Friday, September 8 saw the opening of San Francisco Opera's 84th Season...
...which is traditionally the Highest Holy Day of San Francisco's High Society.
This gala event was precipitated by a week's worth of labor..
...by a small army of workers assembling red carpets...
...and elaborate tents for a Gala Ball...
...complete with a sit-down dinner.
The most amusing lackeys were the parking valets...
...who were seen running at breakneck speed from various parking lots scattered thoughout the neighborhood back to their Van Ness perch.
There were the traditional anti-fur protestors, this time singling out Burberry for special scorn...
...although as usual, the society ladies ignored them...
...and wore what they pleased.
Over the years, raucous protests have taken place on Opening Night...
...both inside the opera house and outside...
...protesting everything from the Vietnam War...
...to the grotesque distribution of wealth in the world...
...to insufficient AIDS funding during the ACT UP days in the 1980s.
That was before the entire world seemed to have been taken over...
...by not so benevolent corporations.
Your opening night entries and photos are always great. I can't believe the candid images you are able to get. Although I guess the aristocrats are swarming everywhere so maybe it's not to difficult to catch some in your lens without them minding .
ReplyDeleteYou looked mahhvalous, btw... ;-)