Opera in the Park

50th ANNIVERSARY | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2025 | 1:30 P.M.
ROBIN WILLIAMS MEADOW, GOLDEN GATE PARK

10AM - Rehearsal for all singers and orchestra. Singers will be in casual clothes.

 1:30PM - Concert begins

INTERMISSION

3:15PM - Finale “Libiamo”

approximately 86 minutes plus speeches, applause and intermission

View Program

• First Half

  National Anthem	San Francisco Opera Orchestra
  STRAUSS
  Radetzky March	San Francisco Opera Orchestra
  This march, composed in 1848 to celebrate a military victory won by Austrian Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, is now the traditional encore at the Vienna Philharmonic’s annual New Year’s Concert. The “trio” or central section uses an older folk melody that Strauss adapted from a waltz meter to a march meter.
  VERDI: Rigoletto
  La donna è mobile	Yongzhao Yu
  The rakish Duke of Mantua sings a cynical yet irresistible tune about how women are fickle in love.
  HEGGIE: Great Scott
  Vesuvio, il mio unico amico	Nikola Printz
  Jake Heggie’s 2015 opera Great Scott (libretto by Terrence McNally) features an opera within an opera. A famous singer returns to her hometown to save the struggling company that launched her career. She stars in the modern premiere of an opera from 1835 wryly titled Rosa Dolorosa, Figlia di Pompei. Its virtuosic aria “Vesuvius, my only friend” is Heggie’s modern nod to the bel canto style.
  ROSSINI: The Barber of Seville
  La calunnia	Peixin Chen
  The crafty Don Basilio explains how a slanderous rumor can destroy an enemy, starting as a whisper that gradually grows into a roaring explosion, leaving the hapless opponent lying crushed in the dust.
  PUCCINI: La Bohème
  Quando me’n vo’	Brittany Renee
  Hoping to make her former boyfriend Marcello jealous and win him back, the flirty Musetta teases him, saying she loves all the admiring glances she gets from men whenever she goes out. She knows they desire her, and it makes her happy!
  HANDEL: Xerxes
  Ombra mai fu	Susan Graham
  This justly famous and moving aria, often assumed by listeners to be a sacred piece, is actually a love song to a tree. The eccentric King Xerxes pours out his affection for the beauty and cooling shade of a plane tree (sycamore).
  DONIZETTI: The Elixir of Love
  Quanto amore!	Olivia Smith and Peixin Chen
  Adina voices her surprise at the depth of Nemorino’s devotion when she learns from Dr. Dulcamara that Nemorino has enlisted in the army. He is using his signing bonus to buy Dulcamara’s “love potion” (which is just red wine), hoping to make Adina love him. Dulcamara suggests that she needs a love potion herself, but she assures him she knows how to win a man’s heart unaided.
  SAINT-SAËNS: Samson and Delilah
  Amour, viens aider ma faiblesse	J'Nai Bridges
  The temptress Delilah calls on the god of love to aid her in luring Samson into her arms so that she can use her seductive wiles to learn the secret of his strength and make him a captive of the Philistines.
  DONIZETTI: Lucia di Lammermoor
  Regnava nel silenzio . . . Quando rapito in estasi	Adela Zaharia
  Lucia recalls how “the night reigned in silence” when she saw the ghost of a murdered maiden. But her mood quickly changes as she thinks of her beloved Edgardo, who makes her feel “enraptured in ecstasy” when he speaks to her of love.

