Tickets Now on Sale For Sarasota Opera's Fall Verdi Concert

Sarasota Opera is world-renowned for its Verdi Cycle. Between 1989 and 2016, the company performed every note that Giuseppe Verdi wrote. It is in that spirit that Sarasota Opera will launch its 2024-2025 season with its fall concert, The Music of Giuseppe Verdi. 

Scheduled for Nov. 15 and 17, the concert will include selections from the great Italian composer’s operas, beloved by Sarasota audiences. Artistic Director and principal conductor Victor DeRenzi will conduct the Sarasota Orchestra and returning artists soprano Virginia Mims, soprano Rochelle Bard, baritone Jean Carlos Rodriguez, tenor Victor Starsky and base Young Bok Kim. 

Verdi is one of the most popular composers and his many works are included in the repertoire of most opera companies. The Music of Giuseppe Verdi will feature arias, duets, and ensembles from a range of Verdi Operas, nine in all, spanning most of Verdi’s career. The earliest is I Lombardi alla prima crociata (1843), the latest, Aida (1871). In between, there will be moments from such beloved works as Rigoletto (1851), La Traviata (1853), and Don Carlo (1867). It will offer the audience new perspectives on his music.

Selections will include “Celeste Aida”  from Aida, “Tardo per gl’anni e tremulo” from Attila, “Ella giammai m’amò” from Don Carlo, “Bella figlia dell’amore” from Rigoletto and more.

Maestro DeRenzi chose this concert’s selections for a specific reason. “There are some familiar arias and duets in our concert, but I tried to find works that aren’t often done out of context, like the duet that ends the concert, ‘Piangi, fanciulla,’ for Rigoletto and his daughter, Gilda. It's one of the great moments in opera, but it's not usually performed outside the complete opera. And ‘Ella giammai m’amò,’ from Don Carlo. The character who sings this moment was perhaps the most important leader in the world at the time, King Philip II of Spain, but he feels the same things we all do. To me, Don Carlo is one of the first works of ‘Verismo’. That term is often used and discussed, but if it indicates truth of emotions, there is no work that shows the human condition more than this,” DeRenzi said.

The Cast

Soprano Virginia Mims made her debut with Sarasota Opera in 2024 as Lucia in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. She has sung the role of Zemfira in Rachmaninoff’s Aleko and Cleopatra in Händel’s Giulio Cesare with IU Opera Theater, Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at Brevard Music Center, and Mary Bailey in Jake Heggie’s It’s A Wonderful Life with IU Opera Theater.

Soprano Rochelle Bard made her debut with Sarasota Opera in 2019 as Abigaille in Verdi’s Nabucco. She has sung the title role in Verdi’s Aida with Washington Opera Society, the title role in Puccini’s Tosca with Hawaii Opera Theater and the Opera Theater of Connecticut, and Rosalinda in Johann Strauss (ii)’s Die Fledermaus with Opera Tampa.

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Baritone Jean Carlos Rodriguez made his Sarasota Opera debut last season as Enrico in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. He has sung Paris in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette and Fiorello/Ufficiale in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Tampa. He was also accepted into the prestigious Sherrill Milnes’ Savannah Voice Festival where he sang the title role of Figaro in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro.  

Tenor Victor Starsky made his Sarasota Opera debut last season as Don José in Bizet’s Carmen. He has sung the role of the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Opera Modesto, Radamés in Verdi’s Aïda,  George Gibbs in Rorem’s Our Town at the Utah Festival Opera, and Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore with Charlottesville Opera. 

Bass Young Bok Kim has performed with Sarasota opera for more than 20  years where he has sung the title role in Verdi’s Attila, Sparafucile in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Raimondo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, among others. A native of Korea, he has also sung Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte with the National Opera of Korea and the Seoul Metropolitan Opera.

The Music of Giuseppe Verdi will take place Friday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. Single tickets are on sale now at the Sarasota Opera Box Office, by phone at (941) 328-1300, in person at 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota, or online at https://tickets.sarasotaopera.org. 

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