing my series tickets, because as a millenial with adhd, a phone call is so exhausting. Like, if they just sent me a proposed bundle of tickets, that I could purchase with a click - that I would rather do than small talk with a Gen X white dude for fifteen minutes to figure out which tickets are right. I grew up watching theater and opera, and I think the Sf Opera and memorial opera house are both must-see destinations if visiting the city! read more

See all

What a disgusting house of privilege and elitism. My wife and I paid hundreds of dollars for our first experience at the SF Opera. We arrived early and were in our seats 15 minutes prior to the show start. Around 30 minutes into the start of the performance, my wife had to use the restroom rather urgently. About 10 minutes later, she messages me that the usher wouldn't let her back into take her seat. They said their policy is if you leave, you are not allowed back in. That would be fine, but the usher said NOTHING to her about such policy as she exited to the restroom. So they power trip her upon trying to re-enter; I step out to speak to them and they rudely say she'll never be let in, and that I can join her if I choose. I spoke with the manager who claimed no influence to address the situation because " it's policy". Despite the fact that the usher said nothing of the implications as my wife unwittingly walked to the restroom. So we both exited, lost $300, and this racket gets to keep our money because of their elitist BS. Do better, SF Opera. read more

Recently attended the SF Opera World Premiere The Monkey King by Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang. Love everything about it--from staging and set designs, lighting, costumes, choreography to all the talented casts. Hurry, you can still see it as it runs until November 30. Having grew up reading The Monkey King, this Opera spoke to me. So excited to have this timeless story come alive in operatic form, such an amazing experience in that the monkey king is a smart, rebellious, powerful being and he learns through his adventures to harness power and balance it with wisdom, humility and responsibility. Very aspirational and yet familiar. Some Chinese Opera (Northern and Southern) nuances incorporated into this Western-style opera. Beautiful and provoking. Looking forward to the next event. read more

See all

SF had this Opera in the Park event, and it was such a lovely experience. We went to the one in Concord, and it was so much fun, relaxing, well organized, and just a great time overall. Can't wait to see an opera at the Opera House next! read more

I came here to see Parsifal and it was a great production! However, it was really hot and the seating was cramped with not enough knee room (I sat in the dress circle). Overall, I'd go again but pay extra to sit in the orchestra section which appears to be more comfortable for taller people (and hopefully hot air rises!). read more

My wife introduced me to the Opera this year, to which I'm eternally thankful. We've been to four or five performances so far and are having a blast. The sound is good, the sets are awesome, the dancing and singing is amazing. I only wish the chairs were a bit better. At least have the chair armrests liftable if nothing else. The staff is nice and polite. The building is easy to get in and out of, with plenty of available parking options nearby. There is a bar and a restaurant (though we have not eaten there, seems too rushed to gulp down a meal during an intermission). We've been late to one show and although you cannot be seated, there are several nice options for viewing. They also have a subscriber program where you can book flexible tickets at a discount, which is pretty sweet. read more

San Francisco Opera - Parsifal Stage - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

I attended the Barber of Seville on an "encounter" night. This was magical, the actor who played Figaro was absolutely amazing. It was my first time sitting up on the dress circle ( 3rd floor) and I had a beautiful view of the stage, orchestra, the chandelier and the translation screen. The party for the encounter was something like I have never seen before, each floor was decorated differently and you had people dressed as plants down a fairy-light lit hallway. Another floor had the food and casino style tables with real dealers. The guy who did the craps table closest to the bar was phenomenal. He made the whole experience a 10/10 for the floor ( along with the other gentle man who was handing out the little tickets to get your chips with a basket ) One of the roulette guys didn't quite understand that it wasn't a REAL casino and was yelling at the patrons like it was. Found it a bit funny, really. But I recommend going to see an opera at the War Memorial Opera House, specially the current one of Barber of Seville. I have watched at least 10 different ones including Phantom of the Opera in NY and this last one of the Barber was in my top 3. The isle seat was comfortable and one day soon I will try and get a box in the balcony. read more

