On Sept. 5, the San Francisco Opera’s “Tosca” run came to end with a big surprise during the curtain call.

During the final applause, Soloman Howard, who was singing the role of Angelotti went to the front of the stage and asked the audience to hold their applause. He then proposed to soprano Ailyn Pérez, kneeling down and stating, “In front of God, in front of my sisters and cousins, and most importantly in front of your Mom and Dad, I ask you: will you marry me?”

The audience applauded with emotion and Pérez leaped into Howard’s arms right away.

In an interview with the Chronicle following the performance, Howard noted, “I arranged for all our families to be here for this performance. I got her parents’ blessing.” Meanwhile, Pérez stated that she had no idea and that it was a welcome surprise.

Pérez and Howard have been dating since 2019 and spent the quarantine period together. The soprano made her role debut as “Tosca” at the San Francisco Opera during this run and is now set to return to her native Chicago for performances of “L’Elisir d’Amore.” Meanwhile, Howard will perform a production of “Fidelio” at the San Francisco Opera.