San Francisco Opera Opening Weekend

The Friday after Labor Day Weekend is the traditional opening of the San Fracisco Opera season...

...and also the opener for San Francisco's Society Season with its ceaseless rounds of charity fêtes.

The opener is a joyful affair with great people watching...

...and the opportunity to bump into old acquaintances like Cedric Westphal and Piper Kujac.

It's also a chance to gaze at outfits courting disaster...

...and completely triumphing.

Two days later, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the company puts on a free annual concert in Golden Gate Park with star vocalists singing arias, duets and ensembles.

Mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz was one of the afternoon's highlights, singing a faux bel canto aria by Jake Heggie with the full SF Opera Orchestra being conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim.

To add to the amusement, we were serendipitously sitting on a blanket next to Printz's mom, who joined us in screaming "Brava!"

Soprano Adela Zaharia, who sang Gilda in the opening night Rigoletto, was fabulous. For an uncharacteristically gushing review by Joshua Kosman of both Rigoletto and the park concert, click here for On a Pacific Aisle.

We eventually joined a picnic group organized by John Lin...

...and spent a happy afternoon with fellow opera addict James Parr.

Labor Day Protest March

A protest organized by federal workers in front of the fed building on Golden Gate Avenue was scheduled for Labor Day morning, and about 100 people showed up, including my favorite political blogger in San Francisco, Jan Adams.

A larger protest and march was scheduled for 11AM at the corner of 16th and Mission Streets.

Exiting BART, I ran into a huge crowd of SEIU workers in purple T-shirts...

...along with contingents from just about every leftist organization in town.

A flatbed truck pulled up to the curb of the intersection and a wonderful singer serenaded the crowd with a Spanish language song.

Unfortunately, the troubadour was succeeded by one strident speaker after another who loved the sound of their own voices.

Like other old veterans of protest marches, I moved away from the speakers and into the shade.

At about a quarter to 12, the protest march got underway...

...traveling up Mission to 18th Street...

...where everyone turned right and made their way to Dolores Park.

There were many sub-categories of horrified disgust towards the current United States regime, from supporters of transsexuals...

...to veterans' groups protesting their shameful treatment.

My favorite contingent was an excellent, improvisatory drum corps that helped to lead the parade.

The Trump Administration is following the Nazi Germany playbook almost exactly, and their ongoing fascist coup only gets more outrageously surreal with each day. Find a way to resist, even if it's just explaining what is going on to non-political friends. Every bit helps.

Dragon in the Park

I have never attended Burning Man and probably never will, but have enjoyed recycled art works from the annual festival in San Francisco, where they have appeared as temporary installations over the last two decades.

Last month a 100-foot-long sea serpent sculpture called Naga arrived in the city after its 2024 Burning Man debut.

The sculpture by metal artist Cjay Roughgarden and an army of volunteers was installed at Rainbow Falls Pond, whose fake waterfall into a green pond has been looking sort of sad for decades. All of a sudden, it feels magical.

Though it's only scheduled to stay there for a year, the hope is that Naga will become permanent in that perfect location if the public responds well.

I hope the piece remains there forever, blowing bubbles out of its nostrils and lighting up from within during the night.

ICE Vigil at 100 Montgomery

There are two sets of immigration courtrooms in San Francisco's Financial District, at 630 Sansome Street and at 100 Montgomery Street.

I had read there were day-long protests at the 100 Montgomery location every Friday so I checked them out at about three this afternoon.

There were about a dozen young people standing on the sidewalk wearing pandemic face masks and kaffiyehs on their heads to hide their identity somewhat, and when I asked to take a picture, they understandably said no.

The gentleman above was handing out tiny flyers that read: "Why Are We here? Since late May, ICE has arrested 60+ immigrants at the San Francisco Immigration Courts here and at 630 Sansome (source: Mission Local)...Initially there were 5-10 detentions here every Tuesday, but thanks to community resistance, there has not been another Tuesday detention since 7/8."

"ICE shifted focus to other days, so community has expanded our presence. RESISTANCE WORKS!" The new schedule is every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 8AM-4:30 PM at 100 Montgomery Street, just a block off of Market Street.

The signage in English reads: "Do you have a court hearing? We can accompany you. FREE!"

What has been happening to immigrants over the past year in the United States is unforgivable, our homespun version of Nazi fascism. It behooves all of us to put some sand in the gears of this atrocity in whatever way we can.