On July 5, head to AT&T Park for a free simulcast of the SF Opera's production of Verdi's La Traviata. We're no baseball analytics money ball experts, but signing up for free tickets seems the most efficient way to run the bases at the ballpark. The SF Opera Summer Season deserves a jumbo review with Showboat having its last performance on June 28, La Traviata welcoming a new cast for its last shows, and multi-talented Patricia Racette reprising the role of Madama Butterfly.

Showboat: SF Opera general director David Gockley feels the need to justify presenting Showboat on the War Memorial Opera House stage: "Because Broadway can no longer present these works on the scale their creators had in mind." On the back of our mind: How much longer can the opera present them at this scale? Witness the Met's employees contract negotiations right now, and Gockley's own worried words about the sustainability of the art form. Especially after watching a show of such dimensions—there are multiple choruses, two different dance groups, rich and impressive sets, splendid costumes for a gazillion people on stage—no expense was spared and you're in awe most of the evening.