S.F. Opera at Stern Grove

For some it will be an opportunity to hear bass John Relyea, and soprano Patricia Racette, who is one of the artists who could capture my attention even if she was only singing the phone book. But the July 4 concert at Stern Grove with the San Francisco Opera will also present a program of American operatic classics, which are rare on the world's stages.

That means we could hear bits of Samuel Barber's Vanessa or Carlisle Floyd's Susannah. Racette has been involved in several premieres by American composers, and given SFO's strong relationships with composers John Adams and Jake Heggie, we can at least dream of an Independence Day that covers more than the usual suspects in American music.