Love, Tragedy & Assasination at SF Opera’s Ball

The ball gowns swished and the high heels clacked through the vaulted ceilings of San Francisco’s City Hall, as the City’s Opera supporters dined and drank in preparation for our Opera’s 102nd opening Season.

On the bill was Giuseppe Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, and at the ball were San Francisco’s tuxedoed arts benefactors, influencers, and directors. I was perched in the corner, perhaps representing the proletariat, wearing a secondhand suit, scribbling notes on my phone, and drinking beer out of the can.

I was excited about the performance because Verdi’s Masked Ball was an opera I’d never heard or seen, and it’s from Verdi’s prolific “middle period” when he produced classics like Rigoletto, La Traviata, and Il Trovatore.

Verdi was inspired to write this production after the real-life assassination of the King of Sweden (Gustavus III) who was shot in the back at a masked ball in Stockholm’s Royal Opera House by one of his own military officers.

Although the actual assassination in Sweden was politically motivated, this is an Italian opera, so Verdi’s take on the drama is fueled more by a tumultuous love triangle, than by political infighting. But getting to attend a masked ball, before seeing a 19th-century performance of one, is wonderful way to start an evening and opera season.

As masked masqueraders nibbled hors d’oeuvre and glowed with anticipation, I got to chat with the Opera’s PR Director and operatic scholar Jeffery McMillan, who advised me to keep an ear out for the evening’s Baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat, and I’m glad I listened, his voice soars from the steppes of Mongolia by way of Italian opera houses, and his Renato was sublime, (but more on the performances later).

Inside the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, we took our seats and a video previewing future works like the upcoming The Handmaid’s Tale, Tristan and Isolde played, while Opera Board member and benefactor John A. Gunn spoke about the fabulous history and importance of our Opera.

Gunn explained that for the last 400 years, Opera has not been profitable, and that line stuck with me. Our Opera can only employ hundreds of world-class singers, musicians, designers, and choreographers because of the generosity of wealthy donors. Having a world-class opera in your city, is perhaps the definition of privilege, and has been well before old Gustavus was a patron.

Echoes of the SF Symphonies’ ongoing financial disaster and loss of talent came to mind and the more recent contract dispute between Opera’s own Orchestra was present. At one point before the curtain went up I heard someone yell towards the orchestra pit, “Give them a raise!”

The performance

The universally talented Michael Fabiano portrays Gustavus III, and the plot revolves around a love triangle between Amelia, performed by Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian, and General Renato, played by Enkhbat.

The set designs are typically wonderful at the SF Opera, none more dramatic than the fog-filled abandoned forest, or the spooky haunt of the fortune teller.

The highlight of the entire performance for me was the plucky pantomime and voice of soprano Mei Gui Zhang, who was delightful throughout, even her costume’s design was a pleasure to watch.

The Jewels

At intermission, we had the pleasure of chatting with the legendary Jewelry designer Masha Archer at the shop in the Opera House, she was accompanied by her statuesque daughter Larissa and both ladies were adorned with incredible jewelry. They even lent us a couple of impressive necklaces to wear during the performance, which added a fun, performative, feeling to the night.

The finale

The final act of Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera is mesmerizing, the great masked ball unfolds in wonderfully costumed blacks and whites. The ballet dancers were incredible, the chorus enchanting, and the whole drama comes to a glorious and tragic ending in a beautifully choreographed display.

Music Director Eun Sun Kim and the orchestra were lively and elegant, the cheers and applause from the patrons were exuberant. You can grab yourself a mask, and join the masquerade until September 27th.

Un Ballo in Maschera

Unmasked Love. Inescapable Fate.
September 6–27, 2024

Tickets start at $28 and can be found here