Guest Posting: SDSU Opera Theater Presents 'A Grand Night!'

SDSU Opera Theatre Presents A Grand Night!, a Celebration of Opera, Operetta and the Golden Age of Musical Theatre

(San Diego, CA) – SDSU Opera Theatre presents A Grand Night!, a sparkling celebration of opera, operetta and the golden age of musical theatre on Fri. Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m., Sat. Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m., and Sun. Nov. 17 at 3:00 p.m. in Smith Recital Hall, Music Building, SDSU.  The program will feature selections from Cosi Fan tutte, The Bartered Bride, Die Fledermaus, Candide, Brigadoon and Anything Goes, to name a few. 

Tickets for A Grand Night! are $18 general admission and $12 for students and seniors (60+).  An optional $50 Grand Guest ticket for the Sat. Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m. performance includes a pre-performance champagne reception in the rose garden, a tantalizing silent auction, exclusive reserved seating and complimentary parking.  A portion of each Grand Guest ticket goes to support future SDSU Opera Theatre programming.

Tickets can be purchased through the online box office or at the box office window one hour before performance.  More information, a map and downloadable directions and parking options can be found on the SDSU School of Music and Dance website at musicdance.sdsu.edu. 

 

Photo: Ken Jacques

A Grand Night! is conceived by SDSU Faculty members Enrique Toral, Stage Director, and Michiko Lohorn, Music Director.

Enrique Toral has won acclaim across North America and Europe for the beauty and incisiveness of his singing and for his dynamic stage portrayals. He has appeared on Broadway and with the New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Cincinnati Opera, San Diego Opera, New Orleans Opera, Opera Carolina, New Jersey State Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Opera Tampa, Sarasota Opera, El Paso Opera and with the Music Festivals at Ravinia and Tanglewood. A passionate voice teacher, dramatic coach and stage director, Toral has served on the voice faculty at the SDSU School of Music and Dance since 2006 and served on voice faculty of the MFA program in the SDSU School of Theatre, Television and Film from 2008 to 2012.  As of fall of 2013 he is the new Stage Director for SDSU’s Opera Theatre.

Michiko Lohorn is an active San Diego musician trained as a pianist, vocal coach, choral conductor and musical director.  A graduate of San Diego State University, she works in the School of Music and Dance as musical director of the opera workshop and vocal coach.  Lohorn also serves as organist at First United Methodist Church of Chula Vista.  Her work experiences include elementary school choral instruction, San Diego Opera Education and Outreach, musical theatre productions, and many years of local coaching and performance.

SDSU Opera Theatre is a program of the SDSU School of Music and Dance and appears as part of the School’s 2013-14 season of performing arts offerings.  The SDSU School of Music and Dance presents over 200 concerts, recitals and dance performances each year, many with free or affordable admission. 

Still to come in the season is the brand new SDSU Showcase Concerts on Sat. Dec. 7, 2013 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Patrons will enjoy a music-festival style afternoon, filled with a captivating array of music and dance mini-concerts, interspersed by light bite receptions.  Patrons will self-select the mini concerts of their choice from a menu of delightful offerings including Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Dance, Jazz, Opera, Choir, and Mariachi and Band, then mingle with friends and other music lovers to savor a nibble during short interludes between concerts.  One-price tickets are $25 general admission, and $10 for children 12 and under. 

For up-to-the-minute news and information about all of the recitals and performances SDSU School of Music and Dance, visit the School’s calendar or connect on Facebook or Twitter.

The study of music was an early area of concentration at San Diego State University.  Among the first seven professors hired in 1898 when the university was chartered, was a music professor.  By 1907 the Department of Music at San Diego State University began conferring degrees, and a commitment to excellence in artistic innovation was dedicated.  This commitment fostered a long legacy of educational and musical leadership for the program.  Today it flourishes as the SDSU School of Music and Dance.  For more information visit musicdance.sdsu.edu.