San Diego Opera Announces 2023-2024 Season

For the 2023-2024 season, San Diego Opera will present two performances of its Civic Theater operas, as the Company continues to rebuild its audience after a reduction in subscribers caused by the pandemic, not unlike other arts organizations around the country. Performances now open on a Friday with matinees continuing on Sunday. The consolidation of performances allows the Company to reduce expenses and create full houses for patrons and artists.

Tickets to performances will be limited, so patrons are encouraged to subscribe early. The new season format reiterates the Company's core value of fiscal responsibility and nimble adaptation to changing environments to ensure the future of San Diego Opera for our community.

“I am thrilled to announce our exciting new season, filled with world-class artists, beloved operatic classics and new discoveries,” shares San Diego Opera General Director, David Bennett. “We are carefully navigating the challenges all organizations face in the post-pandemic world, and this season will provide abundant opportunities for audiences to experience the potency of the human voice while we remain fiscally responsible for our community."

The season opens on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, with a special concert featuring soprano Latonia Moore and mezzo-soprano J'nai Bridges with the San Diego Symphony at The Balboa Theatre. Latonia made her Company debut as Aida in 2013 and returned again in 2016 to sing the title role of Madama Butterfly, alongside J'Nai Bridges, who made her house debut as Suzuki in those performances. Both singers have gone on to enjoy amazing careers with J'Nai being described as “plush-voiced” (The New York Times), and a “calmly commanding stage presence” (The New Yorker), while Latonia “stopped the show...from almost vibrato-less, celestial high stretches to chilling, chesty low phrases, all of which she sang grippingly” (The New York Times). They will sing a dual orchestral concert including duets from Madama Butterfly as well as other opera favorites and few surprises from these two generous and talented artists.

Customs and traditions of a festive holiday celebration will be on display when the season continues on Friday, December 1, 2023, at the San Diego Civic Theater with the mariachi opera El Milagro del Recuerdo (The Miracle of Remembering), a prequel to 2013's Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (To Cross the Face of the Moon). In a small town in Michoacán, Mexico, two women, Renata and Lupita, are raising their families while their husbands, Laurentino and Chucho, work as braceros in the United States. Laurentino manages to come home for Christmas, but his return enflames an ongoing argument with Renata about his long work trips. Will Laurentino's desire to support his family overshadow Renata's efforts to keep her family together in a rapidly changing world?  This new mariachi opera lovingly explores family traditions in the face of life-changing decisions. Sung in Spanish, this opera marks the welcome return of vocalist Vanessa Alonso who made her Company debut as Lupita in 2013's Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (To Cross the Face of the Moon) and Juana in 2015's El Pasado Nunca Se Termina (The Past is Never Finished), to once again explore the character of Lupita. She is joined by mezzo-soprano Claudia Chapa, who made her Company debut as La Badessa/Zita in 2022's The Puccini Duo, as Josefina; as Josefina; mezzo-soprano Guadalupe Paz, who created the world premiere role of Frida Kahlo in last season's El último sueño de Frida y Diego, as La Mujer; and baritone Héctor Vásquez, who made his Company debut as Capitán in 2018's Florencia en la Amazonas, as Aba. Mezzo-soprano Sishel Claverie makes a welcome debut as Renata. Stage Director Leonard Foglia (Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, El pasado nunca se termina, and Moby-Dick), returns to stage his libretto. The music is composed by Javier Martiez, son of Pepe Martinez who was the musical director of the mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, and the composer of the first two mariachi operas, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna and El Pasado Nunca se Termina. An additional performance will be held Sunday, December 3, 2023, at 2 PM.

The season continues on Friday, February 2, 2024 at the San Diego Civic Theater with Mozart's masterpiece Don Giovanni starring Germán Enrique Alcántara in his house debut as the titular villain. Considered by many to be the perfect opera, Mozart's Don Giovanni has some of the greatest music ever composed and this staging places the singers, chorus, and San Diego Symphony front and center for these performances. The singers will be costumed under stage lights, for a complete visual and auditory experience as the action onstage, supported by projections, paints a haunting portrait of temptation and its consequences. Pompous, lustful, and accustomed to getting away with anything and everything, Don Giovanni is the ultimate villain. As Giovanni stalks his latest conquest his past sins catch up to him from beyond the grave and he must face judgment for years of cruelty and lechery. These performances also feature tenor Alexander McKissick as Don Ottavio, baritone Ethan Vincent as Leporello, and soprano Ashley Fabian as Zerlina, all in Company debuts. They are joined by returning singers soprano Tasha Koontz, last heard in 2023's The Puccini Duo as Suor Genovieffe/Nella as Donna Anna, and mezzo-soprano Megan Moore, also last heard in The Puccini Duo as La Zelatrice/La Ciesca, as Donna Elvira. These performances are led by San Diego Opera's Principal Conductor Yves Abel, who was last heard locally on the podium leading performances of 2023's The Puccini Duo. An additional performance will be held Sunday, February 4, 2024, at 2 PM. These performances will be the sixth time Don Giovanni has been performed by the Company with other performances occurring in 2015, 2000, 1993, 1984, and 1977.

The season will continue on Friday, April 26, 2024, at the San Diego Civic Theater with Puccini's Madama Butterfly. These performances star Corrine Winters (last heard as Violetta in 2017's La traviata) and the Company debut of tenor Adam Smith as Pinkerton. Madama Butterfly is passionate, poignant, and haunting, and features some of the greatest musical moments from the composer's long career. It tells the tragic story of Cio-Cio San and her marriage to the American naval officer Pinkerton who treats their marriage as a distraction to tragic results. These performances also mark the centennial of the composer's death. Making important Company debuts for these performances is mezzo-soprano Stephanie Doche as Suzuki and baritone Kidon Choi as Sharpless. They are joined by returning tenor Joel Sorensen, last heard as Spoletta in 2023's Tosca, as Goro. Maestro Yves Abel once again returns to lead these performances with the San Diego Symphony in the pit. An additional performance will be held Sunday, April 28 at 2 PM. These performances will mark the tenth time Madama Butterfly has been performed by the Company with performances in 2016, 2009, 2003, 1998, 1993, 1989, 1982, 1978, and 1971.

The season will conclude on Saturday, June 8, 2024 at 7:30 PM at the Balboa Theater with a special one-night-only piano concert with tenor Joshua Guerrero and soprano Andrea Carroll. Joshua made his Company debut in One Amazing Night in 2019, and returned as Rodolfo in 2020'drive-in performance for La bohème. Of his concert with the Company, the San Diego Union-Tribune noted “Guerrero, an impressive tenor… has a rich, robust voice with a smooth passagio and easy access to his top notes.” Soprano Andrea Carroll made her debut as Musetta in 2020's drive-in La bohème. Of her appearance, San Diego Story said she “soared with a crystalline purity in the upper range that is not typically encountered.” Joshua and Andrea also united for San Diego Opera for a filmed version of Daniel Catan's La hija de Rappaccini that the Company is preparing to premiere. Expect a sneak peek of elements from this filmed opera, as well as opera favorites, zarzuelas, passionate duets, plenty of surprises, as well as the warmth and humor both of these singers exude from the stage.

Subscriptions to the full season start as low as $170 and all performances will have supertitles in both English and Spanish. With the consolidation of audiences into two performances, seating will be limited and patrons should renew now, and not risk a sold-out performance. Single tickets, if available, will go on sale this Fall. Casts, repertoire, and scheduling are subject to change.

Senior citizen, student, and military discounts (active and retired) are available on subscription packages. Please call San Diego Opera's Patron Services at (619) 533-7000 Monday- Friday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM for more information.

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