McNeal’s efforts to humanize the art form go far beyond the lip service that so many hidebound institutions pay to avoid criticism or cancellation. “That’s what we do so that people don’t think of the opera as being elitist or separate or esoteric,” he said. “On any given weekend, my staff and I are out in the community at events, whether there’s a street fair in the Tenderloin or a family event at Bayview Hunters Point,” said Charles Chip McNeal, the opera’s director of diversity, equity and community. That means structural changes that impact every decision the organization makes-from casting to production, hiring to events. Integral to the company’s push for new audiences in its second century is a full-throttled embrace of diversity. The centennial season includes eight mainstage operas, including two new works, as well as an array of free special events. San Francisco Opera turns 100 this year, and it’s using the opportunity to look forward, not back, through operatic scavenger hunts, performances inside shipping containers and memoir-writing workshops.
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