Under a blue sky, with the enticing smell of food wafting over the noses of everyone in attendance, businessmen in suits stood side by side with bikers in leather jackets. In their differences and diversity, those who showed up to San Francisco’s Opera in the Park on Sunday, Sept. 11, showed the strength of the American spirit.

“People should unite on this day,” said San Francisco resident Michelle Karen, 42.

A crowd of roughly 11,000 people settled down in Sharon Meadow on Sept. 11 in Golden Gate Park to enjoy a day of opera and remember the firefighters, police officers, first responders, and others who gave their lives on 9/11 ten years ago.

The crowd was “the biggest” the festival had ever seen, said a police officer who declined to give her name. Mayor Ed Lee was in attendance, as well as San Francisco Chief of Police Greg Suhr and Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White, among other high-ranking officials.

David Gockley, general director of the San Francisco Opera, gave a stirring speech, honoring the men and women who died in New York as well as all of the county’s service people, saying that they “proceed to the front lines whenever they are called upon.”

Spectators then watched leaders of different religious communities from around San Francisco show their unity in “a procession of faiths.”

After standing silently while the Star Spangled Banner was played, the audience was treated to Mozart’s “Requiem in D minor,” as well as the Opera’s new production, “Heart of a Soldier,” about a man named Rick Rescorla who led 2,700 people to safety out of the World Trade Center before returning to the towers; he was never seen again.

Despite the massive crowd, the only noises heard were the sounds of the prayers and music.