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Romeo and Juliet Returns to San Diego Opera

Tenor Stephen Costello makes Company debut alongside his real life wife Soprano Ailyn Pérez

San Diego, CA – San Diego Opera’s 45th International Season continues with Romeo and Juliet, the third opera of the season which opens on Saturday, March 13, 2010. A masterpiece of grand French opera, Romeo and Juliet has not been seen in San Diego since 1998 and is based on the Shakespeare play of the same name. With husband and wife duo Stephen Costello and Ailyn Pérez in the title role, audiences can expect a passionate and realistic portrayal of the famous star-crossed lovers. 

Romeo and Juliet features two notable debuts in the title roles. Winner of the 2009 Richard Tucker Award, American tenor Stephen Costello sings the role of Romeo opposite his wife, the American soprano Ailyn Peréz as Juliet. Also making a Company debut is American baritone David Adam Moore as Mercutio. Rounding out the cast is American tenor Joel Sorensen as Tybalt, American bass Kevin Langan as Friar Laurent, American bass-baritone Scott Sikon as Capulet, New Zealand mezzo soprano Sarah Castle as Stephano, American mezzo soprano Suzanna Guzmán as Gertrude, American tenor Jospeh Hu as Benvolio, American baritone Malcolm MacKenzie as Gregorio, American bass-baritone Phillip Skinner as Friar Jean and the Duke of Verona and American bass-baritone Paul Hindemith as Captain Paris. Bringing her mastery of the French repertoire to the podium is San Diego Opera resident conductor Karen Keltner. Stage Director Cynthia Stokes will make her Company debut with these productions. American choreographer Keturah Stickann will stage the dance and American Fight Director Dale Girard will stage the combat.

Romeo and Juliet was last performed by San Diego Opera in 1998. The sets and costumes are owned by the Utah Symphony and Opera. The sets were designed by Eric Fielding and the costumes were designed by Susan Memmot-Allred

Performed in French with English translations above the stage, Romeo and Juliet is a variation of Shakespeare’s tragedy about two star-crossed lovers. In this instantly familiar story, the Montague and Capulet families are at war. Romeo and his friends attend a masquerade ball at the Capulet’s house where he sees Juliet and falls in love. After serenading Juliet on her balcony, the two are married in secret by Friar Laurence. Romeo and Juliet hope their union will finally end the feud between the two families but Capulet’s nephew, Tybalt, kills Romeo’s friend, Mercutio and Romeo avenges his friend’s death which leads to his banishment from Verona. Juliet is told by Capulet that she must marry someone else. Friar Laurence gives Juliet a sleeping potion that mimics death which she takes. When news of Juliet’s death reaches Romeo he returns to Verona. Finding Juliet “dead” he takes poison but Juliet wakes to see Romeo dying beside her. After a final duet together Juliet stabs herself as Romeo dies, bringing an end to one of the most tragic love stories ever written. With an unforgettable story, four incredible love duets and the husband and wife team of Stephen Costello and Ailyn Perez, Romeo and Juliet will move audiences to tears. 

Pre-production photos can be found online at:
http://www.sdopera.com/Company/News/PressKits

Electronic Press Kits for this opera, including multimedia content can be found online at: http://www.sdopera.com/Company/News/PressKits

The Cast

Stephen Costello, Romeo
San Diego Opera debut. Winner of the 2009 Richard Tucker Award, American tenor Stephen Costello made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2007 as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor and was then invited to sing Edgardo that same season. He recently sang Cassio in Otello with the Salzburg Festival, Edgardo at Fort Worth Opera, Camille in The Merry Widow, Leicester in Mary, Queen of Scots (Maria Stuarda) and the title role of Roberto Devereux with The Dallas Opera, Christian in Cyrano and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and at Italy’s Spoletto Festival, Romeo with Baltimore Opera and The Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto at Deutsche Opera Berlin. He made his professional debut as Rodolfo in La bohème with Fort Worth Opera and his European debut as Nemorino in The Elixir of Love with Opéra National de Bordeaux. He was awarded a 2007 Career Grant for the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, as well as a 2006 Sara Tucker Study Grant. He won first prize in the 2006 George London Foundation for Singers Competition as well as First Prize and Audience Prize in the Giagiari Competition as well as First Prize in the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation Competition.

