David Bennett News

Beloved classics, a new mariachi opera, and special one-night-only concerts with world-renown artists make up San Diego Opera's 2023-2024 season.

San Diego Opera has announced that Llewellyn Crain has been appointed to the position of Chief Development Officer after an extensive search. Crain will lead the Company's development department; raising funds through major gifts, membership, planned and annual giving, corporate and foundation support, as well as special events.

Recently retired Nicolas Reveles was the face of San Diego Opera for 40 years, known to most opera-goers primarily because of his informative and entertaining pre-performance talks. I suspect few in the audience knew he was also an opera composer, a choir director and a piano prodigy. In an hour discussion via Zoom, we spoke about his background and how he came to write GHOSTS, a three-act opera that the San Diego Opera will premiere in March. GHOSTS echoes a scene from SEXTET, an earlier work he’d written on commission for San Diego’s Diversionary Theatre. The scene reflected his love for the horror genre.

San Diego Opera has announced that Melody Moore has been appointed to the position of Artistic Administrator after a national search. The Artistic Administrator serves as an advisor to the General Director, bringing their knowledge of technique and repertoire to assist the General Director in casting decisions.

What did our critic think of SAN DIEGO OPERA'S WORLD PREMIERE OF THE LAST DREAM OF FRIDA AND DIEGO at San Diego Civic Theater? ​ ​The San Diego Opera, reveling in modern phantasies, has followed its successful production of Aging Magician with El último sueño de Frida y Diego (The Last Dream of Frida and Diego). The former featured a mysterious chorus commenting cryptically on the Guadalupe Paz everyday actions of its maybe dying main character who, maybe while dying, ascends to join the chorus in a brilliantly staged finale. The more recent production is less ambiguous, but even more phantasmagoric. Semi-reality shares the stage with an underworld of the dead as Frida (mezzo-soprano Guadalupe Paz) decides whether to accept a one-day pass back to life, and Diego (baritone Alfredo Daza) laments his lost love. ​

 San Diego Opera and La Jolla Music Society have announced the co-presentation of mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard and guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas in concert on Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 7:30 PM at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center...

The season opens with the world premiere of El ultimó sueño de Frida y Diego, the Company debut of Puccini's Suor Angelica, the return of Gianni Schicchi after a fifty-two-year absence, and performances of the beloved warhorse Tosca. The dētour Series consists of the world premiere of three one-act operas by composer Nicolas Reveles for an evening entitled Ghosts, and The Falling and the Rising, an opera co-commissioned with the United States Army. 

San Diego Opera has announced that Matthew E. Graber has been appointed to the position of Chief Marketing Officer after a national search, replacing the previous CMO who retired in 2021.

Conductor Yves Abel arrived in San Diego from Europe a few days ago to begin rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet by French composer Charles Gounod. The Maestro does get around a lot, even for an internationally in-demand musician. His wife and boys five and eight sometimes travel with him when he conducts but remain at home in Italy this time. Perhaps Abel’s wanderlust began in childhood. His family immigrated from France to French-speaking Quebec when he was young. His father couldn’t find work there, so it was off to English-speaking Toronto where he spent most of his formative years. Next stop New York City for study at the Mannes School of Music, and after New York frequent work in Italy, then Germany. Abel’s travel has resulted in fluency in French, English, Italian and German.

Award-winning playwright-performer and indie theatre darling Melody Bates joins a powerhouse international company of artists to present A PLAY FOR VOICES as part of the 2022 FRIGID Festival.

FRIGID New York will present the 16th Annual FRIGID Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A), February 16-March 6, 2022. 

FRIGID New York will present the 16th Annual FRIGID Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A), February 16-March 6, 2022. Performances will also be available to livestream from home.

It seems variety is the spice of classical music and opera in San Diego. The city’s symphony orchestra plans to appear in a dozen or more venues next year, and the opera company has used a different venue for each of its three recent recital concerts. The latest of these featured Mexican-born tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz, and the operatic tenor’s program choices continued the varietal spice. The first half began with five Italian canciones followed by four Spanish zarzuelas and concluded with two Puccini arias. But many in the audience were waiting for the all-mariachi second half. Their reward was 11 Mexican-Spanish favorites sung in front of the 10-piece Mariachi Continental de México led by musical director Silvano Chavez.

Howard University and Netflix today have announced a $5.4 million endowed scholarship to honor alumnus Chadwick A. Boseman, the esteemed actor, director, writer and producer. The Chadwick A. Boseman Memorial Scholarship will provide incoming students in the College of Fine Arts with a four-year scholarship to cover the full cost of University tuition. 

David Bennett is now six years into his job as general director of the San Diego Opera Association. When hired, he faced shaky finances, a loss of major donors, and huge turnover in the membership of the board of directors. The new board hired him with the understanding that downsizing and reinvention of the organization were his priorities. Then, after getting off to a surprisingly good start, Bennett had the forced restrictions of COVID-19 to contend with. Perhaps a biblical plague of locusts is next?

San Diego Opera has announced the winning proposals from the Company's second “Opera Hack,” a month-long online interdisciplinary event for music/theater and technology experts to explore how technology can be applied to the production, presentation, and consumption of opera.

Inspired by the success from their safe drive-in performances of La bohème in the Fall, which heralded the return of live, in-person, opera to San Diego County since the start of the pandemic, San Diego Opera has announced a Spring season of safe, socially-distanced, drive-in performances.

Honoring its namesake's legacy and passion for philanthropic giving, The Conrad Prebys Foundation is celebrating the selection of 121 grant projects, which will receive nearly $78 million in grant funding during its inaugural grant cycle.

Inspired by the success from their safe drive-in performances of La bohème in the Fall, which heralded the return of live, in-person, opera to San Diego County since the start of the pandemic, and provided over 300 jobs to many, San Diego Opera has announced a Spring season of safe, socially-distanced, drive-in performances.

San Diego Opera is excited to announce Opera Hack 2.0, an online interdisciplinary event for music/theater and technology experts to explore how technology can be applied to the production, presentation, and consumption of opera.