San Francisco Opera Guild Presents AN EVENING ON THE STAGE Honoring Carol And Dixon Doll

Now in its seventh year, the annual An Evening on the Stage gala dinner will honor philanthropists Carol and Dixon Doll on Wednesday, December 4, at 6 p.m.

The sold-out benefit - presented by San Francisco Opera Guild under President Mary Poland - offers 300 guests the opportunity to dine on the War Memorial Opera House stage, surrounded by set pieces from the Company's final mainstage production of 2019, composer Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.

Proceeds from the event benefit the San Francisco Opera Guild's award-winning education and community engagement programs, which reach over 64,000 students and families each year across Northern California.

Co-chaired by Romana Bracco and Farah Makras, two members of the Guild's board of directors, An Evening on the Stage includes a cocktail reception at 6 p.m. in the War Memorial Opera House lobby, followed by dinner, dancing and entertainment at 7 p.m. on the opera house stage.

Surprise musical appearances are scheduled, as well as dance music from The Dick Bright Orchestra, a San Francisco-based ensemble.

Event stylist and Opera Ball designer J. Riccardo Benavides reunites with San Francisco Opera Guild for this event, and the San Francisco-based McCalls Catering & Events also returns to provide a sumptuous dinner.

Attendees will traverse a bridge placed across the orchestra pit to enter the magical forest seen in Act II of Hansel of Gretel. The Witch's house and Hansel and Gretel's family home from Act I will be visible from the wings. The set was initially constructed at London's Royal Opera House, as part of a co-production with San Francisco Opera, and it reflects director Antony McDonald's range of artistic influences for the opera, including cinema icon Alfred Hitchcock and the original Grimm Brothers' fairy tales.

This year's honorees, Carol and Dixon Doll, are both deeply involved with the San Francisco Opera community. Carol, an active philanthropist and president of the Carol and Dixon Doll Family Foundation, has been involved with San Francisco Opera for over 30 years. She has served on San Francisco Opera Guild's board since 1994 and on the San Francisco Opera Association board of directors since 1997, including as a member of the Executive Committee and as co-chair of the Directors & Officers Committee.

Dixon, founder of the Silicon Valley firm DCM Ventures, is a member of the San Francisco Opera Association board of directors and its Investment Committee. Both he and Carol are deeply engaged in other arts and education organizations around the Bay Area.

Past Evening on the Stage honorees include Charlotte Mailliard Shultz; Diane B. Wilsey; Gordon Getty; Franklin P. (Pitch) and Cathie Johnson, Jr.; Dianne and Tad Taube; and John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn.

An Evening on the Stage is made possible through the generous support of presenting sponsor Neiman Marcus Union Square; official airline United Airlines; wine sponsor Castellucci Napa Valley; sparkling wine sponsor Roederer Estate; and media sponsors Haute Living San Francisco, Nob Hill Gazette, and Gentry Magazine.

The 2019 An Evening on the Stage gala dinner is sold-out. Tickets to this benefit were available for $1,250 at the patron level, $2,500 at the benefactor level, $5,000 at the grand benefactor level, and $8,000 at the 80th anniversary great benefactor level. A table of ten started at $12,500 for the patron level and $25,000 for the benefactor level. Please contact San Francisco Opera Guild at (415) 565-3204 or sfoguild@sfopera.com if you would like to be put on the wait list.

Proceeds from An Evening on the Stage support San Francisco Opera Guild's education and community programming, which reaches communities across Northern California. For more information about the San Francisco Opera Guild and its programming, please visit sfopera.com/Opera-Guild.

Carol, an active philanthropist, is president of the Carol and Dixon Doll Family Foundation.

She has been involved with the San Francisco Opera for more than thirty years and has served on the Association board of directors since 1997. Currently, Carol is on the Executive Committee and is Co-Chair of the Directors & Officers Committee. In addition, she is on the board of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Georgetown Northern California Advisory Board.

Carol is a founding member of the University of San Francisco's Women in Leadership & Philanthropy and a past chairman of the Northern California Arthritis Board. Carol received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her M.A. from Eastern Michigan University.

ABOUT DIXON DOLL

Known throughout the venture capital industry for his innovative vision and insight, Dixon is recognized as one of the pioneers of Venture Capital. He is a founding partner of Accel Partners and is the founder of DCM Ventures (Doll Capital Management), the first Silicon Valley venture firm to successfully invest in China, Japan and the U.S.

Dixon currently serves on the boards of the Papal Foundation (Rome), San Francisco Opera Association, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the University of San Francisco.

He also previously served on the SF Symphony Board. He currently chairs USF's Investment Committee and serves on the Investment Advisory Board for Amadeus Capital (UK). Dixon is also on the investment committees for the SF Opera, the Papal Foundation and the AAM.

He received his B.S. degree (cum laude) from Kansas State University plus M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering (EE) from the University of Michigan, where he was a National Science Foundation scholar.

Founded 80 years ago, in 1939, San Francisco Opera Guild has been a leader in promoting opera education across Northern California. Its mission - "to give voice to potential" - centers on educational and community engagement, as well as the development of a forward-thinking, philanthropic community committed to fostering the future of opera. San Francisco Opera Guild is responsible for some of the most prestigious events in the Bay Area social calendar, including the annual opening-night Opera Ball.

The Guild's education programs reach arts lovers of all ages, employing opera experts to share the beauty of this art form through the Opera Previews series, workshops and school outreach for children as young as kindergarten.

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