THE PEARL FISHERS Opens Opera San José's 2012-13 Season Tonight, 9/8

Opera San José General Director Irene Dalis has announced repertoire for the company's 29th season to begin today, Saturday, September 8 with Georges Bizet's exotic romance The Pearl Fishers, one of four productions never before staged at the California Theatre. Anthony Quartuccio conducts, with stage direction by Richard Harrell, director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music opera program.

In November, Opera San José will present Johann Strauss' most celebrated operetta, Die Fledermaus, a rousing evening of mistaken identity and disguise, conducted by Opera San José's founding music director and principal conductor, David Rohrbaugh. Acclaimed stage director Brad Dalton returns in 2013 to direct Il trovatore, Verdi's powerful thriller set in 15th-century Spain. The season will culminate with a double-bill of two one-act operas by beloved Italian composer Giacomo Puccini – the heartbreaking Suor Angelica paired with the delightfully comical Gianni Schicchi.

The 2012-13 season features artists from Opera San José's resident ensemble: Alexander Boyer (tenor), Evan Brummel (baritone), and Silas Elash (bass). Opera San José will welcome six new principal artists as members of the resident ensemble in the 2012-13 season.

"It has been too long since we have given these beloved operas to the public - Bizet's beautiful and exotic Pearl Fishers, Johann Strauss' happy high jinx, a riveting, dramatic masterpiece of Verdi, and a double-bill of Puccini operas – one a poignantly sorrowful story, the other a sly comedy." says General Director Irene Dalis. We will also welcome six new principal artists to our resident ensemble this season. I can't imagine a better way to celebrate the 29th season, which I hope our audience will greatly enjoy."

All performances will be held at the California Theatre, 345 South First Street in downtown San José. Subscriptions for Opera San José's 2012-13 season are on sale February 6, 2012, starting as low as $120 for all four productions. Subscriptions are available at the Opera San José Box Office or by phone at (408) 437-4450. Single tickets will go on sale July 9, 2012, priced from $50.

Performances are made possible, in part, by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San José.

Opera San José's 2012-13 season is as follows:

The Pearl Fishers
September 8-23, 2012

Sung in French with English supertitles
Performances: September 8, 9m, 13, 15, 16m, 18, 21, 23m (m=matinee)
Composer: Georges Bizet
Librettists: Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré
Premiere: Paris, September 30, 1863
Conductor: Anthony Quartuccio
Stage director: Richard Harrell
Set designer: Charlie Smith
Costume designer: Coordinated by Alyssa Oania based on original designs by Elizabeth Poindexter

Opera San José opens the 29th season with a story of forbidden love and a friendship tested. Georges Bizet's exotic romance, The Pearl Fishers, comes to life for the first time on the California Theatre stage. Set on the tropical island of ancient Ceylon, two fishermen vow eternal friendship, but the desire for a mysterious woman from their past ignites a jealous rivalry. A mesmerizing tale of love and sacrifice, Bizet's musical gem overflows with lush melodies, haunting arias, and the beloved duet, "Au fond du temple saint." Anthony Quartuccio returns to Opera San José to conduct The Pearl Fishers after serving as assistant conductor for last season's critically acclaimed company premiere of Mozart's Idomeneo. Richard Harrell, director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music opera program and former director of the Julliard Opera Center, will direct.

Die Fledermaus
November 10-25, 2012

Sung in German with English supertitles
Performances: November 10, 11m, 15, 17, 18m, 20, 23, 25m (m=matinee)
Composer: Johann Strauss, Jr.
Librettists: Karl Haffner and Richard Genée
Premiere: Vienna, April 5, 1874
Conductor: David Rohrbaugh
Stage director: TBA
Set designer: Charlie Smith
Costume designer: Cathleen Edwards

One man's elaborate plan for revenge leads to a rousing evening of mistaken identities, flirtations, and light-hearted deceit in Johann Strauss' most celebrated operetta, Die Fledermaus. Set in 19th-century Vienna, this delightful farce is filled with effervescent melodies, lilting waltzes and charming sentiment. From the sparkling overture to the rollicking tribute to champagne, the Waltz King's madcap masterpiece is the jewel of the golden age of operetta and the perfect complement to the holiday season. Opera San José's founding music director and principal conductor, David Rohrbaugh will conduct.

