Opera in Old San Francisco: A Brief Anecdotal History

Gold was the lure! Opera in the world's western hemisphere - whether sung in Italian, French, German, or English - began in the Spanish colonies of South and Central America. Years before operas were first staged in San Francisco, opera companies flourished in Lima, Santiago, Valparaiso, and Mexico City. Gold taken from the earth paid for opera houses and performers in the Spanish colonies - just as it would pay for them in San Francisco after the discovery of gold in California in 1848. An...