On Friday, June 26, 2026, the San Francisco Opera will celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community with the storied company’s second annual Pride Concert at the War Memorial Opera House. Ticketholders will also be able to interact with a Pride-themed altar of remembrance, listen to a pre-concert conversation with community partners, explore lobby exhibits, and keep the party going on the dance floor.
Sapphira Cristál, the classically trained opera singer, composer, and drag queen known for her theatrical lip syncs and six-octave range, will return as emcee for the evening. Conductor Robert Mollicone will lead the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and soloists Melody Moore, Nikola Printz, and Reginald Smith, Jr. in a concert blending opera, musical theater, and pop songs.
Cristál, runner-up and Miss Congeniality of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, is renowned as a charismatic emcee who forges a special connection with her audiences. A guest artist in Madonna’s Celebration Tour, she debuted her original operatic production, Soundcake, with Monét X Change and Thorgy Thor at Lincoln Center and brought her one-woman show, The Cristál Ball Tour, across North America.
Moore’s appearances with San Francisco Opera include the title role of Tosca, Susan Rescorla in the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’ Heart of a Soldier, Mimì in La Bohème, and Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites. Versatile artist and mezzo-soprano Printz recently portrayed Jade Boucher in San Francisco Opera’s 25th-anniversary production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking and originated the role of Billie Jean King in Laura Karpman’s Balls with Opera Parallèle and in their London debut at the Royal Festival Hall. Grammy and Emmy Award-winning baritone Smith, Jr., will be returning to San Francisco Opera following his 2017 debut as Count Monterone in Rigoletto.
The concert will also feature music by Michael Abels, Terence Blanchard, Brandi Carlile, Umberto Giordano, Charles Gounod, k.d. lang, Jacques Offenbach, Stephen Schwartz, Michael Tilson Thomas, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, and more.
Here is the schedule for the packed night of entertainment:
6:30 pm – Rainbows All Around Us outdoor, interactive community altar by the Marigold Project in front of the Opera House on the Van Ness Avenue steps;
7–8 pm – Pre-show Happy Hour with discounted food and drinks;
7:05 pm – Pre-concert talk featuring Rainbow Pride Flag project creators Servane Briand, Bridget McGraw, and Dominic Riley, moderated by lead artist Insiya Dhatt; Educational exhibit by the GLBT Historical Society; The Rainbow Pride Flag Project exhibit by Hand Bookbinders of California; AIDS Memorial Quilts display by the National AIDS Memorial;
8 pm – Concert hosted by Sapphira Cristál featuring soloists Melody Moore, Nikola Printz and Reginald Smith Jr. with Robert Mollicone conducting the San Francisco Opera Orchestra;
9:30–11 pm – Post-show dance party with DJ Juanita MORE!
For more information and tickets: https://www.sfopera.com/pride
Arts & Entertainment
Published on June 25, 2026
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