Happy 2015!

I blinked and another year just sneaked by! And what an eventful year it was, too. After three years at the same pad my roommate and I are looking for a new abode to move into (the landlady is selling the building), hopefully still somewhere in the Uptown area.

Theo & Casey.

Ally.

I would be quite sad to say good bye to all the neighbors' cats that have adopted me, though. Casey and Theo are quite a double act, and Ally the alleycat has gotten used to following me home from her end of the alley and getting some tasty cat food after I had put the bike in.

Bobo watching Ally having her snack in the alley.

I'm afraid Bobo finally passed away this summer. She was 92 yrs old... and the alley hadn't been the same without her. Everyone still remember her (dirty) jokes, though... we couldn't help it. She told the same ones every time we ran into her!

I'm delighted that the San Diego Opera survived something of a death and transfiguration this year, of course, and the new opera season opens next week with Puccini's La Boheme! If you had never tried opera before, there isn't a more newbie-friendly opera than this most romantic piece that inspired Rent!

I also made a lot of amazing people on bicycle in 2014, many of whom had become good friends who somehow keep riding with me even after they had caught on to my weird tendency to stray up local (rather steep) hills... A few friends even steered me to cool unfamiliar patches of town and up some really gory roads that, before I started biking in 2012, I would have given me a heart attack just looking at them! Here's a bit of my 2014 year on the bike.


And to make it even sweeter, I can now say that I have finally had a year without a high speed downhill crash... Yey! I'm afraid a few of my friends had spent some time on the tarmac this year, though. Luckily everyone has recovered okay without lasting damage. Whew!

Thanks very much for stopping by. Here's my idea of a year end firework display...


Wishing everyone a healthy and very happy 2015!!

Guest Review: Vesselina Kasarova & Hansjörg Albrecht at Muziekgebouw (25 Nov 2014)

This review of Frau Kasarova's November 25th concert at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam is courtesy of Mr John Carnegie. Thanks, John!

VESSELINA KASAROVA + HANSJÖRG ALBRECHT

AT THE MUZIEKGEBOUW, AMSTERDAM

ON 25^TH NOVEMBER 2014

A couple of weeks previously, VK had made unscheduled appearances in Amsterdam substituting for Elina Garanca at the Concertgebouw. Now she was appearing in the city in her own right at the Concert Hall of the 21^st Century at the Muziekgebouw in recital with Hansjörg Albrecht at the piano.

I had not been in Amsterdam for nearly three decades. So I decided to take the opportunity of combining the invitation to run theatre workshops there with the chance to catch VK in concert. I had often experienced her performing live in operas but this was the first time I had ever encountered her in a recital with piano.

The Muziekgebouw is a modern wooden-slat-lined concert hall with moveable walls designed to vary the capacity of the audience and the size of the stage. Such is the popularity of VK in Amsterdam that the walls were out to their maximum width and there was a near-capacity audience.

A pre-concert recital with two young artists near the beginning of their careers (an admirable tradition over here) revealed that the hall’s acoustics favour the piano over the voice. Fortunately, when it came to the main concert, Herr Albrecht was such a sensitive collaborator than he managed to maintain a reasonable balance for much of the time without VK having to strain to be heard over him.

The programme was in two parts. The first half consisted of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder. It did not start well. VK was visibly nervous and inadequately warmed-up. In the first song, Der Engel, her increasing evident vocal problem of an obtrusive in breath was worse than I had ever heard it and consonants were swallowed. Things considerably improved from Stehe still! Onwards but there were still problems – such as the occasional misjudging of pianissimo as inaudibility (and I was sitting in the front row so it would have been worse for those behind me). Still, although this Wagner set represented VK at the least effective I have ever heard her live, it was still overall a passable performance.

After the interval, an under whelming opening Villanelle from Berlioz’ Les nuits d’été seemed to presage a return to the vocal problems of the beginning of the recital. However, from the beginning of Sur les lagunes (the third song of the cycle), as if by magic everything suddenly clicked into gear and VK was firing on all cylinders to produce a consumate performance that continued through to the end. The sense of mounting satisfaction in the audience was self-evident. At the end, they exploded into a frenzy of applause and, from most, a standing ovation. (Mind you, a week of theatre and concerts in Amsterdam had accustomed me to the sad fact that the Dutch have caught the American disease of the automatic and indiscriminate standing ovation. However, here at least, it seemed genuine.)