Ailyn Peréz, Juliet
San Diego Opera debut. American soprano Ailyn Peréz made her professional debut at Palm Beach Opera where she sang Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Sister Constance in Dialogues of the Carmelites. She recently performed Juliet with the Salzburg Festival, the Four Heroines in The Tales of Hoffmann with Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Michigan Opera Theatre, Boston Lyric Opera as well with the Salzburg Festival on a tour of Japan. Other notable performances include Violetta in La traviata with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Amor in the world premiere of Concierto para Mendez with Los Angeles Opera and Gilda in Rigoletto for Opera Carolina. She has also toured the United States and Mexico with Andrea Bocelli. Other roles in her repertoire include the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, Adina in The Elixir of Love, Suzel in L’amico Fritz, Mimì in La bohème and Anna in Le villi>. She was the 2007 winner of the Shoshana Foundation Career.

David Adam Moore, Mercutio
San Diego Opera debut. American baritone David Adam Moore recently performed Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Zurga in The Pearl Fishers, Scynthian and the Minister in Iphigénie en Tauride and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Seattle Opera, Maximilian in Candide, Demetrius in A Midsummer Nights Dream and Cascada in The Merry Widow for Teatro alla Scala, Marcello in La bohème for Pittsburgh Opera, Prior Walter in Angels in America with Fort Worth Opera, Antonio in Il vaggio a Reims with New Israeli Opera, the Count in The Marriage of Figaro with Opera Grand Rapids and joined the Honolulu Symphony for Carmina Burana. Other notable performances include the title role of Billy Budd, Mercutio, Littore in L’incoronazione di Poppea and Ned Keene in Peter Grimes for New Israeli Opera, Figaro in The Barber of Seville for Staatsoper Hannover as well as the title role of Don Giovanni, a role he also performed for the Kiel Oper. He has also performed Belcore in The Elixir of Love for Opera Pacific, Pilot in The Little Prince for Tulsa Opera, Laurent in Thérèse Raquin for Dicapo Opera, Jake Wallace in La fanciulla del West for Seattle Opera, Papageno in The Magic Flute with New York City Opera and Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia with Opera Festival of New Jersey, among many others.

Joel Sorensen, Tybalt
American tenor Joel Sorensen made his San Diego Opera debut as Curley in Of Mice and Men in 1999, returning as Camp Williams in Cold Sassy Tree in 2001, as Andres in Wozzeck in 2007 and as Rodriguez in Don Quixote in 2009. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2000 in Samson and Delilah, returning for Sly, Madama Butterfly, Der Rosenkavalier and War and Peace. With New York City Opera he has given more than 200 performances since his 1994 debut there as Monostatos in The Magic Flute, returning in Madama Butterfly, Falstaff, Turandot, The Marriage of Figaro, Prince Igor, La rondine, The Seven Deadly Sins and Margaret Garner, among others. He recently made his Los Angeles Opera debut in Tosca, performed King Herod in Salome with the Florentine Opera, Pedrillo in Entfuhrung aus dem Serail for Atlanta Opera, Mime in Siegfreid for Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, a role he also sang for his British debut at the Longborough Festival. Other companies with which he has sung include San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Portland Opera and Palm Beach Opera.

Kevin Langan, Friar Laurent
America bass Kevin Langan celebrates over 25 years of collaboration with San Diego Opera this season. He made his Company debut in 1983 as The Duke of Norfolk in Saint-Saëns opera Henry VIII, and has appeared since then as Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro in 1986 & 2007,  his career debut as Daland in The Flying Dutchman in 1987, Basilio in The Barber of Sevuille  in 1987 & 1993, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor in 1989, Colline in La bohème in 1990 (just prior to his debut in the same role with The Metropolitan Opera) and again in 2000, Alidoro in Cinderella  in 1996, Timur in Turandot in 1997, Sarastro in The Magic Flute in 2001, and Olivier in Tobis Picker’s opera Therese Raquin in 2003.He enjoys a long history with San Francisco Opera where he has appeared in 40 different productions beginning with Samson and Delilah. Other roles he has performed in San Francisco include Timur, Colline, Ramfis in Aida, Padre Guardiano in La forza del destino, Henry VII in Anna Bolena, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Sobakin in The Tsar’s Bride and Sarastro, a role he has also taken to Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg, Omaha, West Palm Beach, Washington DC and Santa Fe. He has appeared in thirteen different productions with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and in twenty different productions with Santa Fe Opera. He has extensive recording credits and appears on the DVD release of David Hockney’s Turandot, Aida with Luciano Pavarotti, Samson and Delilah with Plácido Domingo and Orlando Furioso with Marilyn Horne, among others.

