In 1988, Lotfi Mansouri was named general director of San Francisco Opera.

In his 1982 autobiography, Lotfi Mansouri, An Operatic Life (Mosaic Press/Stoddart Publishing), he wrote: "Next to the Canadian Opera Company, I regard San Francisco Opera as my 'home' company. It is one of the best opera houses in the world. Of course, I am very prejudiced in San Francisco's favor because it played a very influential part in my operatic career right from the early days when I would super or usher whenever the company came to Los Angeles. In a sense, the San Francisco company gave me the first real exposure to the world of opera."