Beautiful stunning venue with amazing sound quality! Saw my first opera here parsifal and the opera orchestra was amazing. The seats were comfortable and the ambiance was perfect. Plenty of restrooms and a good range of prices for tickets. Loved the costumes and set. read more

SF Opera is wonderful - first class! Lots of gorgeous music under that beautiful domed blue ceiling. I just saw Rigoletto and Dead Man Walking a week apart and both were excellent but very different. Casts were great . Pick an opera that appeals to you and go. And you can reserve a table at intermission for treats and champagne. Glorious singing. read more

Brought kiddos over for nutcracker. It is a beautiful opera house with so many details throughout. They do have strict rule about food consumption inside the opera house. I found folks helping out here to be way more serious as compared to people at symphony (more cheerful and helpful). We sat on the highest level to be close to my daughters' classmates. Most people dress up here. So it was good to do some minor people watching. When the show just started, there was one person came in a bit late and there was quite a stir about who to sit where. There was a lady working there directing folks to seat and was asking a mother to leave her seat even though she was seating at her seat. It was very disturbing and not respectful. That working lady also insisted the guy to sit at an open seat even though folks stated that the seat was taken (someone was seating there and was there for over half of the show). It was loud and disrespectful. I found that extremely unprofessional and took way longer than it is supposed to be. At the end, it was sorted out. The audience basically figured out and told her what to do. I found that to be unexpected and do not respect the audience in general. Besides that, the show was wonderful. The sets are fascinating, performance was beautiful, and the music was on point. The kids and parents all had a good time. Snacks are okay too at the bar. We would like to come back again but would sit at lower levels. Fingers crossed that we don't have to run into the same lady working there.... read more

San Francisco Opera - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Part of the community Benefits in the SF Bay Area are the arts: museums, Ballet, Opera, Symphony and so many other music and art venues! Most have free or low cost days for the locals. We are enjoying our first Opera in SF after seeing many other all over the USA and Europe-- lol- so glad to be here. The Elixir of Love ( really a lousy Bordeaux in a small bottle) a comedy - what else? Silly, flirty, suspenseful, marriage proposals... One beautiful melody after another. And Happily ever After!! Marsha Green is giving us a pre- discussion of the thrill of this Opera!! Worth coming early! This is such a beautiful building- it is worth exploring and looking at the architecture. read more

See all

You can come here for many great performances. We saw the Nutcracker and sat in the upper level seats. If you are seated at a higher level, you will want to bring binoculars so you can view the details of the performance. The production is so amazing. The opera has many mechanisms to help with setting up various stage scenes. You might also see some "cannon fire" in a few of the performances. My suggestion for seats is to be seated at least 15 min before the show starts, to get comfortable in the cozy seating spaces. read more

San Francisco Opera - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Went there for the last opera of the season Carmen. The building is so historic and grand. The inside decor is so magnificent. The whole experience was incredible! I enjoyed the show so much. The seat was comfortable. I am a huge opera fan read more

See all

I honestly left the Monkey King Opera confused. I was excited for a classic Monkey King telling, but the version at the opera house was... horrible. I don't know why the director decided to make almost every lyric sound like a swear word, it completely ruined the vibe. It is supposed to feel mythical not like a tik tok slang parody. I understand that it supposed to have western influence for a crossover but the constant slang terms directed on the lyrics were distracting . It took away the meaning of the whole story. With the 8 immortal . They were written as selfish, over-confident, and weirdly rude for no reason. They should portray them as wise not full of pride or greed. The staging and visuals were decent, but the writing and language choices dragged the whole thing down. If you're expecting a traditional or heartfelt version of the Monkey King this is not it. I left disappointed and honestly wondering why they thought this was a good idea. read more