• Second Half

  VERDI: Rigoletto
  Cortigiani, vil razza dannata	Amartuvshin Enkhbat
  To avenge themselves for Rigoletto’s barbed insults, the courtiers have abducted the court jester’s daughter Gilda and delivered her into the duke’s lustful embrace. In fury, Rigoletto denounces the courtiers for their cruelty and demands his daughter’s release. When they show indifference to his wrath, Rigoletto stifles his anger and, with the aid of an eloquent cello obbligato, resorts to pleading.
  VERDI: Rigoletto
  Mio padre . . . Tutte le feste al tempio . . . Si, vendetta	Adela Zaharia and Amartuvshin Enkhbat
  After being abducted by the courtiers and ravaged by the duke, Gilda remorsefully tells her father Rigoletto how she fell in love with a handsome young man she met in church—the duke incognito—who wooed her claiming to be a “poor student.” Rigoletto angrily swears revenge on the duke for dishonoring his daughter, but Gilda protests that she still loves him.
  ESHIMA: Butterfly YY
  	San Francisco Opera Orchestra
  Shinji Eshima composed Butterfly YY for San Francisco Ballet Principal Ballerina Yuan Yuan Tan, with choreography by Yuri Possokhov. The score quotes Eshima’s longer work RAkU, gives a nod to a favorite moment in the Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and ends with a quote from He Zhanhao and Chen Gang’s The Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto, which was inspired by Chinese legend.
  HANDEL: Hercules
  Where shall I fly?	Nikola Printz
  Hercules’ wife Dejanira, believing her husband to be unfaithful, gifts him a cloak that she is told has the power to lead his heart back to their marital bond. Unbeknownst to her, the cloak is actually steeped in a deadly poison which burns Hercules to death. Realizing that she has been the cause of his demise, she sinks into madness.
  LEHÁR: The Merry Widow
  Lippen schweigen	Susan Graham and Rod Gilfry
  In the familiar “Merry Widow Waltz,” the wealthy widow Hanna Glawari and Count Danilo Danilovitsch finally admit their deep feelings for one another while waltzing in each other’s arms. The duet begins “Lips are silent, but violins are whispering ‘love me dearly.’”
  VERDI: Rigoletto
  Un dì, se ben rammentomi . . . Bella figlia dell’amore	Adela Zaharia, J’Nai Bridges, Yongzhao Yu, Amartuvshin Enkhbat
  The womanizing duke woos the tavern girl Maddalena, who laughs at his flattery. Overhearing this, Gilda is shocked at his faithlessness, and her father Rigoletto once again vows revenge on the duke for bringing disgrace to his daughter.
  GERSHWIN: Porgy and Bess
  Summertime	Brittany Renee
  In the opening scene of George Gershwin’s famous opera, set in Charleston’s “Catfish Row”—once the site of aristocratic mansions, but now a crowded waterfront tenement—Clara sings a languid lullaby to her baby.
  RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN: South Pacific
  Some Enchanted Evening	Rod Gilfry
  In arguably the most famous song from any of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, the expat French plantation owner, Emile de Becque, expresses his romantic feelings for Nellie Forbush, an American Navy nurse, by recalling how they first met at an officers’ dance and had an instant mutual attraction
  RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN: Carousel
  You’ll Never Walk Alone	Jamie Barton
  Nettie comforts her cousin Julie after Julie’s husband, Billy Bigelow, is killed during a failed robbery attempt. The uplifting song is reprised in the final scene during the graduation of Julie and Billy’s daughter, as Billy looks on from heaven.

Opera in the Park is located at Robin Williams Meadow in Golden Gate Park. The concert will begin at 1:30pm and run approximately two hours.

Please see below for an event map with accessibility information. Use the dropdowns to learn more.

Download Map

• General Information

  Seating – Robin Williams Meadow will be open for seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Guests may bring blankets or low-profile lawn chairs. No tarps are allowed on the meadow grass.

  Program – There will be limited copies of the printed program available at the San Francisco Chronicle tent. You can also visit this webpage on the day of the event to view the digital program.

  Hydration Stations – per the Bottled and Package Free Water Ordinance, No. 009-1, the sale or distribution of bottled and packaged water having a capacity of 1 liter or less is prohibited at certain events on city property. Four complimentary water stations will be available throughout the meadow for refills – so don’t forget to bring your own refillable cup or bottle (no glass) to stay hydrated! Compostable cups will also be available at each station.

  Pets – pets are always welcome. Please plan to relieve your pet away from the event area.

  Restrooms – portable restrooms will be stationed at several points around the event area. There is also a park restroom located south of the Lawn Bowling Club.

  Food & Beverage – food and drink will be available for purchase.

• Transportation and Parking

  Sections of Bowling Green Drive, MLK Jr. Drive, and Nancy Pelosi Dr. will be reserved for vendor, crew, and staff parking (see graphic). Consequently, public parking will be very limited in the area. The following alternative transportation options will be available:

  • ADA – there is a designated ADA parking area and drop-off location on Bowling Green Drive near a path that leads directly to the meadow and ADA & Senior seating area. See graphic.
  • Bicycle valet – there is complimentary bicycle valet provided by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. The bicycle valet is stationed on the East side of the meadow and can hold up to 300 bicycles. It is available to all attendees free of charge, from 9:30am – 5:30pm.
  • Muni – the standard day-of Muni lines will be available (5, 7, 21, 33, N).
  • GG Park Free Shuttle – there is a free and accessible shuttle service within GG Park. Guests are encouraged to get off at the Tennis Center/Dahlia Dell stop to get to Robin Williams Meadow.
  • Rideshare – Uber/Lyft and other ridesharing options are highly encouraged.
• Accessibility

  ADA Parking and Drop-Off– there is a designated ADA parking area and drop-off location on Bowling Green Drive near a path that leads directly to the meadow and ADA & Senior seating area. See graphic.

  ADA & Senior Seating Area – please note that ADA & Senior seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis.

  ASL Interpretation – American Sign Language interpretation will be available at the stage.

  ADA Restrooms – a minimum of one ADA accessible restroom will be available at every restroom station.

  Service Animals – service and support animals are always welcome. Please note music will be amplified and some areas of the event will be congested.

  On-Site Support – if you have questions about accessibility during the event, please visit the SF Opera Marketing Tent (see graphic). There will also be a First Aid tent on site.