Vo l u m e I V • F a l l 2 0 1 2
Curtain S A N F R A NCIS C O O PERA
B E H I N D
T H E
A P u b l i c at i o n E x c l u s i v e ly f o r Sa n F r a n c i s c o Ope r a C o n t r i b u t o r s
Preserving the Future D r. E d w a r d P a u l B r a b y C o m m i t s t o t h e W i l s e y C e n t e r
F introduce you to the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera. I look forward to your feedback and participation.” – David Gockley General Director
Letter from David Gockley on page two
P h o t o b y D r e w A lt i z e r
“I am excited to
typal story that rings people’s bells.” or Dr. Edward Paul Braby, preserving opera Dr. Braby feels fortunate to have found music at as an art form is fundamental. “Opera keeps us all. Growing up in a household without music, he in touch with what makes us human,” he says. was first exposed to classical music as a teenager. A San Francisco Opera patron for 41 years, Dr. His sister’s boyfriend brought Braby can stir even the casual lisover a homemade hi-fi system tener with rousing stories about and played an LP of Van Cliperformances at the War Memoburn performing Tchaikovsky’s rial Opera House. For him, opera first piano concerto. Dr. Braby is about more than just the glitwas transfixed. “This was the ter of the divas or the gowns on beginning of my odyssey.” opening night. When he was 30, a friend con “As an art form, opera is so vinced him to attend his first complete,” he says. “It has everyopera, a San Francisco Opera thing: it tells a story, makes you production of Salome. He has cry, and makes you curious about been a loyal patron ever since, the past.” and a dedicated Wagnerite. A Dr. Braby has decided to make retired physician, Dr. Braby ena major financial commitment joys traveling to Europe to see to the Diane B. Wilsey Center for operas at some of the world’s Opera, the building and renovaDr. Edward Paul Braby finest houses. Still he believes tion project recently announced that San Francisco Opera reby San Francisco Opera. With “There’s no place in mains “one of the most innovaconstruction scheduled to start tive companies in the world.” in 2014, in conjunction with the the world with a “San Francisco is a great place seismic retrofit of the Veterans more interesting to live, and one thing we have Building next door, the Wilsey is a great opera history. Starting Center will consolidate the Opera’s opera heritage.” with the Italian-American comoperations into a single campus. It munity, and a can-do gold rush spirit, there’s no will also help the Opera more broadly perform its place in the world with a more interesting opera mission by creating new public spaces, including a heritage,” he says. small theater, education studio and public archive. Dr. Braby is especially committed to engaging The idea of a public archive to capture the history young people, and feels the new public archive at of San Francisco Opera excited Dr. Braby. “History is the Wilsey Center will serve a vital role. “If you important to me. To do something that lasts a long like opera and want to see it continue like it is time is so valuable. We need to know what others now, it’s a losing proposition unless you expose have gone through to get where we are,” he says. more people to it,” he says. “Our lives can be filled with discontinuity and For information about contributing to the dislocation,” he says. “The great thing about opera Wilsey Center project, contact Andrew Morgan is that you can walk away from a beautiful perforat (415) 565-3266 or amorgan@sfopera.com. mance with real insight. There is always an arche-