I never thought I would say this...I love the opera. For me, the subtitles make all the difference. The shows are incredible, the most recent one I saw was Madame Butterfly yesterday. The venue is fantastic and awe-inspiring. It's a great date spot and a chance to wear your best clothes and take in some culture. Give it a chance if you have not already. read more

See all

You must be kidding, Rigoletto felt and sounded like a dinner theater. I felt so sorry for the conductor Eun Sun Kim, following the tenor," accommodating the voice" more times than I thought possible, and lost count after 11 times- she could not save him at every turn and it showed. This was a sham; set was like that of a high school play. Look, it's not about whose country is being represented here. It's about doing a good job at what we came to see. - I like my money back- I would recommend not going- The opera board must be in on a take on this one, or micro dosing- not good, not good at all. read more

It doesn't matter where you sit. It's spectacular. The singing and the orchestra, and the arias. Bravo. Glad they had plenty of women's restrooms. The line for snacks and coffee was very long. Seat numbers were a bit confusing. From center, right is even numbers. Left, odd numbers. read more

San Francisco Opera - Il Trovatore 10/1/23 - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

Good to experience once in a while with the whole family and dressing up. Subtitles are easy to read and parking nearby (civic center garage) is convenient. Prices for snacks are pretty high, just be aware. Audience and staff are very friendly to the younger crowd and excited to introduce them to opera. Would also recommend a comedy / happier ending kind of story for the family. Seems like majority of shows are tragedies. read more

My first Opera in 20 years - what a treat! My friends had an extra ticket and invited me to a lovely time in The City. Delicious sushi at O-Toro followed by a brisk walk to Opera Plaza. We showed vax cards and IDs outside and then quickly into the beautiful War Memorial Opera House. Stunning interior and it's exciting to see people still dress up for an evening on the town. Fidelio is Beethoven's only opera and features a strong female lead. Leonore dresses as a male prison guard to save her husband from a political prison. It's hard to believe it first premiered in 1805 because it it seems timely, even today. The heroine Leonore/Fidelio starred Elza van den Heever and she was fantastic in the role. After the performance the Music Director Eun Sun Kim got flowers and a standing ovation from her orchestra. It was really moving. Outside there were some children playing classical music - ages looked like 8 to 14. So talented and very smart to be busking outside the Opera with all those wealthy patrons. read more

See all

The SF Opera Rigoletto was a horrible production. The sets were boring and minimalist with blaring bright red lights as the backdrop. The costumes were equally as horrible! The women wore black dresses that you couldn't see any detail, and the female lead wore a grey dress! So boring and uncreative. WOW! How could they spend so much money on such boring visuals. I left as soon as intermission happened, not soon enough. The plot reminded me of Jeffrey Epstein stealing young girls and all the republican Pedophiles protecting Trump and the Billionaires. Very untimely production. read more

There are many positive things I can say about SFOpera. We attended "The Ring" cycle, which was an unforgettable experience. However, in this review, I would like to give praise for their OUTSTANDING customer service. I've been a season ticket holder a few times and the agents are always SO very very helpful AND very very knowledgeable. With the ongoing pandemic a surges (I follow the wastewater dashboard ... and btw, covid levels are high in SF at the moment) I continue to be a consistent N-95 mask wearer. On multiple occasions, I did not feel safe to attend an indoor event with hundreds of unmasked attendees. The staff have been very helpful and accommodating to explain my options and to quickly send LiveStream options, which have been FANTASTIC. I highly recommend the ease of LiveStream. (No parking, no commute. I can watch in my pjs, have a drink when I like, and pause for a bathroom break.) I mostly wanted to submit this review to that the excellent customer service. Thank you. Training makes ALL the difference. Note: I just got a phone call alert that the upcoming Sunday matinee of "The Magic Flute" is the same day as the annual Pride Parade. The call advised being prepared for traffic and road closures urging allowance of additional time in anticipation! How excellent is that. (This is in addition to several emails earlier in the week.) read more

