'Rush' tickets: some performances offer tickets starting at $30-35 for full-time students, seniors 65+, and military members.

200 tickets are available the day of the opera at the box office, starting at 10:00 am, cash only.

Standing room tickets (at the back of the orchestra section, or up in the nosebleed section) for $10.

But there's a trade-off: poor views or inconvenient purchasing methods. They may have tickets when the venue has sold out, as well as tickets that don't appear on the Opera's website. Tickets Sold Out? If the event is sold out, or you need two or more seats together and they aren't available, then check. You can also book by phone, or in person call the Box Office at 415 864-3330. To check out the current operas and book tickets, see SF Opera. I researched it for my own tickets, and I found the lowest prices on the SF Opera's own website.īuying tickets. Tip: Best place to get tickets for the opera? Directly from the opera. Most seats for the SF Opera, depending on the opera and the location, run between $75 and $370. tend to be expensive, unlike in Europe, where opera companies are subsidized to make attendance is more accessible. There are usually five operas performed, mostly traditional, but with one or two newer works. The San Francisco Opera's 'season' typically starts in early September and runs through early December.

The tradition of free summer concerts at Stern Grove continues to the present, and one of the summer choices is sometimes an opera.

Merola was the director for many years, and actually passed away in 1953, while conducting Madame Butterfly at a free concert in Stern Grove. La Boheme was the first opera performed in San Francisco by the young company, and performances were held in the Civic Auditorium until the current opera house was built in 1932. The San Francisco Opera company was officially founded by a conductor from Naples, Gaetano Merola, in 1923. Opera in San Francisco got its start during the Gold Rush of 1849, and by the early 1900's was staging operas in the Tivoli Opera House (now gone).

War memorial opera house seating view