(Video is not from this performance)

VK rewarded the audience with two electrifying Handel encores: Ombra mai fu and Verdi Prati – both delivered for the first time in this recital without a score in front of her. Such direct and consummate communication topped an evening that had an unpromising start but ended up as a triumph.

Juliette Galstian: Artist Portrait

Well, well, my Christmas season sure started on a good note this year. Look what I've got in my stereo already!

That's right, Juliette Galstian has released a a solo recital CD! Many opera fans will have known Juliette Galstian as the dark-voiced title character of Gluck's Iphigenie in Tauride and as Susanna in Paisiello's Nina (that features Cecilia Bartoli) DVDs from Zurich Opera. She was also a convincing Rinaldo at the same house a few years ago before seemingly fell off the face of the earth, or at least from the operatic stages.

I was tempted to report her a missing person since it ought to be a crime for someone that talented to go into hiding at the prime of her career. As it turns out, though, she has been having some fun with a proper teaching job at the Conservatoire de Geneve... and recording a lovely disc in her spare time.

The disc contains 23 very diverse art songs in 7 different languages and styles ranging from Bellini to Strauss, Wolf, Tchaikovsky, Donaudy, Rubinstein, Gounod and even some intriguing Armenian folksong arranged by Vardapet. Heck, she even does a Britten in English!

Her voice has darkened some more (don't ask me how that was possible) with so rich a lower register now that I can't help wishing I could see her on stage as Carmen or even Marina in Boris Godunov... She goes so well singing the Russian songs!



Galstian is accompanied on the piano by Claude Lavoix, and it is a nice partnership of two very musical musicians. I'm afraid the beautiful booklet that comes with the disc doesn't have libretto, but her diction is clear enough to not need one if you understand Italian, French or English. CD is available for purchase through Galstian's website. A good Christmas present for your opera fan friends, if you ask me.

Just another viewing of Der Rosenkavalier with Kasarova

I'm over-indulging in the Zurich Der Rosenkavalier DVD again. :D You know how uncannily Vesselina Kasarova (Octavian) dominates the stage during opera performances? Have a look just at the final duet here (starting at around 5:06 in). She has the entire auditorium so naturally covered with eye contact without even breaking character... I mean, contrast this with the gorgeous Malin Hartelius (Sophie).



The latter is a most exquisite Sophie (so poised, so amazingly sung, so still, I can't love her enough), but she theatrically disenfranchises just about all the audience on the right side of the house since she only ever looks/faces the left side of the auditorium). VK, on the other hand, has the whole hall scanned by the end of the first section of final duet, and she even does a final sweep (08:30-40) before turning up-stage and walking off with Sophie. It's so cool how she does that without breaking character. Sophie may be oblivious to your presence, but Octavian knows you're there and he isn't just singing for Sophie, but for you also ... no matter where you are in the house!

What can I say? The gal is a genius! 

Christmas arrived early: Vienna State Opera is now live streaming!

December is still a week away but I'm getting so many goodies that the air is already smelling like Christmas! Here's a start, the Vienna State Opera is now in the video streaming business, offering opera and ballet performances in HD and sometimes even UHD.


There isn't a lot of videos on the Videotheque yet, but the selections are quite inviting (there's a Carmen with Nadia Krasteva and Anna Netrebko... and the Forza del Destino with Nina Stemme!). The live shows line up looks quite good especially for next February (Martina Serafin is doing Tosca, then the Edita Gruberova concert!!). They are letting you try it out for free when you register (use the VSO#4ONLINE promotional code). Don't know how long that's going to last, so you've better hurry, I gather.

The website: http://www.staatsoperlive.com/en/

Also... got a few new CDs for early Christmas. Too happy listening to review them yet (but will get to 'em in a bit).

La Belle Kasarova

Vesselina Kasarova, demonstrating how to sing a PG13 rated operetta with a full blown x-rated voice... This is from the 2nd act of Jacques Offenbach's La Belle Helene (The Beautiful Helen) from Zurich Opera.



Apologies for harbor blockage upon playing the clip, the lass does have a reputation for causing spontaneous ship launches!

Guest Announcement: San Diego Opera Tickets Now Selling!