Scott Sikon, Capulet
Since his San Diego Opera debut in 1991 as Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring, American bass-baritone Scott Sikon has sung more than twenty roles here including Schaunard in La bohème, Monterone in Rigoletto, Dikoi in Katya Kabanova, Steve Hubble in A Streetcar Named Desire, Montano in Otello, Morales in Carmen, Curio in Julius Caesar in Egypt, the Second Philistine in Samson and Delilah, the First Journeyman in Wozzeck, Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro, Reinmar von Zweter in Tannhäuser and Sacristan in Tosca, Count Monterone in Rigoletto, The Bonze in Madama Butterfly and earlier this season as Alcindoro/Benoit in La bohème. He has performed throughout the United States with Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, The Dallas Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Cincinnati Opera and Cleveland Opera. His European debut was at the Vienna Volksoper in the premiere of The Number 11 Bus. An active concert artist, Sikon has performed with the Spoleto Festival USA, the San Antonio Symphony and the Arkansas Symphony.

Joseph Hu, Benvolio
Taiwanese tenor Joseph Hu made his San Diego Opera debut as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor in 1995.  His many performances here include Goro in Madama Butterfly, Spoletta in Tosca, the Steersman in The Flying Dutchman, Roderigo in Otello, Pong in Turandot, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, Count Lerma in Don Carlo, the Messenger in Samson and Delilah, Ruiz and the Messenger in Il trovatore, Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro, Spoletta in Tosca, Borsa in Rigoletto and earlier this season as Abdallo in Nabucco.  Among other companies with which he has sung are The Dallas Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Kentucky Opera, Nashville Opera, Fort Worth Opera and Dayton Opera and his international debut at New Israeli Opera.

Sarah Castle, Stephano
New Zealand mezzo soprano Sarah Castle made her San Diego Opera debut as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro in 2007 and returned the following year to sing Lola in Cavalleria rusticana. She made her debut at the Staatsoper Stuttgart as Oberto in Alcina and as Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung.  With the Bayreuther Festspiele, she has sung Flosshilde in both Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung, as well as Grimgerde in Die Walküre.  For Royal Opera House Covent Garden, she has sung Siegrune in Die Walküre and Tisbe in Cinderella, and for New Zealand Opera, Cherubino and the title role in Carmen. Other appearances include Oberto in Alcina for San Francisco Opera, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with the Wexford Festival, Olga in Eugene Onegin at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels, Nero in The Coronation of Poppea for the New Israeli Opera, Andronico in Tamerlano with the Spoleto Festival and Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Opera Australia.  She recently sang Carmen for both Opernhaus, Zurich and New Zealand Opera and will cover the role of Carmen for the Metropolitan Opera.  

Suzanna Guzmán, Gertrude
American mezzo-soprano Suzanna Guzmán made her operatic debut at San Diego Opera in 1986 as Emilia in Otello, returned in 2006 as Cornelia in Julius Caesar in Egypt and appeared last season as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. Other appearances here include Maddelena in Rigoletto in 1987, 1994 and 2002, Eunice Hubble in A Streetcar Named Desire in 2000, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus in 1991 and the Third Lady in The Magic Flute in 2001. Recent engagements include Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro with The Dallas Opera, Mariana in Luisa Fernanda, the Mother in Amahl and The Night Visitors and the title role of Carmen with Washington National Opera (a role also sung with Houston Grand Opera). Contemporary performances include appearances in Fantastic Mr. Fox for Los Angeles Opera, Goya in Spoleto, Italy and Four Scenes in Three Acts with Houston Grand Opera. She has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra Montpellier, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Théâtre de l’Opera de Nice and Dresden Musikfestspiele. She can be heard on the Grammy nominated CD Carlos Chavez: Volume III and on DVD in the role of Flora in La traviata with Renee Fleming.

