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2014Sabrina Adler – The War Memorial Opera House
Sabrina Adler – The War Memorial Opera House
The next portrait from an ongoing personal project.
Native Sons and Daughters is a photo series that tells a story of the people that live in the city that they grew up in. Each subject chooses a portrait location that is meaningful to them in some way and represents their own connection to the city.
Sabrina, a 2nd generation San Franciscan (and 4th generation Bay Area native), chose the Opera House for a portrait. The War Memorial Opera House was completed in 1932. It was the first publicly funded opera house in the United States. Since it’s opening it has been the home of the San Francisco Opera. Along with Louise M. Davis Symphony Hall and Herbst Theatre it is a part of the San Francisco War Memorial And Performing Arts Center. Sabrina’s father, Kurt Herbert Adler, served as General Director for the San Francisco Opera from 1953 until 1981.
Special thanks to Jon Finck, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at SF Opera, for helping us gain access inside.
Neighborhood she grew up in: “Cow Hollow, then Marin (Ross), then back to Cow Hollow.”
Neighborhood she lives in now: “Duboce Triangle (but I’ve also lived in Noe Valley, the Mission, and the Castro).”
Schools attended: “Ross School (in Marin), Burke’s (for part of middle school), and University High School.”
Sabrina in front of her father’s bust.
I chose the opera house because it was such an important part of my childhood. I spent a lot of time there growing up. Even though my dad retired as General Director of SF Opera when I was a toddler, he continued to conduct and work on other projects there, so we would attend a lot of rehearsals and performances. I used to pretend that the lobby was my own personal palace when I was really young. When I got a bit older and joined the San Francisco Girls Chorus, I was fortunate enough to perform on stage in several operas (Wozzeck, Boris Godunov, La Boheme, and Macbeth). I always loved being backstage and spending time at rehearsals and in our dressing rooms. During high school, I worked for the Merola Program one summer, which brought me to the Opera House for various projects. Then, when I was in college, I spent a summer interning in the Artistic Administration department. Most of the time I was in the offices upstairs, but I also got the chance to sit through some tech rehearsals and watch other things happen behind the scenes. Now I’m usually at the Opera house during performances, as an audience member, or for dress rehearsals. But I still have so many fond memories of all my time spent there, in so many different capacities, that it seemed like a fitting place to take photos. It’s particularly meaningful to me given the connection with my dad and the role he played in civic life in San Francisco, mostly before I was born!