San Diego Opera Single Tickets Are Now On Sale

 

Board President Carol Lazier Shares Update on Company

 

Genovese Vanderhoof & Associates Have Been Engaged to Secure Long-Term Artistic Leadership for the Company

 

San Diego, CA – San Diego Opera is delighted to announce single tickets are now on sale to all performances of the San Diego Opera 2014-2015 season including La bohème, Don Giovanni, Nixon in China, the new mariachi opera El Pasado Nunca se Termina (The Past is Never Finished), the Company’s 50^th Anniversary Celebration Concert at Copley Symphony Hall, and Stephanie Blythe and Craig Terry’s recital, We’ll Meet Again – The Songs of Kate Smith. Single tickets start at $30. A full listing of performances date and times can be found at the bottom of this release.

Here are some of the changes and accomplishments in only five months since the Board of Directors announced the continuation of San Diego Opera:

 

• An executive search committee has been formed to secure long-term artistic leadership for the Company. Arts consultants Genovese Vanderhoof & Associates have been engaged to lead the committee.  

 

• The Company has moved its administrative offices next door from its old location to the Center City Building at 233 A St., Suite 500. The reduction in office space from 15,000 square feet to just over 7,000 square feet results in an annual savings of $400,000. The Company was also able to open a store front box office at 237 A St. that is open for walk-ins from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM Monday through Friday.

 

• The newly reconstituted board of directors currently stands at 26 members. The board just completed a two-day board retreat that focused on issues of governance, board legacy, and future long-term planning.

 

• The current fundraising goal for the 2014-2015 season, which was $6.5 million of the Company’s approved $11 million budget, now stands at $1.2 million needed to be raised by June 30, 2015 with $5.3 million already raised.

 

• Subscription sales continue to trend upward with 89% of all households renewing. The Company has also seen a 377% increase in new subscribers and a 286% increase in lapsed subscribers (former subscribers that did not attend the 2014 season).

 

• The Company opened the season last month with a sold-out recital presented by Stephen Costello and Ailyn Pérez at the Balboa Theatre.

 

• The Company continues to explore new venues and partnerships, with performances at The Balboa Theatre and Copley Symphony Hall.

 

• San Diego Opera’s Education department has announced Opera Exposed a new touring ensemble comprised of the top vocal students from the Company’s University Partnership Program (USD, SDSU, and Point Loma Nazarene University) that will present free concerts around the community, as well as provide the students with professional training.

 

• The Company’s Education department has developed an in-classroom residency based on the Common Core State Standards. It involves visits to the classroom by singers, designers, costumers, wig & make-up specialists and technical theatre artisans who will give students a close-up view of opera from the inside. The number of school residencies for the 2014-2015 have more than doubled from previous seasons.

 

• Students attending the Student Night at the Opera final dress rehearsal can now watch the entire performance. Previously they were required to leave at the first intermission. San Diego Opera will continue to pay for transportation to these performances. Included in this year’s lineup, in addition to La bohème, Don Giovanni and Nixon in China, is the mariachi opera El Pasado Nunca se Termina.

 

• The Company has hired John Gabriel as the Director of School Programs to oversee and further develop the Company’s education efforts.

 

• The Company has planned and casted the 2016 season and is currently finalizing repertory and contracts for the 2017 season.

 

“San Diego Opera’s 50^h Anniversary Season is off to a tremendous start!  Our new direction of programming innovative as well as traditional works, and presenting exciting exceptional performances accessible to diverse audiences, is our future,” shares San Diego Opera Board President, Carol Lazier.

 

Purchasing Tickets

Single tickets for all operas are on sale. Single ticket prices start at $30 and can be purchased by calling (619) 533-7000 or online at www.sdopera.com.

 

Subscriptions range from $105 for a three-opera series to $1405 for a full season package (Orchestra level subscription and the 50^th Gala Anniversary Concert at the Jacobs Music Center - Copley Symphony Hall, the two recitals, and the mariachi opera). Some Saturday and Sunday subscriptions are slightly higher. Subscriptions can be purchased by calling (619) 533-7000 or online at www.sdopera.com.

