{"id":250806,"date":"2016-10-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/more-than-whats-on-stage-4\/"},"modified":"2016-10-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-10-07T07:00:00","slug":"more-than-whats-on-stage-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/more-than-whats-on-stage-4\/","title":{"rendered":"More than what\u2019s on stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

A visit with San Diego Opera\u2019s general director<\/strong><\/p>\n

Por Charlene Baldridge<\/p>\n

October ushers in the first full production in San Diego Opera\u2019s 2016-17 season. For an opera company that nearly closed in 2014, creative endeavors are booming, with an expansion of what makes a season plus several new programs and activities that are more than enough to discombobulate the usual general director.<\/p>\n

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Verdi’s \u201cLa Traviata\u201d opens April 22, 2017 for four performances. (Photo by Craig T. Mathew\/Mathew Imaging)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although he claimed to be crazed, exclaiming \u201cIt\u2019s like back to school week here!\u201d when interviewed at the Downtown office of San Diego Opera (SDO) on Sept. 9, General Director David Bennett (who came aboard in June 2015) was loquacious, enthusiastic and positive when assessing where the company is, what and how it\u2019s doing, and where it\u2019s going.<\/p>\n

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Mezzo-soprano Lauren McNeese is Cenerentola (Cinderella) in San Diego Opera’s \u201cLa Cenerentola (Cinderella),\u201d opening Oct. 22. (Courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In just eight days, Polish tenor Piotr Beczala would deliver the 2016-17 season\u2019s first official event \u2013 a ravishingly beautiful recital of operatic arias at the Balboa Theatre. Just days before, a new program titled Opera on Track (funded by Opera America) had launched successfully at the Santee trolley station; the Opera\u2019s scenic studio was constructing the first building in a 1950s village for Glenner Center\u2019s Alzheimer\u2019s Day Care patients; and SDO\u2019s new D?tour series had recently secured lead sponsorship from arts patron Darlene Shiley.<\/p>\n

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Tenor David Portillo as Don Ramiro in \u201cLa Cenerentola\u201d (Courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gleefully, Bennett described the scene when the Opera on Track ensemble presented an outdoor touring version Rossini\u2019s \u201cCinderella\u201d at the Santee trolley station days before. Nearly 200 people turned up, among them preschoolers. Each child received either a tiara or a handlebar mustache and the adults received vouchers for discounted tickets to \u201cCinderella\u201d (kids get in at half-price) and trolley rides to the Civic Theatre.
\nThese activities are emblematic of Bennett\u2019s intention to make SDO a meaningful part of the San Diego community; nonetheless, the season is the thing, and here it is:<\/p>\n