San Francisco Opera to Bring Back ‘Bohème Out of the Box’ This Spring
By David Salazar(Photo: Kristen Loken/San Francisco Opera)
San Francisco Opera will bring back a free, stripped-down “La Bohème” to outdoor venues across the Bay Area in April.
The production, titled “Bohème Out of the Box” and running from April 11 through 26, 2026, showcases Puccini’s opera in a 60-minute version performed on a converted shipping-container stage with piano accompaniment. The casting draws entirely from San Francisco Opera’s Adler Fellowship program, with Alexa Frankian and Edward Graves heading the roster as Mimì and Rodolfo. Sofia Gotch sings Musetta, Gabriel Natal-Báez takes Marcello, and Eugene Brancoveanu covers the comic double bill of Benoit and Alcindoro. James McCarthy and Olivier Zerouali complete the cast as Colline and Schaunard. Pianists Ji Youn Lee and Brian Cho share keyboard duties. Jose Maria Condemi directs.
The opera is sung in Italian, with real-time English translations available via mobile device.
The “Bohème Out of the Box” program launched in 2023 as part of the company’s Centennial Season and has since visited more than a dozen Bay Area communities, including South San Francisco, Sausalito, and multiple Silicon Valley corporate campuses.
Free family workshops run 30 minutes before each performance, inviting young attendees to explore the opera’s story and characters ahead of the curtain.
The production takes the stage at Crane Cove Park in San Francisco (April 11 & 12), Christie Park in Emeryville (April 18), the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland (April 19), Filoli Historic House & Garden in Woodside (April 22), and Todos Santos Plaza in Concord (April 25 & 26).
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