Il trovatore
February 9-24, 2013

Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Performances: February 9, 10m, 14, 16, 17m, 19, 22, 24m (m=matinee)
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Librettist: Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez
Premiere: Rome, January 19, 1853
Conductor: David Rohrbaugh
Stage director: Brad Dalton
Set designer: Steven C. Kemp
Costume designer: Elizabeth Poindexter

A personal vendetta, a doomed love triangle, and one gypsy's lifelong desire for revenge are the backdrop for Giuseppe Verdi's dramatic love story, Il trovatore. Based on the play El trovador (The Troubadour) by Spanish playwright Antonio García Gutiérrez, this powerful melodrama set in 15th-century Spain has it all: vengeance, war, jealousy, and passion with an emotional, heart-stopping score including one of the most famous choral melodies ever written, the "Anvil Chorus." Opera San José's Il trovatore will feature resident tenor Alexander Boyer as the troubador Manrico and resident baritone Evan Brummel as his jealous rival, Count di Luna, under the baton of David Rohrbaugh. Brad Dalton will return to Opera San José to stage direct after thrilling audiences with the company premieres of Mozart's Idomeneo and David Carlson's Anna Karenina.

Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi
April 13-28, 2013

Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Performances: April 13, 14m, 18, 20, 21m, 23, 26, 28m (m=matinee)
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Librettist: Giovacchino Forzano
Premiere: New York, December 14, 1918
Conductor: Joseph Marcheso
Stage director: Nicolas Aliaga
Set designer: Charlie Smith
Costume designer: Coordinated by Alyssa Oania based on original designs by Elizabeth Poindexter (Suor Angelica); Malabar (Gianni Schicchi)

From the composer of La bohème and Madama Butterfly comes a drama of redemption and a comedy of deceit. A nun seeks eternal salvation for her mortal sin while a cunning con artist seeks worldly riches in a double-bill of one-act operas by the great Italian composer Giacomo Puccini - Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. Part of the trio of operas known as Il trittico (the Triptych), these two contrasting motifs are paired for a night of tender sentiment and laughter with all the elements of Puccini's musical genius, including the beautiful aria, "O mio babbino caro." Opera San José's Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi mark the company directorial debut of Nicolas Aliaga (Pocket Opera, San Francisco Opera Center), with Joseph Marcheso (Amato Opera, Shaker Festival/Albany Symphony) as conductor.

Opera San José, performing at the historic California Theatre in downtown San José, is a professional, regional opera company that is unique in the United States. Maintaining a resident company of principal artists, Opera San José specializes in showcasing the finest young professional singers in the nation. In addition to mainstage performances, Opera San José maintains extensive educational programs in schools and in the community at large, and offers Preview lectures and Introduction to Opera talks for all mainstage productions.

Dates: September 8, 2012-April 28, 2013

The Pearl Fishers September 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, 18, 21, 23
Die Fledermaus November 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 20, 23, 25
Il trovatore February 9, 10, 14, 16, 17, 19, 22, 24
Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi April 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 23, 26, 28

Time: All performances at 8 pm, except Sundays at 3 pm

Location: California Theatre, 345 South First Street between San Carlos and San Salvador streets, downtown San José

Tickets: Season subscriptions ($120-$380) on sale February 6, 2012 from the Opera San José Box Office, 2149 Paragon Dr., San José, CA 95131; or call 408-437-4450.

Single tickets ($50-$110) on sale July 9, 2012; call 408-437-4450 or at www.operasj.org.

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