Sarasota Opera Announces Cast Change For NABUCCO

Executive Director Richard Russell and Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi have announced that bass baritone Kevin Short will return to Sarasota Opera this season to sing the role of Zaccaria in Sarasota Opera's production of Giuseppe Verdi's Nabucco, opening Saturday, March 2, 2019.

Mr. Short last performed the role of Zaccaria with Florida Grand Opera in 2015. His repertoire also includes other Verdian roles, including Amonasro in Aida, Phillippe II in Don Carlos, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Fiesco in Simon Boccanegra, and Ferrando in Il Trovatore.

Mr. Short made his debut at Sarasota Opera in 1991 as Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust and has been a frequent guest, last appearing with the company in 2017 as Archibaldo in L'amore dei tre re. He has been seen at most of the major American Opera companies as well as in Europe. He has appeared frequently at the Metropolitan Opera where he made his debut in 1991 and will return there in 2020 as Porgy in Porgy and Bess.

His solo CD "Mephistopheles and Other Bad Guys," with the Orchestra Philharmonique de Marseille, conducted by Lawrence Foster, was released last March by Pentatone recordings.

The cast of Nabucco also includes baritone Stephen Gaertner, who was called a "particularly powerful presence, vocally and theatrically" by the Phildelphia Inquirer, in the title role, Rochelle Bard, making her Sarasota Opera debut as Abigaille, Lisa Chavez as Fenena, returning from her sensational turn as last winter's Carmen, and Ben Gulley-called an "outstanding tenor" by Opera News-as Ismaele.

Nabucco performances will take place on March 2, 5, 7, 13, 16, and 19 at 7:30pm, and March 10 and 24 at 1:30pm. There will be free pre-performance introductions to the opera 45 minutes before the start of each performance in Felding Hall. Before the opening night performance on March 2, there will be a fanfare from the outside balcony of the Opera House. Nabucco is sung in Italian with English translations above the stage. Individual tickets start at only $19 and are available at SarasotaOpera.org and from the Sarasota Opera Box Office.

For more information on Nabucco as well as the rest of the 2019 season-Puccini's Turandot and Mozart's The Magic Flute (now playing), and a comic double bill: Donizetti's Rita and Wolf-Ferrari's Susanna's Secret, (opening March 9), visit SarasotaOpera.org, contact the Sarasota Opera Box Office at (941) 328-1300, or visit in person at 61 N. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236.

ABOUT SARASOTA OPERA

Sarasota Opera is celebrating its 60th Season of bringing world-class opera to Florida's Gulf Coast. The company was launched in 1960, when a touring chamber opera company came to the historic 320-seat Asolo Theater on the grounds of Sarasota's Ringling Museum of Art. The following year the Asolo Opera Guild was formed to present the season. By 1974 the Asolo Opera was mounting its own productions at the theater. Recognizing the need for a theater more conducive to full-scale opera, the company purchased the former A.B. Edwards Theater which in 1984 (as the Sarasota Opera House) became home to the newly renamed Sarasota Opera. The building underwent a $20 million renovation and rehabilitation in 2007 enhancing audience amenities, while updating the technical facilities, including increasing the size of the orchestra pit. The theater, which reopened in March 2008, has been called "one of America's finest venues for opera" by Musical America.

Since 1983, the company has been under the artistic leadership of Victor DeRenzi and administrative leadership of Executive Director Richard Russell since 2012. Sarasota Opera has garnered international attention with its Masterwork Revivals Series, which presents neglected works of artistic merit, as well as the Verdi Cycle, completed in 2016, that made Sarasota Opera the only opera company in the world to present all of Verdi's works. Recognizing the importance of training, Maestro DeRenzi founded the Apprentice and Studio Artists programs. Sarasota Opera also maintains a commitment to education through its Explorations in Opera performances for local schools and the industry-leading Sarasota Youth Opera program.

Sarasota Opera is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Programs are supported in part by an award from the Tourist Development Tax through the Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council and the Sarasota County Arts Council. Additional funding is provided by the City of Sarasota and the County of Sarasota.

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