It was good. However, it wasn't as good as many other places I have visited including the Orpheum in Chicago or Kennedy center. The show itself was okay, not as great of a hall, the seatings are not elevated enough so if someone slightly taller than you sits in front of you, you can't see much. The bathroom is not very accommodating and wish they had drink service. Still, had a great time here. read more

San Francisco Opera - SF opera - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

Great performance but so hot stuffy throughout the entire performance. They need to be better at using the ventilation. read more

San Francisco Opera - Lobby - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

We saw the last performance of "Carmen" the first part of December. My wife and I had never attended an opera and we both were impressed and very much enjoyed the show. The opera was sold out and we were glad we got tickets. However, as a live and learn, we purchased box seats at $450 plus a piece, and got the 2 seats in the back of the box. Very difficult to look around heads to consistently view the opera particularly seated on the side of the theatre. Either buy early to purchase the front seats of the box or buy seats in the Orchestra. I stood up for the majority of the last act and saw very well! I'm still humming the music . read more

Last night at La Boheme. Opera was great. Seating was terrible. We sat in Grand Tier. I am 6'1". Had to leave at intermission. There should be reasonable seating for Anerican size humans. Had to sit at an angle. Painful. read more

Staff here is so rude. Really ruined my first opera experience. Won't be back. The idea that opera is elitist is being upheld but this company. read more

You'd better be on time. Even a minute late and they will make you watch standing from the back for the first half of the show, anywhere between 1 and 2 hours. Also, our seats had an awkward viewing angle of the subtitles which was pretty annoying read more

I love San Francisco Opera House. It's a beautiful historic building that is a landmark of San Francisco. We try to see opera at least couple of times a year. Great sound, beautiful costumes, amazing voices, incredible performance, and outstanding surrounding. They also have variety of other events here, some of them are not cheap but are well worth the experience. read more

Saw lots of Operas at this house. Have all the playbills. I believe in saving playbills. They are nice. Young adults bravo and for your mom! The opera house is a blast. Old tradition. read more

We are so fortunate to have such a beautiful building and organization in our city. Every time I come to San Francisco Opera I'm filled with inspiration and joy. Staff who work here are very friendly, they are usually volunteers and they are ready to help. The building is gorgeous inside and out with mesmerizing architecture, sound and lighting. The seats are comfortable in the orchestra and dress circle, not so much as you go on the balconies, so we usually buy tickets at the orchestra. They have different events in addition to operas, you can always find something to see and do at San Francisco Opera. I encourage everyone to attend San Francisco opera at least once, it's definitely an experience. read more

Amazing always. This is my fifth opera. This is truly a vocal power house. The program is not as thorough as they used to be. I used to love the program book design, now it is just two A4 paper with double-sided. Will for sure come back and very excited for Dream of the Ref Chamber next year. read more

San Francisco Opera - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

World class opera! I've been a subscriber for 30 years, and I've only walked out once... Otherwise mesmerized‼

We recently saw Lohengrin. We were in the dress circle. It was a fantastic experience. We got affordable tickets from the Dolby grant. I had not been to the opera since 2014. It's worth going to. read more

This was my first show with the world renowned San Francisco Opera. Customer service was great and the opera house was elegant. Upper levels were a little warm but I blame the weather. Voices were uniformly excellent as was the accompanying orchestra. The set for Billy Budd was lavish and created perfect spaces for all dramatic activity of the opera. I did not love this particular opera as it was more of a play set to words than aria driven show but that doesn't take anything away from The opera company or the venue itself. Can't wait for "Nozze di Figaro"! read more

San Francisco Opera - Seating the Opera lovers. - Performing Arts Near Me - San Francisco, California

Well preserved Victorian decor with an up to date caption machine that is hung up above the stage for translation purposes during a foreign opera performance! The seating is well situated and from all angles you can get a get view of the stage! It's a leisurely outing and great for special events! read more