 

The 2014-2015 International Season

Stephen Costello and Ailyn Pérez in recital                                      September 5, 2014

Stephanie Blythe and Craig Terry: The songs of Kate Smith            December 11, 2014

La bohème                                           Giacomo Puccini                  January 24, 27, 29 and Feb. 1(mat), 2015

Don Giovanni                                      Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  February 14, 17, 20 and 22 (mat), 2015

Nixon in China                                    John Adams                          March 14, 17, 20 and 22 (mat), 2015

50^th Anniversary Celebration Concert                                              April 18 and 19, 2015

El Pasado Nunca se Termina               José “Pepe” Martinez            April 25 at 2 pm and 7 pm, 2015                       

 

General Information

San Diego Opera announced its 2014-2015 season and 50th Anniversary on May 19, 2014, after nearly two months of careful deliberations and analysis since the Company announced it was going to close at the end of the 2014 season.  During this time, the Company launched a crowd funding campaign that resulted in an unprecedented $2.2 million in public donations, of which 48% were first time donors from 6 countries and 36 States. The outpouring of public support, the unified vision expressed by the company’s management, staff, partners and contractors, and the expert advice of Opera America and the many General Directors of U.S. opera companies who weighed in with encouragement, logistical assistance and statements of solidarity, led the Board of Directors, headed by Carol Lazier, to confidently rescind the original vote to close.  The Company appointed former Lyric Opera of Chicago General Director, William Mason, as Artistic Advisor in May and has begun a search for permanent leadership to lead the Company as it reinvents itself to better serve the diverse San Diego community.

 

www.sdopera.com

George H Jackson wins this year's Robert J Harth Conducting Prize at Aspen Music Festival

Good news! George Henry Jackson, the young British conductor I had the honor of interviewing last year, had just won the 2014 Robert J Harth Conducting Prize at the Aspen Music festival. Congratulations, maestro!

(Here he is, conducting Mahler's 5th Symphony)

I'm afraid I didn't make it to the festival this year, but I'm elated to have a second chance when he comes back to the USA next summer. Yey!

Summer days and Sergei Rachmaninov

The summer heatwave had surprisingly (to me, at least) turned humid and quite a bit less heatwavy than expected, much to my heat-wimp delight.

A cool batch of jellyfish clouds out near Mt Helix a couple of days ago.

Somehow the weather and the varieties of clouds (yes, we have some serious clouds this summer! Not quite like the old cloudless brilliant blue summer sky of old) had been putting me in the mood for the music of Sergei Rachmaninov when I should have been listening to the new CD by Anna Bonitatibus that arrived in the mail a week ago. I think I'm saving her for when the dry weather returns later this week.

Anyhow, I started with Rach's two famous piano concertos, of course. There are so many wonderful performances of them on Youtube, though running into a series of orchestra-free version of them by Valentina Lisitsa was a special treat. It's obvious why the music is better with the piano and the orchestra (the two are always complimenting and communicating with each other, so just hearing one is like listening to someone talking to someone else on the phone... You feel excluded and it's hard to get the whole picture of what's being said), but at the same time getting to hear all the millions of notes (because Rachmaninov never wrote just a handful of notes when he could fit in a a whole keg of them) the piano plays - which you wouldn't be able to hear in the presence of the orchestra - really highlight how difficult a piece of music the concerto is for the pianist to play!



After a while I moved on to Rachmaninoff's many wonderful songs... The first, Spring Waters, being a personal favorite. Alas, that thing is really hard to sing and I had to go through many Youtube clips before finally finding one that does him justice. It was no surprise that it was performed by a really amazing singer (because, really, you'd have to be bloody out-of-this-world brilliant to be so enthusiastically endorsed by Astrid Varnay in her autobiography), Lithuania's Violeta Urmana.



What is more? Other clips of her from the same Rachmaninov songs recital were also uploaded and I got to discover a few more gems. Here is today's favorite earworm, 'It's So Nice Here.'



A Smorg can really laze around happily listening to that all day long (well, maybe not... with the current uptick in work load, but definitely in about a week or two!).

Summer evening on top of Mt Helix... Les Miserables!

A few fellow hills-crazy cycling friends and I have been riding up and down Mt Helix in La Mesa a lot lately. It is such a beautiful place with sleepy streets and friendly locals. I don't need a lot of incentive to head that way as soon as I hop on my bike in the morning. All I need is < 87F weather forecast, and I'm there!

