If you ever wished to stand up and stretch, or God forbid, leave, in the middle of attending an opera, the SF Opera is there for you. They don't provide you with concerts you want to run away from, but with a bunch of casual opportunities to appreciate the lyrical arts al fresco. They have a concert in Stern Grove (July 30th), they have the annual Opera in the Park in Sharon Meadows in the Golden Gate Park (September 10th). But those are mid-day, bring-your-sun-screen, let's-see-nature, mix-and-match-your-arias performances. It's fun, but it is not a whole opera, where you can follow the story from beginning to tragic end.

Tomorrow, for the first opera of new director David Gockley's era, the SF Opera will experiment with a live broadcast of the performance playing inside the War Memorial Opera House, outside on the civic center plaza. It's free, so you better stop by, even if you are just curious about opera. They'll set up a big screen, big speakers, so you just bring a low chair and/or a blanket, some sustenance (there will some available for purchase as well), and enjoy Patricia Racette (reviewed in these pages here) as Madame Butterfly.

Performance starts at 8pm.

Photoshop montage by yours truly, with a picture of the Madame Butterfly production courtesy of SF Opera