Opera Repertoire for 2026–27 SFO Season

I see that it is almost exactly a year ago that I ran an article announcing the repertoire for the 2025–26 season of the San Francisco Opera. During the fall of the coming season, there will be four opera productions, the annual Opera in the Park event, and a concert performed by the SFO Orchestra under the baton of Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim. For that concert, Kim has prepared a program of three compositions by Richard Strauss, beginning with one of his most familiar orchestral works, his Opus 28 tone poem, “Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks.” Equally familiar will be a suite of music from the opera Der Rosenkavalier, in a new arrangement for orchestra by Philippe Jordan and Tomáš Ille. Between these “bookends” soprano Adela Zaharia will be the solo vocalist in a performance of the six songs that Strauss collected for his Opus 68, sometimes known as the Brentano Lieder for the poems by Clemens Brentano. In “order of appearance,” the full-opera productions will be presented as follows:

Simon Boccanegra, Giuseppe Verdi: Once again, the season will begin with a Verdi opera conducted, as in past Verdi productions, by Kim. Katherine M. Carter will be the Revival Director for staging originally conceived by Claus Guth. As was the case last season, the title role will be sung by Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat.

Mary, Queen of Scots, Thea Musgrave: This will be a co-production with the English National Opera of a staging by Stewart Laing, who will be making his SFO debut. Conductor Clelia Cafiero will also be debuting. However, the title role will be taken by a soprano familiar to San Francisco, Heidi Stober.

Soprano Ellie Dehn in the title role of the “balloon scene” in Massenet’s opera Manon (photograph by Cory Weaver, courtesy of San Francisco Opera)

Manon, Jules Massenet: This will be a revival of the production shared with the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, which gave the premiere in Vilnius in September of 2015, and the Israeli Opera. Staging was conceived by Vincent Boussard, who will return as Director. Kim will conduct.

Le nozze di Figaro (the marriage of Figaro), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: This will be another revival, going back to the 2019–20 season when Michael Cavanagh staged productions of all three of the Mozart operas based on librettos by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Shawna Lucey will direct the production, and Sebastian Weigle will make his debut as conductor. Bass-baritone Peter Kellner will make his SFO debut in the title role.

Das Rheingold, Richard Wagner: As a “preview” for the complete production of Der Ring des Nibelungen (the ring of the Nibelung), which will be given three full cycles in June of 2028, May and June will see seven performances of the first opera in the cycle; and Kim will conduct the return of the staging directed by Francesca Zambello.

Tosca, Giacomo Puccini: This is the very first opera that Kim conducted after she was appointed Music Director. Shawna Lucey will return as Director. However, for this revival, the conductor will be Clelia Cafiero. Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen will be making her title role debut.

As is always the case, this site will do its best to provide further information as the opening dates of these productions draw nearer.