Malcolm MacKenzie, Gregorio
American baritone Malcolm MacKenzie first performed with San Diego Opera as Marullo in Rigoletto in 2002, returned in 2005 as Escamillo in Carmen, in 2008 as Zurga in The Pearl Fishers, in 2009 as Marullo in Rigoletto and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and earlier this season as Schaunard in La bohème. He was a finalist in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition, and a winner of the Metropolitan Opera Western Regional Auditions. MacKenzie began his professional career in 1994 as Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos at Glimmerglass Opera and has since performed with Washington National Opera, Madison Opera, l’Opéra National de Paris, Los Angeles Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Sacramento Opera and Opera Pacific. His roles include Donald in Billy Budd, Masetto and the title role of Don Giovanni, Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Marcello and Schaunard in La bohème, Albert in Werther and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. He has also appeared with the San Diego Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, Pacific Chorale and Savannah Symphony.

Philip Skinner, Friar Jean / Duke of Verona
American bass-baritone Philip Skinner made his San Diego Opera debut as Abimelech in 2007 in Samson and Delilah. He began his career with San Francisco Opera and has sung over 35 roles there including Edgar Ray Killen in Appomattox, Rambaldo in La Rondine, Colline in La bohème and Escamillo in Carmen. Other roles include Lieutenant Ratcliffe in Billy Budd for Pittsburgh Opera, Angelotti in Tosca, Bertrand in The Maid of Orleans and Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville for Washington Opera, King Philip in Don Carlo with Portland Opera, Colline in La bohème and Ferrando in Il trovatore with Dallas Opera, Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro with Houston Grand Opera, Sprecher in The Magic Flute with Vancouver Opera, First Soldier in Salome with Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and Theseus in A Midsummer Nights Dream with Teatro di San Carlo.

Paul Hindemith, Captain Paris
San Diego Opera debut. American bass-baritone Paul Hindemith has performed with the Utah Festival Opera, the Ohio Light Opera, and Fargo-Moorhead Opera, among others. Roles include Don Giovanni, The Count in Le nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo in Cosí fan tutte, and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, as well as the Baker in Into the Woods, and Jud in Oklahoma. He appears as Baron Weps in the Ohio Light Opera’s recording of Carl Zeller’s The Birdseller and is an active recitalist premiering the winning song cycle of the 2006 NATS Art Song Competition, Evenly Spaced Waves of Irony. Hindemith holds a doctorate from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Music degree in Voice/Opera Performance from the University of Maryland - College Park and is currently Instructor of Voice at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Cynthia Stokes, Director
San Diego Opera debut. Recent engagements include Margaret Garner for Opera Carolina, and Madama Butterfly for Opera Company of Philadelphia.  She directed new commissions for Los Angeles Opera and Houston Grand Opera including Murder at the Opera, which she co-wrote with composer Edward Barnes and has directed for such noted opera companies as Los Angeles Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Company of Philadelphia, The Florentine Opera, Opera Pacific, Los Angeles Philharmonic and The Bakersfield Symphony. An accomplished theatre director, Ms. Stokes has directed for American Conservatory Theatre, The Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Wellfleet Harbor Actor’s Theatre, Manhattan Punchline, North Coast Rep, and Creede Rep.

Karen Keltner, Conductor
San Diego Opera’s Resident Conductor, Karen Keltner, has been associated with the Company since 1982 and has conducted a broad repertoire including this season’s La bohème, last season’s Don Quixote as well as The Pearl Fishers, Samson and Delilah, Wozzeck, Carmen, The Conquistador, Così fan tutte, Thérèse Raquin, The Flying Dutchman, The Lighthouse, Cold Sassy Tree, A Streetcar Named Desire and Rigoletto. Other engagements have been with Opéra National du Rhin, Strasbourg, New York City Opera, Anchorage Opera, Kansas City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Opera Carolina.  Karen Keltner gives master classes for singers in universities and cities where she guest conducts.