 There is an additional incentive to dropping in on Mt Helix this week, though. The Christian Community Theater is putting on a run of Les Miserables at the Nature Theater.

Even if you don't like musicals, it's still a super cool place to be. Usually you are ushered off the mountain withing 1/2 hr after sunset, but during the shows, of course, you can stay longer. Check out http://christiancommunitytheater.com/ for tickets. The show goes on at 8 pm on July 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, Aug 1, 2.



I'm afraid there's no parking up at the theater for this (there's a lot, but it's way too small). You'll have to park off Vivera opposite from the fire station near the base of the hill and take the shuttle bus up.

Around Town: Nebo

I was messing about Nebo Hill in La Mesa the other day, rediscovering the area's hidden staircases when I spotted this...

'Beware: Pickpockets and Loose Women'

It lies! I swear I looked everywhere for the loose women. They were all in hiding or something!

Oh, I did find the staircases, too, of course.

Guest announcement: San Diego Opera & Dallas Opera Co-Producing Heggie's Great Scott

Below is a guest announcement from the San Diego Opera:

THE DALLAS OPERA AND SAN DIEGO OPERA

ARE VERY PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT

SAN DIEGO OPERA WILL

CO-PRODUCE GREAT SCOTT

~~~~

THE FIRST OPERA BY COMPOSER JAKE HEGGIE AND LIBRETTIST TERRENCE MCNALLY SINCE THEIR ACCLAIMED DEAD MAN WALKING (2000)

 

            SAN FRANCISCO, JUNE 20, 2014 – The Dallas Opera proudly welcomes a co-producer, San Diego Opera, to the first major project in fourteen years by critically acclaimed American composer Jake Heggie (Moby-Dick) and Tony Award-winning playwright and librettist Terrence McNally (Master Class). 

            GREAT SCOTT will star world-renowned mezzo-soprano, Joyce DiDonato in her eagerly anticipated Dallas Opera debut.  The world premiere performances in Dallas, with support from The Eugene McDermott Foundation, The Hoblitzelle Foundation and The Carol Franc Buck Foundation, will be staged by Broadway legend Jack O’Brien (former Artistic Director of San Diego’s Old Globe Theater) and conducted by one of the fastest-rising young artists at the podium today: Maestro Evan Rogister.

            GREAT SCOTT opens the Dallas Opera’s 2015-2016 Season with five performances scheduled from October 30, 2015 through November 15, 2015 in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.  Additional performances in San Diego will follow in the 2016-17 Season.

            Composer Jake Heggie shared the big news today in San Francisco at the Opening Session of OPERA America’s Opera Conference 2014.

            “I’m very honored and touched,” said Mr. Heggie, “to be a part of this magical, remarkable occasion.”  Word of San Diego Opera’s commitment to the piece was followed by the first public performance of an aria from GREAT SCOTT by acclaimed American lyric soprano Heidi Stober, a principal artist at Deutsche Oper Berlin and a sought-after guest artist in opera houses around the world.

            Previous co-commissions and co-productions by the two companies include the tremendously successful adaptation of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, brought to the opera stage in 2010 by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer and seen in Canada, San Francisco, Australia and, most recently, in Washington, D.C.; as well as an earlier world premiere production of Thérèse Raquin by composer Tobias Picker and Mr. Scheer.

 

            “For months now, the San Diego Opera saga has been the most closely watched story in the western opera world,” says Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny.  “It is incredibly gratifying to be able to welcome the company as a partner in this exhilarating project.  San Diego Opera’s involvement sends a powerful message to our industry—and the message is this: San Diego Opera is here to stay and planning for an exciting future!

            “We have tremendous confidence in the leadership exhibited by Carol Lazier and the San Diego Opera Board, as well as William Mason, the Company’s new artistic advisor, and we are certain that San Diego Opera will play a vital and productive role in bringing Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s original concept to life for the enjoyment of audiences everywhere.”

 

            “Jake Heggie is no stranger to San Diego Opera,” shares San Diego Opera Board President Carol Lazier. “After his wildly successful Moby-Dick in 2012, when we heard that Jake was working on a new opera we knew we had to be part of it. At its heart, Great Scott asks ‘What is worth fighting for?’ a question that resonates with us here in the San Diego community.

“This opera also gives us the opportunity to work again with The Dallas Opera, who have been champions for our continued survival since day one, offering advice and logistical support during these transitional times. They are a great partner to work with, having been co-producers on Moby-Dick, co-commissioners on Thérèse Raquin, and partners on productions of Madama Butterfly and Aida over the years. Our participation in Great Scott is a show of support for Jake and The Dallas Opera, a commitment to the future of great American opera, and a statement to let the world know that San Diego Opera is still here and we are not going anywhere.”

 

            “It is extremely gratifying to learn about this co-production of Jake and Terrence’s next opera,” wrote Marc A. Scorca, President and CEO of OPERA America.  “The collaboration of these artists promises to add another important work to the American opera repertoire.  It is equally exciting that The Dallas Opera and San Diego Opera will work together as co-producers of the piece, demonstrating that bold artistic plans that include new American operas can and should be part of a an opera company’s strategy for long-term success.”

 

            “What a triumph on every level,” said Jake Heggie.  “I couldn’t be more grateful to all parties involved.”

            “At the heart of GREAT SCOTT are big questions about artistic and personal sacrifice, picking our battles and the kind of cultural legacy we want to leave for the future, as well as our personal responsibility in that legacy.  How appropriate that the Dallas Opera and San Diego Opera—two companies that have recently triumphed over adversity—have now become two of the standard bearers in this challenging dialogue!  Loyal audiences, staffs and highly motivated leadership are embracing artistic collaborations to keep these companies vital—eyes on the horizon—as  they construct a future based on fresh ideas, new works and different perspectives.”

 

