Pocket Opera

08/12/2026

The annual SFCV Audience Choice Award nominations are in, and we are proud to announce that we made the cut along with several of our sister companies. Ballot available via link in bio, or copy and paste below:

https://www.sfcv.org/articles/music-news/finalists-are-here-vote-now-sfcvs-2026-audience-choice-awards

Here are the relevant categories:

Favorite Opera Singer - Hannah Cho
Favorite Early Music/Baroque Ensemble - Ars Minerva
Favorite New Music Ensemble - Opera Parallele
Favorite Chamber Ensemble - Quinteto Latino
Favorite Conductor - David Drummond, Pocket Opera
Favorite Opera - Madame Butterfly, Pocket Opera
Favorite Small Venue - Gunn Theater, Legion of Honor
Favorite New Discovery - Mercury Theater

Be sure to cast your vote TODAY (from multiple browsers if you can), and encourage your family, friends, pets, and the cashier at Trader Joe’s to do the same! LET’S WIN THIS, POCKET PEOPLE!

Bay Area’s premiere chamber opera company since 1977
Discover the magic of opera in English!

07/30/2026

Congratulations to the cast, crew, and production staff of LA RONDINE! After three critically acclaimed performances, our brilliant, revolutionary production of Puccini’s quiet masterpiece - co-produced with Mercury Theater - closed to rapturous success and thunderous applause this past weekend at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.

Thank you to stage director Elly Lichenstein, maestro Mary Chun, and general director Nicolas Garcia for their fearless leadership, exquisite guidance, and glorious commitment to this art form.

Stay tuned for our 2026-27 season announcement. Thank you, beautiful Bay Area, for your support and patronage!

Michelle Allie Drever Max Ary Melissa Sondhi Michael Jesse Kuo Abby Bush Leandra Ramm Mercury Theater

07/24/2026

Tick tock, Bay Area! Don’t miss your LAST chance to see this sumptuous rendition of Puccini’s rare masterpiece, only at Pocket Opera. Ticket info available via link in bio!

07/24/2026

Interested in learning more about this Sunday's show? Pocket Opera's resident superfan, Tristan Andrew, gives another one of his special, in-depth looks at Puccini's hidden gem.

07/22/2026

𝐏𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧.

Auditions will be held Friday, August 14 (6-10pm) and Saturday, August 22 (12-4pm) at 469 Bryant Street in San Francisco. We are only seeking Bay Area based singers for these auditions. Pocket Opera does not provide housing or transportation, and we like to offer as much opportunity to local singers as possible.

Show #1 - Madame Butterfly - This is a reprise from last season and is already cast. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚
Show #2 - 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐨 - All roles currently available - Rehearsals Mid March to Mid April; Performances April 16, 18, 26
Show #3 - 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚/𝐆𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠- All roles currently available - Rehearsals early May to early June; Performances June 4, 6, 13
Show #4 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 - All roles currently available - This is a coproduction with Mercury Theater in Petaluma. They rehearse and perform in May/June; then Pocket Opera performances are July 9, 11, 18.

Pay ranges from $1200 total - $2500 total. There are 4 sponsored artist positions that may be paid more. These may be pulled from auditions, or may be additional talent sought out by Pocket Opera to fill gaps in the audition pool for specific roles.
Please email [email protected] to set up an audition time. We have limited slots for each voice type - sending a recent video of your singing can be helpful to ensure you get an audition slot. Each singer gets no more than 5 minutes of audition time, so plan you audition accordingly. Singing an aria in English is required, and singing from our season in our translation is ideal. We can send you a link to the scores. Please allow us a few days to compile answers before we respond.

07/19/2026

LA RONDINE is a hit! Read all about it in our incredible 5-star review from Eddie Reynolds. Don’t miss your chance to see this “gripping, gorgeous, and grand” production before it’s too late. Only two performances remain with LIMITED SEATING available: TODAY, July 19 at 1:30 PM (Berkeley Hillside Club) and Sunday, July 26 at 1:30 PM (Legion of Honor). We’ll see you at the theater!

https://theatreeddys.com/2026/07/la-rondine.html

With a cast of fabulous actors whose radiant, rich voices elicit our gasps of delight, moments of laughter, and expressions of tears, Pocket Opera in a co-production with Mercury Theatre presents a gripping, gorgeous, and grand "La Rondine" in a chamber setting intimate and immediate between perform...

07/18/2026

🎭 Instagram Takeover Announcement! 🎭

Join LA RONDINE cast member Michael Jesse Kuo tomorrow, July 19, as he takes over our Instagram for a behind-the-scenes look at the show!

Expect backstage fun, cast appearances, rehearsal-room antics, and a peek at what really happens when the curtain is down. 🕊️✨

Follow along all day and come fly with the cast of LA RONDINE!

07/17/2026

Meet the cast of LA RONDINE! Discover our lovely leading lady: dramatic coloratura soprano Michelle Allie Drever as Magda, the worldly but disillusioned courtesan and self-described lonely swallow destined to soar across the sea.

With her powerful voice and commanding stage presence, Michelle brings poignancy, passion, and vulnerability to one of Puccini’s most underestimated heroines.

See her before she flies away in LA RONDINE, opening July 17!

(Look out for her dog’s nose cameo in the video; he had the shocking AUDACITY to upstage our diva!)

07/15/2026

Meet the cast of LA RONDINE! Up next, make way for our dashing leading man and penultimate entry in this introductory series: Maxwell Ary as the kind, hopeful Ruggero. A tenor with piercingly crystalline vocal color, Max brings this obscure Puccini character to life not only with his singing, but also achingly powerful acting that both bemuses and breaks hearts. Will this potent combination be enough to lure Magda away from her empty life and fall in love at long last? See Max cast his spell as a masterful singing magician in LA RONDINE, opening July 17!