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