Photos: The Opera Ball to Benefit the Washington National Opera

The Washington National Opera hosted its annual ball on Friday, June 6, 2008, which in recent years has grown into one of Washington's most elite social events and this year attracted more than 500 opera fans, including cabinet secretaries, congressmen, senators, and government officials. Tickets, which started at $1,000 a person, included dinner at one of 22 embassies around the city—from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan—and then an elaborate ball at the French Ambassador's residence in the residence's fancifully decorated garden. Click below for our photo slideshow.