Tosca With a Side of Fries

Paul Kotapish on November 17, 2020
Moviegoers at Fort Mason Flix | Credit: Charlie Villyard/Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture

Pack up the pickup, grab some popcorn, and head on over to the drive-in screen at Fort Mason to catch Rodolfo and Mimi singing their hearts out in a film version of La bohème.

Hot on the heels of the sold-out screening of Lucia di Lammermoor in October, San Francisco Opera reprises movie night at Fort Mason Flix Drive-In with two of Giacomo Puccini’s most beloved operas: La bohème and Tosca.

Piotr Beczala as Rodolfo and Angela Gheorghiu as Mimì in Puccini's La bohème | Credit: Terrence McCarthy/San Francisco Opera

Nicola Luisotti conducts the SF Opera orchestra in La bohème, which features Piotr Beczala as Rodolfo and Angela Gheorghiu as Mimì. Showings are at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20 and Sunday, Nov. 22. More information here.

Adrianne Pieczonka in the title role of Puccini’s Tosca | Credit: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera
Tosca stars Adrianne Pieczonka in the title role with Carlo Ventre as Cavaradossi and Lado Ataneli as Scarpia under the baton of Bruno Campanella. The movie screens at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11 and 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12. More information here.

Both operas are each performed in Italian with English subtitles and last approximately two hours without intermission. The films will be projected on the 40-foot by 20-foot LED screen on the grounds of historic Fort Mason in the Marina District. The drive-in setup allows views across the Bay and there will be onsite concessions and Off the Grid food trucks for a range of meal and snack choices.

Worried about safety? Here’s what SF Opera has to say about that:

San Francisco Opera and Fort Mason are committed to a safe moviegoing experience for all drive-in attendees and staff. Beginning one hour prior to each screening, a maximum of 98 cars with prepurchased tickets will be admitted and spaced at six feet between vehicles with an 18-foot drive lane every two rows. Guests must remain in their cars during the opera and wear a mask when leaving to visit concessions or the restrooms inside the Fort Mason buildings.

Masks are required of all attendees over the age of 2 when outside of their vehicles (masks with exhalation valves are not allowed). Indoor restroom facilities are available and will be cleaned and sanitized regularly throughout the events. Socially distant spacing will be enforced for those waiting for concessions. Congregating outside of vehicles is not permitted.”

Attendees must purchase tickets ahead of time; tickets will not be sold at the drive-in. Tickets are $49 per car (plus a $5 handling fee) and are available online at sfopera.com/fortmason or by calling the San Francisco Opera Box Office at (415) 864-3330.

General Director Matthew Shilvock at SF Opera at Fort Mason Drive-In screening | Credit: Kristen Loken/San Francisco Opera

Streaming Continues

Can’t make it to Fort Mason? Enjoy great opera in your own home. SFO is still sharing wonderful performances from the archives each weekend in November as part of its Opera is ON series. Upcoming streams include Verdi’s Rigoletto (Nov. 21–22) and Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love (Nov. 28–29). For more information, visit sfopera.com.