For millennia, the pharaoh Cleopatra has been stereotyped as a femme fatale, luring the men of Rome into sin, if not doom. Wilsey (who has been the opening weekend grand sponsor for 16 years), Maria Manetti Shrem, Mayor London Breed, Lt. 301 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102. San Francisco Opera known for commissioning numerous world premieres, training some of opera's greatest young artists and being one of the world’s leading opera companies. Guests included president of the San Francisco Opera Association Keith Geeslin and general director Matthew Shilvock, co-chairs Maryam Muduroglu and Jack Calhoun, Diane B. It’s been estimated that the ball raised almost $3 million to benefit a variety of artistic opera initiatives, as well as the Opera Guild education programs. The 2022–23 centenary season was ushered in this past weekend with the world premiere of John Adams’ A ntony and Cleopatra, a work commissioned expressly for the occasion. It wasn’t until 1932 that the existing opera house was completed and opened with a national news-making live broadcast of Tosca. Hume Music Director, the opera orchestra accompanied soprano Nadine Sierra, tenors Michael Fabiano and Pene Pati, and baritone Lucas Meachem in an operatic mash-up that included everything from La Bohème’s “Che gelida manina” and La Fille du Régiment’s “Ah, mes amis!” to “Tonight” from West Side Story and a rousing ensemble rendition of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”įounded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola, the company’s first season opened at the Exposition Auditorium with La Bohème and featured some of opera’s most notable stars, like baritone Alfredo Gandolfi, bass singer Adamo Didur, and tenor Giovanni Martinelli who all had long careers at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Hockney celebrates their brilliance, placing their words centre stage for this final scene in Bedlam.175. Conducted by Eun Sun Kim, the Caroline H. A pair of over-sized trees plumed with pink feathers flanked each side of the grand Charlotte Maillard Shultz staircase, and more divinely decorated dinner tables than the eye could see were at the ready for a fortifying pre-concert meal by McCalls Catering.Īfter dinner, a stream of black tuxedos and colorful ball gowns flowed lithely from one venue to the next for the nearly two-hour vocal extravaganza. One of only three American opera companies to reach the century mark, its much-anticipated Opera Ball: The Centennial Celebration welcomed patrons and aficionados for a 1920s themed soirée-complete with a flock of sequin-and-feather-clad flappers beckoning them into City Hall-designed by Blueprint Studios. On September 9, the San Francisco Opera celebrated its 100th anniversary with a cocktail reception and black-tie dinner at City Hall, followed by a 17-act performance at the War Memorial Opera House and post-performance party.

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