~~~~

Terrence McNally and Jake Heggie have set GREAT SCOTT in "an important American city" that boasts a respected but struggling opera company and a thriving football team.  Arden Scott, the hometown girl who has become an international opera star, has returned to her roots to help save the company.  She has chosen not a standard classic or a new work, but a long-lost bel canto opera she recently discovered: Vittorio Bazzetti's Rosa Dolorosa, Figlia di Pompeii, which has been gathering dust ever since its composition in 1835.

By chance, the opera company is set to give the world premiere the same night the local football team, the Grizzlies, will play in their first Super Bowl across town—an event that will be telecast to 100 million viewers.  The owner of the team is married to the opera company's founder, Winnie Flato.  Success on the field is no less important than Arden's and Maestro Bazzetti's in the opera house.  No wonder Arden finds herself is in a state of personal crisis over the career and life she has chosen as every conceivable disaster seems to await the company.

With a large cast and chorus, two mad scenes, an erupting volcano and a difficult unknown score, will mere human resources be equal to the opera's inhuman demands?  And a defeat at the Super Bowl could be end of Winnie's opera company as well.

 

Heggie also remarked, “What an incredibly fun challenge for a composer!  To create the sounds of an American opera company as they rehearse a never-heard Italian bel canto opera—and to throw in a fight song for the local football team, as well.  I think this is a story we can all relate to!”

~~~~

 

            Joyce DiDonato, “probably the most in-demand lyric coloratura mezzo in the world” (Opera News), will sing the title role of opera singer Arden Scott for the world premiere performances in Dallas.  Miss DiDonato triumphed in recent seasons in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Maria Stuarda, as well as in the Met’s 2011 world premiere of The Enchanted Island, prompting Anthony Tomassini of The New York Times to write, “She commanded the stage from her first showcase scene…singing with cool control, then bursting into fearless flights of passagework.” 

            Last spring, she dazzled audiences in London as Elena in La Donna del Lago at the Royal Opera House.  Michael Church of The Independent raved: “…words fail.  No other singer could match what this blonde bombshell from Kansas does, marrying coloratura with the serene liquidity of birdsong to an expressiveness of heart-stopping beauty.  Go, listen, and marvel.”

            Just weeks ago, Ms. Di Donato received an Honorary Doctorate from Juilliard where she also delivered the commencement address at the 109^th Commencement Ceremony.  Additionally, Ms. DiDonato was instrumental in the early stages of the “Save San Diego Opera” campaign, encouraging her fans through social media to support the Company’s fight for survival.

 

            For additional information or to arrange interviews, please contact San Diego Opera Director of Public Relations Edward Wilensky at 619-384-7636 or Dallas Opera Director of Media and Public Relations Suzanne Calvin at 817-995-1687 on site in San Francisco.