See all

50% off tickets with SIMFIG at sfopera.com/offer Magic Flute for only $54.50! What a steal. read more

I had a wonderful opportunity to see Anthony and Cleopatra at the San Francisco opera during its world premiere performances. Because I lived out of town I had the will call people hold my tickets instead of mailing them and that worked out just fine the facility is very nice it's not too large the main stage is wide enough that you can look around but not too wide or two tall that you can't see the performers easily. They do have the close caption items above the stage so they do simultaneous translation some people don't like that but I even felt was helpful in an English language of opera. The orchestra was really great I heard the string section in the Percussion section very clearly. From my seat. The temperature at the auditorium was good I was a little unclear but I thought I may have been able to hear some outside street noise but it was minimal and not really distracting from the performance. People were dressed nicely the singers and the chorus were fabulous I paid retail price for my tickets and it was a significant entry fee but as I said to someone it was over 100 people trying to make art doing their very best and it really showed. If you're unable to go to the concert hall they do stream the shows via the Internet and I have done that also and enjoyed it this was a special experience John Adams the composer was actually at the show and this is the third of fourth opera he's premiered at the San Francisco opera if you're going to San Francisco and you want to have a cultural experience I would highly recommend checking out the opera read more

When I first went to the San Francisco Opera many years ago, it was my first introduction to an opera performance. I was riveted by "Tosca",but I wasn't sure when I would see another opera again. I'm all for a fine night at the theater, but opera prices can be quite steep. However, thanks to the San Francisco Opera's fantastic program, BRAVO!, I've been able to see more than ten operas in the past several years without breaking the bank. The BRAVO! club is open to people between age 21 to 40, and for an annual membership fee, you get steep discounts on both orchestra and dress circle tickets. The discounted ticket prices vary from year to year, but last year I could save almost 70% off of normal prices. Being a BRAVO! members also gives you access to educational workshops and fun events like a stage combat class, so you get to check out opera for cheaper prices and also learn more about what goes into making these amazing productions. Overall, I've been impressed with the operas I've seen, and I can't wait until the season starts again later this year! read more

As an arts enthusiast and former resident of San Francisco, my time and exposure to SF Opera shows was limited to Stern Grove Sundays and Bravo! events combined with the other young professionals groups (Symphonix for the SF Symphony, Encore! for the SF Ballet, and Art Point for the SF museums De Young and Legion of Honor.) On a recent trip to San Francisco however; I had the opportunity to attend one of the SF Opera's events at the War Hall Memorial & Performance Arts Center: Drinks & Drama, a Taste of the Season. It was a fun girls night my girlfriends and I planned to listen to a sneak peak of the upcoming SF Opera season, and taste accompanying (and very strong!) cocktails mixed. This was an educational and engaging event that introduced 3 opera singers and a pianist to the audience, and combined the educational session with video clips of opera performances from years past. I am very grateful that even though Drinks & Drama: A Taste of the Season was sold out, the program managers kindly put my group of 3 girlfriends on the wait list and let us in the night of the event! Thank you San Francisco Opera for a wonderful event at Drinks & Drama: A Taste of the Season, and your commitment to the San Francisco arts community. read more

See all

A sign that San Francisco is a world class city is that it has an opera company performing a full season. This is remarkable. They are excellent. I write to say for those who are hesitant -- and I am no expert, so I am no different than anybody else, having seen maybe two dozen operas total over a lifetime, and all but one here -- the prices are not exorbitant. That is, they can be, but the balcony is in line with live theatre and other music. So if you are curious, you can check it out without breaking the bank. The other thing is of course bring opera glasses or binoculars. I carry a monocular anyway. No matter where you are, these are a good investment. I splurged on a monocular, and it is something I have gotten great use out of. There are very affordable models, as well as compact binoculars. The only sad aspect of the experience is they eliminated the OperaVision screens. At select performances, you could see a simulcast right in front of you, in addition to the action on stage. read more