San Francisco Opera Hosts First Pride Concert Highlighting LGBTQ Resilience

The San Francisco Opera hosted its inaugural Pride Concert at the historic War Memorial Opera House, marking a significant new level of celebration and inclusion coinciding with San Francisco Pride weekend. The immersive event featured soloists Jamie Barton, Brian Mulligan, and Nikola Printz, with performances of queer classics and works by LGBTQ+ composers including Leonard Bernstein, Jake Heggie, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, accompanied by visual projections of historic Pride images and animations. Hosted by drag celebrity Sapphira Cristál, the concert also included a post-show dance party with DJ Juanita More, creating a vibrant community experience. General Director Matthew Shilvock emphasized this concert as a bold spectacle of music and visuals that brings the Pride celebration directly into the opera house, reflecting themes of sorrow, resilience, and authenticity. Nikola Printz, a trans nonbinary performer, highlighted the importance of opera's diverse gender representations and expressed a desire for audiences to feel uplifted amid challenging times for the queer community. This event, supported by the San Francisco Opera’s artistic leadership, symbolizes a powerful tribute to LGBTQ+ history and artistry, amplifying queer voices on a prestigious stage.