San Francisco Opera: John Del Bono on Three Decades of Bringing Grand Opera to Life

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San Francisco Opera's production of Wagner's Ring Cycle plays at the War Memorial Opera House.

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San Francisco Opera has released a video featuring Scene Shop Foreperson John Del Bono, who reflects on his nearly 30-year career with the company and how donor support makes grand opera possible on the West Coast.

Del Bono, who joined San Francisco Opera in 1999, spent his first 16 years on the properties crew before transitioning to the scene shop, where he and a team of carpenters, welders, scenic artists, and artisans build and repair scenery for new and returning productions. In the video, he speaks to the old school stagecraft traditions that define the shop's work and the enormous scale required to bring grand opera to life on the company's stage.

Looking ahead to the Ring Cycle, Del Bono speaks to the sheer vastness of the set and what audiences can expect. He also reflects on the collaborative spirit at the heart of San Francisco Opera, where singers, musicians, stagehands, and stage management come together to create productions that, as he notes, don't happen anywhere else west of the Mississippi, made possible by the generosity of the company's patrons and donors.

For tickets and information, visit sfopera.com or call the box office at 415-864-3330.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/Video-San-Francisco-Opera-Scene-Shop-Foreperson-John-Del-Bono-on-30-Years-of-Bringing-Grand-Opera-to-Life-20260513)._