Keturah Stickann, Choreographer
American choreographer Keturah Stickann made her San Diego Opera debut in 2009 choreographing Rigoletto. She was trained as a classical dancer at the State Ballet of Missouri, Dance Aspen and the Jacob’s Pillow School. She holds a degree in Choreography from Columbia College Chicago. During her performing career she was a principal dancer with Malashock Dance, the Wally Cardona Quartet, New York City Opera, San Diego Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Chicago Opera Theater, and was the Associate Artistic Director of Cerulean Dance Theatre. Her work as an opera director and choreographer has taken her to companies around the United States and Europe including New York City Opera, L’Opera National Du Rhin, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Theatre Saint Louis, The Dallas Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Florida Grand Opera, and Virginia Opera.

Dale Girard, Fight Director
San Diego Opera debut.  Canadian Dale Anthony Girard is an award winning Fight Director, Choreographer and author of the stage combat manual Actors On Guard. He is a Black Belt (Eel Dan, 6th level) in Taekwondo/Hopkido, a founding member of the North Carolina Stuntmen’s Association and one of only fifteen recognized Fight Masters in the United States by the Society of American Fight Directors. Recent credits include the Metropolitan Opera, The Folger Theatre, Signature Theatre, Opera Carolina, Piedmont Opera, Pioneer Theatre, Studio Arena Theatre, Triad Stage, and the Chautauqua Opera. Recent film credits include “Eyeborgs,” “The Key Man,” “Fall Down Dead” and the critically acclaimed “Junebug.” As a master teacher, Girard has instructed classes and seminars in stage combat, acting, and dramatic movement at colleges and universities throughout North America. He serves on the faculty of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts as Director of Stage Combat Studies and as an Assistant Instructor for Tiger Kim’s Taekwondo Schools. Previous teaching experience includes Yale’s School of Drama, the National Theatre Conservatory and the Hartt School.

Eric Fielding, Set Designer
San Diego Opera debut. American set designer Eric Fielding is a professor of scenic design and resident set designer for the department of theatre and media arts at Brigham Young University. He has taught theatre design at the Goodman School of Drama, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Utah. He has designed scenery and/or lighting for more than 250 plays, musicals, operas, concerts, pageants, events, films, and television productions. He has designed for Utah Opera, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Tuacahn, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake Repertory Theatre, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theatre Company and Sundance Theatre, among others.  Fielding won a Gold Medal for his design of the exhibition, Mozart in America, at the Prague Quadrennial, the worlds premiere exhibition of theatrical design.  He is a trustee of the National Theatre Conference, a 30-year member of USITT, OISTAT, and the United Scenic Artists. He recently served as the creator and director of World Stage Design, a new international theatre design exhibition mounted in Toronto during March 2005 and scheduled for Seoul, Korea, in 2009. He is at work on “World Scenography,” a three-volume book series documenting international theatre design from 1975 to 2015.

Susan Memmott-Allred, Costume Designer
San Diego Opera debut.  Susan Memmott-Allred has been the Resident Designer with Utah Opera since 1979, having founded and managed the costume shop from 1979-1995. The Opera Company had just ten costumes in their stock at that time and now has over 40 full operatic productions which are rented throughout North America. Since then, she has continued as their resident designer. She has designed over 150 productions for the Utah Opera, as well as many specialty pieces for the Utah Symphony. She has created designs for Little foxes, Follies and 1776, exhibition skiers and trade shows. She designs custom wedding gowns and is a frequent guest speaker for civic and educational groups. Her career began at SUU in Cedar City, Utah where she worked with Fred Adams and the Utah Shakespearean Festival. She was a consultant and designer for the “Mormon Miracle Pageant”, which is the largest attended outdoor pageant in the United States. She has taught Opera Design at the Academy of Arts College in San Francisco and has designed dance costumes for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s PBS Christmas Special.

Ruth Hutson, Lighting Designer
San Diego Opera debut.  American Lighting Designer Ruth Hutson’s lighting has been seen at Virginia Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Bronx Opera, The Imperial
Symphony, Shreveport Opera, Cartersville Opera, Pensacola Opera and Amarillo Opera. She has designed on board Royal Caribbean’s fleet, and was designed Julie Andrews’ tour, The Gift of Music last summer performing at The Hollywood Bowl. Hutson’s lighting in Frog and Toad will be seen in many cities nationwide this year. She is the resident lighting designer for Charleston Ballet Theatre and has enjoyed ten seasons with Spoleto Festival, USA, both in Charleston, South Carolina. Ruth is professor of production design at the nationally recognized Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia.

