Yuan Yuan Tan
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Gorretti Lo Lui
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Akiko Yamazaki & Jerry Yang
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Kate Shilvock
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Fang-Yi Sheu & Tim Yip
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Gorretti Lo Lui & Doreen Woo Ho
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Jamie Chen & Steve Chen
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Cori Bates
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Jamie Chen
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Sako Fisher & Denise Hale
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Tim Yip
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

David Henry Hwang & Stan Lai
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

David Oldroyd and Anita Westly
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Sako Fisher
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer

Photo Credit: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Photo Credit: Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Photo Credit: Tim Yip Studio for San Francisco Opera

Photo Credit: Tim Yip Studio for San Francisco Opera

Photo Credit: Tim Yip Studio for San Francisco Opera

Just one day after its season opening, 94th annual Opera Ball, the San Francisco Opera hosted yet another extravagant affair with the world-premiere of Dream of the Red Chamber at the War Memorial Opera House on Saturday, September 10. Based on the 18th-century Chinese novel by author Cao Xueqin, the opera—a co-production with the Hong Kong Arts Festival—drew luminaries from across the Bay, including Yahoo founder Jerry Yang and his wife, Akiko Yamazaki, social empress Denise Hale, newly appointed S.F. Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock and his legendary predecessor David Gockley, who co-chaired the event alongside Doreen Woo Ho, Timothy Kahn and Gorretti Lo Lui. The evening commenced with a cocktail reception and intimate seated dinner sponsored by Tiffany & Co. at the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera, which set the tone for the evening with Chinese-inspired decor and projected set design images on the walls. Attendees, including honorary co-chairs S.F. Mayor Edwin M. Lee and, his wife, Anita Lee, later made their way to the theater for the season’s inaugural performance, composed by Bright Sheng with a libretto by Sheng and David Henry Hwang. With the full 2016-2017 season ahead, the San Francisco Opera set the bar high with opulent costumes, intricate set designs by Academy Award-winning Tim Yip and an enchanting production, set to run through September 29.