Sarasota Opera Announces 2020-2021 Season

An adventure around the world awaits with the 2020-2021 Sarasota Opera Season, as announced today at a press conference held at the Sarasota Opera House. Executive Director Richard Russell and Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Victor DeRenzi presided over the event and were joined by principal artists performing selected arias from the upcoming seasons' works.

"The variety of the 2020-21 season means that it includes a number of works that have been absent from our stage for some time and some of our audience's favorites," says Executive Director Richard Russell. "They also represent several of the great opera composers, including our beloved Giuseppe Verdi."

The fall season opens on Friday, October 30, 2020 with Mozart's Don Giovanni. Set in 17th century Spain, this tale of obsession, betrayal, crime, and retribution centers around the infamous womanizer Don Juan, who leaves a path of broken hearts wherever he goes. Six performances: October 30, November 1, 4, 10, 12, 15, 2020. Don Giovanni was last seen in 2011.

Sarasota Youth Opera will present Dean Burry's The Hobbit. Set in an ancient world of fantasy, this prelude to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings follows Bilbo Baggins, a comfort- loving hobbit who is unwillingly dragged into a heroic quest. His journey through treacherous lands inhabited by monsters and filled with looming dangers will lead him to accidentally acquire the golden ring of power. Two performances: November 13 & 14, 2020. The Hobbit was last seen in 2014.

The 2021 Winter Opera Festival will open on Saturday, February 6, 2021, with Giacomo Puccini's Tosca. Set in Rome, an escaped political prisoner seeks the help of his friend, painter Mario Cavaradossi, the lover of the famous diva Floria Tosca. The lecherous chief of police Baron Scarpia attempts to recapture the fugitive by planting a seed of suspicion in Tosca. By igniting her jealousy and setting a dreadful trap, he forces a desperate Tosca to make a horrific choice to save her beloved. Twelve performances: February 6, 9, 11, 14, 17, 23, 27 and March 5, 10, 13, 18, 20, 2021. Tosca was last seen in 2015.

The Daughter of the Regiment by Gaetano Donizetti. Love for Marie, a girl raised by a French regiment, will lead the young Tonio to unexpected lengths in this colorful comedy set in Tyrol during the Napoleonic Wars. Tonio and Marie are inseparable-until the Marquise of Birkenfeld claims the girl as her long-lost niece. As poor Marie struggles with her new role in society, Tonio and the whole regiment work together to get her back. Eight performances: February 13, 16, 18, 21, 26 and March 3, 7, 13, 2021. The Daughter of the Regiment was last seen in Sarasota in 1987.

The Pearl Fishers by Georges Bizet. Set in legendary Ceylon, longtime friends Nadir and Zurga once shared the same forbidden love for the priestess Leila -a love they renounced in order to keep their friendship. When Leila reappears years later, the friendship will once again be tested. Consumed by jealousy and facing a terrible choice between duty and friendship, only Zurga can save Leila and Nadir from a horrible fate. Seven performances: February 20, 24, 28 and March 2, 4, 12, 20, 2021. The Pearl Fishers was last seen in 2013.

Attila by Giuseppe Verdi. Attila the Hun has conquered most of Western Europe and is about to take Rome itself, but is brought to his knees by his love for a female warrior, Odabella. To avenge her lost father, she will carry out a plan that leaves even her lover believing she is a traitor. As Attila approaches what could be his greatest conquest, will Odabella's plan succeed? Seven performances: March 6, 9, 11, 14, 17, 19, 21, 2021. Atilla was last seen in 2007.

Subscriptions for the 2020-2021 Season will be available for renewal March 2, 2020 online at SarasotaOpera.org, by phone at (941) 328-1300, and at the Sarasota Opera Box Office.

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