San Francisco Opera Appoints of Lisa Bullard Director of Marketing

San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock announced today the appointment of Lisa Bullard from The Philadelphia Orchestra as the Company's new director of marketing. Bullard will succeed Marcia Lazer, who retired in July after eleven years with the Company and a distinguished career in arts management, including tenures with the Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera and South Coast Repertory.

Shilvock said: "As San Francisco Opera extends the most profound gratitude to our retiring Director of Marketing, Marcia Lazer, who has done so much to invite the Bay Area community into the Opera House over the past 11 years, we announce today Marcia's successor, Lisa Bullard. Lisa impressed us all with her incisive thinking, her care for the total audience experience and her energetic belief in the power of opera to connect people. We're grateful to welcome her at a particularly dynamic time for the Bay Area as we look to build exciting bridges between opera and our community."

As director of marketing, Bullard will shape organization-wide initiatives that connect audiences to San Francisco Opera and continually diversify and strengthen interest in the art form. She will develop and direct marketing plans for subscription and single ticket sales, work directly with patrons to enhance customer experience, oversee marketing, box office and front of house personnel and collaborate with all departments within the Company. Her appointment is effective Monday, September 18, 2017.

Bullard brings to San Francisco Opera impressive leadership and marketing experience from her years with The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the nation's most prestigious symphonic organizations, which she joined in 2011. As the Orchestra's director of marketing, she built an impressive track record of achievements, including growing their subscriber base to more than 9,000 households and increasing ticket sales revenue by 44%. Last year, she led a multifaceted subscription and single ticket renewal and acquisition campaign that resulted in over 200,000 tickets sold.

Prior to her work in Philadelphia, Bullard was the marketing and public relations director of the Eugene Symphony and also served as music coordinator of the Willamette Valley Folk Festival at University of Oregon. She is a bassoonist and studied music performance at University of Oregon and University of Michigan.

"I am so honored to join San Francisco Opera," Bullard said, "and I couldn't be more excited to work alongside the staff, board of directors and artists as the director of marketing. I have a deep respect and appreciation for the incredible artistry and history of this storied institution and look forward to inspiring audiences to join us in the opera house for many years to come."

San Francisco Opera opens its 95th Season on Friday, September 8, with a gala performance of Puccini'sTurandot. The fall repertory also includes new productions of Strauss' Elektra and Massenet's Manon, a revival of Verdi's La Traviata and the world premiere of John Adams' Girls of the Golden West. The season continues in June 2018 with three complete cycles of Wagner's Ring. For more information about the 2017-18 Season, please visit sfopera.com.