New San Diego leadership By now, the music lovers among us know that San Diego Opera has chosen a new general director, David Bennett. He hails from New York City, where he was executive director of Gotham Chamber Opera, a company whose trademark is presentation of fully staged productions in “unexpected and intimate venues.” Gotham closes its 2014-15 season with “The Tempest Songbook,” co-produced with the Martha Graham Dance Company and presented at The Metropolitan Museum of Art March 27 through 29. Opera board president Carol Lazier “shares” in part the following: “…[W]ith David at the helm, we are confident that San Diego Opera will become the opera company this city wants and deserves.” Let us hope. Bennett takes up his duties here June 15. I caught Bennett briefly prior to the final rehearsal of “Nixon in China” March 12 (he stayed over for opening night). Chatted a bit in row B. He is absolutely disarming, and I’m certain he will be a huge success with patrons and donors. Can’t wait to see what he comes up with in the way of innovation (a “Tempest” at Downtown Johnny Brown’s?). San Diego audiences are said to long for new experiences; and yet, they seemed to hang back from attending “Nixon in China,” which is John Adams’ first opera (1987), already decades old. What did they rescue when they saved the opera from closure? What do they want? Does anyone know? Perhaps Bennett will divine that. Meanwhile, final attendance figures for “Nixon” are not yet in at press time; however, a representative of San Diego Opera assures me that word of mouth was strong and resulted in brisk ticket sales. Good for you, San Diego operagoers. Mainly Mozart Meanwhile, I became better acquainted with the Mainly Mozart Festival’s new maestro/music director, Michael Francis. We discussed programming for this season’s Mainly Mozart Festival (June 4-20) at the Balboa Theatre. Francis replaces founding artistic director David Atherton, who retired at the close of the 2013 festival. Francis has led many of the world’s leading orchestras since coming to prominence in 2007 as an 11th- hour replacement for the ailing Valery Gergiev in concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra. One month later, he was asked – with only two hours’ notice – to replace John Adams in performance of Adams’ own works. Soon after, Francis replaced André Previn on tour with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony. Since his Mainly Mozart appointment, the unflappable, affable British maestro and his wife Cindy produced a baby girl and named her Annabella. Though Annabella likes listening to music, she will not attend Mainly Mozart concerts this year. According to Francis, “The audience would not enjoy listening to her. She fancies herself a diva.” Critical condition Musical America Worldwide noted on March 7 that classical music has lost two more newspaper staff critics. Steven Brown, onetime critic of The Charlotte Observer for 10 years, was laid off after two years with The Houston Chronicle. Richard Scheinin, for more than a decade music and jazz critic for the San Jose Mercury News, has been reassigned to cover real estate.