About the Production Sponsors

These performances of Romeo and Juliet are made possible by Title Sponsor the County of San Diego and Producer Circle Members Ina and Rusti Bartell, Teresa and Harry Hixson, Peri Marek and Peg Urvoas.

Performance Schedule

• Saturday March 13, 2010 7:00pm
• Tuesday March 16, 2010 7:00pm
• Friday March 19, 2010 8:00pm
• Sunday March 21, 2010 2:00pm

Get Connected For Romeo and Juliet

Artists’ Roundtable
Meet the singers, conductor and director of Romeo and Juliet  in this free and informal panel discussion on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 5:30 PM in the Beverly Sills Salon, Civic Theatre. Free.

Pre- Opera Lectures
These 30-minute informative lectures take place in the Civic Theatre one-hour prior to every performance and offer wonderful insight into the production audience members are about to see. These lectures are free to all ticket holders.

San Diego OperaTalk! with Nick Reveles
Join Dr. Nicolas Reveles, San Diego Opera’s Geisel Director of Education, for a fascinating half-hour television program on Romeo and Juliet. Viewers will learn about the story, music and history of each opera and will pick up rich insight into the structure and composition of the music. OperaTalk! with Nick Reveles airs on UCSD-TV. For a complete listing of schedules and where to view it visit: http://www.sdopera.com/Company/Education/OperaTalk

San Diego Opera Spotlight
Produced by San Diego Opera and UCSD-TV, the award-winning San Diego Opera Spotlight program gives viewers a unique and entertaining look behind-the-scenes of each of San Diego Opera’s four main-stage productions. Viewers will see how the singers, directors, conductor and crew work together to create each opera, get a sneak peak at rehearsal footage and hear exclusive interviews with the stars. San Diego Opera Spotlight repeats daily throughout the run of the production. For a complete listing of schedules and where to view it visit: http://www.sdopera.com/Company/Education/Spotlight

San Diego Opera Podcast Series
In order to help audiences better appreciate the operas in our 2010 International Season, the Education and Outreach Department has developed a series of introductory podcasts hosted by Dr. Nicolas Reveles. These 15 to 20 minute ‘conversations’ can be enjoyed by opera fans as well as those who are new to the art form. Informal yet informative, this is a great way to prepare for our season. http://www.sdopera.com/Company/Education/Podcasts

San Diego Opera Blog: Aria Serious
Aria Serious is San Diego Opera's official blog. It focuses on the serious and not-so-serious world of opera with behind-the-scenes looks at our productions, artist interviews and industry as well as pop-culture news. Come and join in the conversation at: http://ariaserious.blogspot.com/

San Diego Opera on Facebook
San Diego Opera’s Facebook page offers a place for fellow opera fans to discuss performances, connect with other fans and get up-to-date information on upcoming events. Look for “San Diego Opera” at http://www.facebook.com/

San Diego Opera on YouTube
Now viewers can watch a large portion of San Diego Opera’s programming at their convenience on YouTube. OperaTalk!, The Artist Roundtables and much more can be found on the San Diego Opera channel at: http://www.youtube.com/SanDiegoOpera

San Diego Opera on Twitter
Get real-time frequent updates about San Diego Opera by following us on Twitter. Follow tweets from backstage during a performance and learn about special offers and contests before anyone else by following us @_SanDiegoOpera.

Purchasing Tickets

Three and four-opera subscriptions for the 2010 International Season are now available. Regular subscriptions range from $90 - $720 (some Saturday subscriptions slightly higher) and can be purchased by calling (619) 533-7000 or online at www.sdopera.com. Senior citizen discount packages are available for full-season Tuesday night subscribers. Call (619) 533-7000 for more information.

For information about single ticket availability and prices please visit www.sdopera.com or call (619) 533-7000 to speak to an opera representative.

$20 rush tickets, subject to availability, are available 90-minutes prior to performances. There is a one-ticket per person limit. Cash only.

The 2010 International Season

General Information

A widely respected member of the international opera community, San Diego Opera brings the world’s finest artists to San Diego. Founded in 1965, and led for the last 26 years by General Director and Artistic Director Ian D. Campbell, San Diego Opera produces performances of the highest artistic quality while remaining financially stable.
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