~~~~

About San Diego Opera:

San Diego Opera announced its 2015 season and 50^th Anniversary on May 19, 2014, after nearly two months of careful deliberations and analysis since the Company announced it was going to close at the end of the 2014 season.  During this time, the Company launched a crowd funding campaign that resulted in an unprecedented $2.2 million in public donations, of which 48% were first time donors from 6 countries and 36 States. The outpouring of public support, the unified vision expressed by the company’s management, staff, partners and contractors, and the expert advice of Opera America and the many General Directors of U.S. opera companies who weighed in with encouragement, logistical assistance and statements of solidarity, led the Board of Directors, headed by Carol Lazier, to confidently rescind the original vote to close.  The Company appointed former Lyric Opera of Chicago General Director, William Mason, as Artistic Advisor last month and has begun a search for permanent leadership to lead the Company as it reinvents itself to better serve the diverse San Diego community.

About the Dallas Opera:

 

More than half-a-century of artistic excellence, technical innovation and community engagement have enabled The Dallas Opera to make a major contribution to the international cultural reputation of Dallas and add significantly to the economic impact of the performing arts across North Texas.  The Dallas Opera has presented a host of international stars in their American debuts, including Dame Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé, Jon Vickers, and Plácido Domingo, as well as designer-director Franco Zeffirelli.  A champion of new work, The Dallas Opera has presented the American premieres of five operas and additional world premieres.  Most recently, the company commissioned composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer to create a tremendously successful new opera based on Herman Melville’s 19^th century novel “Moby-Dick,” as well as forthcoming new operas by British composer Joby Talbot (“Everest”), Heggie and Terrence McNally (“Great Scott”), and American composer Mark Adamo (“Young Santa Claus”), all slated to take centerstage in 2015.  The Dallas Opera has pioneered classical music simulcasts in North Texas at locations ranging from Klyde Warren Park to AT&T (formerly Cowboys) Stadium and continues to seek new ways to engage the entire community and bring the thrill of opera to people of all ages, educational levels and backgrounds.

 

~~~~

San Diego Opera 2014-2015 International Season Performance Schedule

Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello in Recital

Balboa Theatre

Friday                   September 5, 2014            7:00pm

Stephanie Blythe and Craig Terry Presents We’ll Meet Again: The Songs of Kate Smith

Balboa Theatre

Thursday             December 11, 2014           7:00pm

La bohème

Giacomo Puccini

San Diego Civic Theatre

Saturday                             January 24, 2015                              7:00pm

Tuesday                              January 27, 2015                              7:00pm

Thursday             January 29, 2015                              7:00pm

Sunday                 February 1, 2015                              2:00pm

 

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

San Diego Civic Theatre

Saturday                             February 14, 2015             7:00pm

Tuesday                             February 17, 2015              7:00pm

Friday                   February 20, 2015             7:00pm

Sunday                February 22, 2015              2:00pm

 

Nixon in China

John Adams

San Diego Civic Theatre

Saturday                             March 14, 2015                 7:00pm

Tuesday                              March 17, 2015                 7:00pm

Friday                   March 20, 2015                 7:00pm

Sunday                 March 22, 2015                 2:00pm

 

50^th Anniversary Gala Concert

Jacobs Music Center - Copley Symphony Hall

                              Saturday             April 18, 2015                  7:00pm

Sunday                 April 19, 2015                  2:00pm

 

El Pasado Nunca se Termina (The Past is Never Finished)

Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán / Leonard Foglia / José “Pepe” Martinez

San Diego Civic Theatre

Saturday                              April 25, 2015                 2:00pm

Saturday                               April 25, 2015                 7:00pm

 

Purchasing Tickets

Subscriptions range from $105 for a three-opera series to $1405 for a full season package (Orchestra level subscription and the 50^th Gala Anniversary Concert at the Jacobs Music Center - Copley Symphony Hall, the two recitals, and the mariachi opera). Some Saturday and Sunday subscriptions are slightly higher. Subscriptions can be purchased by calling (619) 533-7000 or online at www.sdopera.com.

 

For information about single tickets please visit www.sdopera.com. Single ticket prices will be announced in the winter.

 

 

www.sdopera.com