By Lina Broydo
Photo credit: David Allen
From September 14, 2024 to May 4, 2025 you will hear the best arias in the area. Guaranteed! The exciting lineup for Opera San Jose 2024-2025 season includes spectacular productions of opera classics such as Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” Puccini’s “La Bohème,” Béla Bartók’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” as well as a regional premiere by San Jose’s own composer and librettist Hector Armienta’s Spanish language opera “Zorro”.
And did I mention the fabulous Alma Deutscher is returning to Opera San Jose to conduct a family-friendly production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”? Her previous appearances as a pianist, composer, violinist, stage producer and now as a conductor, always bring a lot of excitement to the music and the opera lovers in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.
Photo courtesy of Opera San José
So get your tickets early before they are all gone…
“We will be offering a season of thrilling works that not only seasoned opera lovers will enjoy but will also entice new opera goers to experience this fabulous art form,” says Opera San José General Director/CEO Shawna Lucey. “These operas embody our mission at Opera San José, where we specialize in role debuts, serve as an artistic incubator for established and emerging artists, and produce world-class operatic performances that celebrate our diverse community.” “Zorro” will be presented in collaboration with Kentucky Opera and directed by Latino stage director David Radamés Toro.
“Zorro” is the second Spanish-language opera on its mainstage following the 2024 production of Florencia en el Amazonas. Inspired by the heroic masked vigilante created by Johnston McCulley, this swashbuckling opera is filled with ravishing romance, light-hearted humor, and sword-fighting suspense. Set in el pueblo de Los Angeles, still a colony of Spain, it follows the adventures of Diego de la Vega, a Spanish nobleman who hides his true identity to become the masked vigilante Zorro, the dashing defender of the less fortunate. With a lush score influenced by mariachi, flamenco, and corrido music, the caped crusader comes to operatic life, battling tyranny and corruption, juggling romantic interests of the beguiling daughter of the Governor, Carlotta de Obragón, and the brave and kind Ana María Soza, and taking on his nemesis, the oppressive General Moncada. Latino stage director David Radamés Toro will make his Opera San Jose debut.
Photo credit: Fay Fox
Opera San José performs at the California Theatre, one of the most magnificent, best-preserved examples of 1920s-era lavish motion picture palaces. Lovingly restored at the turn of the 21st century, its opulently ornamented interiors were completely refurbished, including the elaborately stenciled entry foyer ceiling and magnificent gallery. With only 20 rows of seats in the orchestra section, five rows in the grand tier, and six in the mezzanine, every seat has an excellent view of the stage. With just over 1,100 seats, the California Theatre is comparable to England’s Glyndebourne and Venice’s historic Teatro La Fenice in the select ranks of the world’s most intimate opera houses.
Arrive early to enjoy the pianist perform on the historic and restored to the perfection organ in the theater’s beautiful lobby.
Information:
Visit operasj.org or call 408-437-4450
Purchase Opera SJ subscriptions ($155–$650)
Subscriptions as well as the single tickets are on sale now
California Theater, 345 South First Street in San José
Photos courtesy of Opera San Jose
