Victor DeRenzi

The Sarasota Opera 2024 Winter Opera Festival is in its final weeks of performances. See who is performing and learn how to purchase tickets.

Sarasota Opera has announced its 2024-25 Opera Season. Learn more about the lineup here!

Sarasota Opera has been awarded a grant from the Jay K. Turner Fund of the Manatee Community Foundation to expand its education outreach activities through the Resident Artist program in Manatee County schools.

Sarasota Opera has received a $60,000 Arts Appreciation Grant made possible through the Wiliam S. and Jean W. Scott Endowed Fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

Sarasota Opera will host a Volunteer Fair at the Sarasota Opera House on Sunday, October 29 from 1 to 3 p.m. Those attending this event will be able to learn about a variety of behind-the-scenes, onstage and front-of-house volunteer opportunities, and see how they can be a part of this vital community. This event will also feature informative backstage tours of the historic Sarasota Opera House and a performance by Sarasota Opera Fall Resident Artists.

Sarasota Opera is holding an open call for supernumeraries for its 2024 Winter Opera Festival. Find out how you can be a part of the upcoming productions and showcase your talent on stage.

Sarasota Opera has announced the schedule for the DaCapo Society, a dynamic group of opera patrons between 21-40. Members of the DaCapo Society will have access to fun and exciting social events, discounted performances, and a fantastic community of like-minded individuals, while enhancing their enjoyment of Sarasota Opera performances.

Casting has been announced for the 2024 Winter Opera Festival.  Audiences can look forward to a thrilling season, which opens on February 17th, featuring Bizet’s Carmen, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Verdi’s Luisa Miller, and Haydn's Deceit Outwitted (L’infedeltà delusa). 

The Music of Giacomo Puccini will launch Sarasota Opera’s 2023-2024 mainstage season on November 10, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. and November 12, 2023 at 3 p.m. at the Sarasota Opera House.

Sarasota Opera has announced the lineup for the 2023 Summer Classic Movies at the Opera House. The Classic Movies at the Opera House series featuring many beloved movies will open on Friday, May 12th at 7:30 pm with 2001: A Space Odyssey. Throughout the summer and into the fall, featured movies will include films ranging from the 1930's to the 1990's. Tickets will be $12 and will go on sale starting on Wednesday, May 3. Additional movie titles are detailed below.  

Sarasota Opera has announced the 2023-2024 Opera Season today in a press conference on the main stage of the Sarasota Opera House. It will include four exciting opera productions, with one company premiere, a revival of a Sarasota Opera favorite, and two works that have not been given in more than a decade. There will also be a return of a favorite concert with orchestra and the industry-leading Sarasota Youth Opera production. 

Sarasota Opera is seeking several enthusiastic children to volunteer for a performance opportunity in Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini. The character of Madama Butterfly's son Dolore can be played by either a girl or boy and is a non-singing role. The age of Dolore calls for a three-year-old but should be played by an older child who is smaller in size: less than about 3 ½ - 4 feet tall. 

On January 12 from 6-7 pm, Sarasota Opera's Young Professionals Group, the DaCapo Society, will host a free Opera House tour.

On Saturday, January 28th, 2023 from 12:00-2:00 pm, Sarasota Opera House will be opening its doors to the community for performances, activities, backstage tours, and more.

The Sarasota Opera Guild will host its 38th Annual Poinsettia Luncheon to be held Wednesday, December 7, 2022 at Michael's on East, 1212 S. East Avenue, Sarasota, starting at 11:30am.

Sarasota Opera's Curtain Raiser Dinner will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of General Director Richard Russell on October 16, 2022.

As it moves into the final stretch of its 25th anniversary season, Schmidt Vocal Arts (SVA) is eagerly anticipating the final destination: from June 3–5, 2022, Sarasota Opera will host over 30 singers – the top three winners from each of 13 regional competitions and from an independent, virtual cohort are eligible – competing in the company's William E. Schmidt Opera Theatre for the first national award in the Schmidt Vocal Competition's history.

The 2022 Fall Season will feature Cimarosa's The Secret Marriage, along with a production of the Sarasota Youth Opera, Dean Burry's The Secret World of Og. Opening the 2023 Winter Opera Festival on February 18 will be Puccini's Madama Butterfly, followed by Mozart's Don Giovanni, Verdi's Ernani, and Massenet's Thérèse.

The Sarasota Opera House will be the scene of great celebration on the evening of Saturday, March 26, as the company pays tribute to Maestro DeRenzi’s 40th anniversary. Festivities will begin at 5 PM with a reception of passed hors d’oeuvres and libations under a spacious and elegant tent covering Pineapple Avenue.

General Director Richard Russell and Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi announced that Melissa Voigt has returned to Sarasota Opera as Senior Development Officer. Ms. Voigt first joined the company in 2000 as Individual Giving Officer and became Director of Development in 2002.