The San Francisco Opera Guild launched its 80th season celebrations on May 16, with Marchesa, a fashion show featuring the Marchesa Fall 2019 collection, at Neiman Marcus Union Square. The company also announced the Opera Ball.

The Opera Ball, which is a prominent event for every new season will host “The Capulets’ Masked Ball. The ball will celebrate the opening of San Francisco Opera’s 97th Season on Sept. 6, 2019. This year the co-chairs for Opera Ball 2019 are Elizabeth Birka-White and Jane Mudge with honorary chairs being John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn and Diane B. Wilsey.

The Marchesa fashion show, presented by the Opera Guild and Neiman Marcus Union Square, featured a special appearance by Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, as well as co-chairs Francesca Amann, Maya Meux and Toni Wolfson and San Francisco Opera Guild President Mary Poland and her husband, Bill Poland.

“In 1939, San Francisco Opera Guild was formed by 12 women who, by raising the necessary funds to underwrite a student matinee performance of ‘Madama Butterfly,’ set into motion an organization committed to bringing the experience of opera to everyone. Today, the Guild is a diverse group of professionals driven by that same mission,” Mary Poland said in a press release. “Our education programs influence the lives of 50,000 Northern California children every year, and our events such as Marchesa, Opera Ball and An Evening on the Stage, which punctuate the musical and philanthropic seasons in San Francisco, support San Francisco Opera. This anniversary season we relish the opportunity to look back on past accomplishments, but we also view the Guild’s eight decades of doing this important work as a mandate to continue and expand our impact within the community.”

The San Francisco Opera opens on Sep. 6, 2019 with Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette starring Bryan Hymel, Nadine Sierra, and  Lucas Meachem.