SF Opera Opening Night

This morning the steps of the War Memorial Opera House are decked out, & party tents fill Grove Street, in preparation for San Francisco Opera's opening night, featuring soprano Leah Crocetto & tenor Michael Fabiano in Verdi's Luisa Miller. I joined the line for standing room tickets around 8:30am, & there were only 3 people ahead of me. Heading the line was the Opera Tattler, who was surprised to be first. In past years she has arrived far earlier, only to find herself 2nd or 3rd, so there is definitely a shift occurring in standing room. When the box office opened at 10:00am, a dozen people were waiting.

The mood was enlivened by the Opera Tattler's young companion, who was not shy about testing all the building's doors & crawling around the other patrons. Though he had to wait with the rest of us, he disappointingly won't have the fun of attending the show. A friendly guy in line made a coffee run & brought back treats for his fellow standees.

When I got my ticket, I was instructed to enter on the courtyard side of the building tonight, instead of the usual Grove Street side. Immediately following tonight's performance, General Director David Gockley will award the SF Opera Medal to Francesca Zambello, the director of the production.

§ Luisa Miller
Giuseppe Verdi
San Francisco Opera
Fri 09/11/15 8:00pm
War Memorial Opera House