Thousands of opera fans flocked to the San Francisco Opera’s annual Opera at the Ballpark last Sunday at the AT&T stadium, despite a rainy and overcast morning.
In its sixth year, the event offers the public an opportunity to view a live opera performance on a high definition screen free of charge, live from the War Memorial Opera House.
“It’s great to be back here,” said Andy Ball, CEO of Webcor Builders, a major sponsor of the event. “It’s a great opportunity for tons of people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to see this.”
This year’s production featured David Hockney’s version of Turandot, Giacomo Puccini’s last opera.
The story follows the tale of a princess whose cruelty masks her fear of love, and of a prince who succeeds in wooing the princess.
After a few technical difficulties, during which both audiences were much entertained by the comical antics of the Opera’s Music Director Nicola Luiscotti, the opera started without any more delay.
The event focused more on the family this year by hosting a new family activity area, where children could take part in arts and crafts based on props and costumes used in the opera, get their face painted with designs used for the actors, and listen to storytelling hosted by the Asian Art Museum.
“We started the family activities this year because it was a matinee showing,” explained Dolores DeStefano, Education Program Associate at the San Francisco Opera, who helped organize the family activities.
“It’s been going good so far, everyone’s been having a great time,” observed DeStefano.
The family activities might be offered again next year, depending on if the opera is a matinee showing again and if the stadium will be free.
Before the production and during the two intermissions, attendees were entertained by interviews of cast and production members, behind the scenes looks at the opera, advertisements, typical contests found at baseball games, and cartoons that entertained families.
Opera at the Ballpark began in 2006 under the San Francisco Opera’s General Director David Gockley as a way to bring the opera into the community and to wider audiences.
“Our experiences at AT&T Park have been magical in an ‘only in San Francisco’ sort of way,” wrote General Director David Gockley in a special note in the event’s program. “We are thrilled to continue the tradition of presenting this free gift to our community.”
Each year has showed an increase in the amount of attendees to the annual event, collectively revealing nearly 150,000 fans.
Opera at the Ballpark is a perfect event for college students who enjoy the opera but are unable to attend it, or for those who just want to learn more about the popular pastime.
