Opera San José facts for kids

The California Theatre in 2008, where Opera San José performs.

Opera San José is an American opera company located in San Jose, California. It was started in 1984 by a famous singer named Irene Dalis.

History of Opera San José

Opera San José was founded in 1984 by Irene Dalis. She was a talented singer known as a mezzo-soprano, which is a type of female singing voice. Irene Dalis led the company for 30 years until she retired in 2014.

Building a Resident Company

In 1988, Opera San José created a special program for its main performers. These performers, called "principal artists," lived and worked with the company. This idea was inspired by older opera companies in Europe. The company even bought apartment buildings so these artists could live there for free.

Moving to the California Theatre

At first, Opera San José performed at the Montgomery Theater. Then, in 2004, they moved to the beautiful, newly restored California Theatre. This historic theater became their main stage.

New Leaders and Digital Shows

After Irene Dalis retired, Larry Hancock became the General Director in 2014. He retired in 2019 and was followed by Khori Dastoor. Joseph Marcheso has been the music director since 2014.

In December 2021, Shawna Lucey became the new General Director and CEO. She started her role in January 2022. She helped oversee popular shows like Bizet's Carmen and Bernstein's West Side Story.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, many shows were canceled. Opera San José found new ways to perform. They created the Heiman Digital Media Studio in June 2020. This studio allowed them to stream opera performances directly to people's homes. It was funded by a generous donation from Peggy Heiman.

They started their digital series in July 2020 with Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe ('A Poet's Love'). Later, in December 2020, they presented Three Decembers. Other online shows included The Parting Glass and Sing For Your Supper!.

The company's 2021–22 season began in September 2022 with an online show of Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri. A month later, they returned to the California Theatre with Dido and Aeneas.

The California Theatre

The California Theatre is a grand building that opened in 1927. It was first used for vaudeville shows and movies. After closing in 1973, it was renovated and reopened in 2004. It has 1,100 seats and is now a very important place for performances in the San Jose area. Opera San José's first season there began on September 18, 2004.

Opera San José's Resident Company

Opera San José has a special program for young, talented artists. These artists are given yearly contracts to live and work with the company. They get to perform important roles in the main shows. They also help with educational programs in schools and the community. This program helps them gain experience and get coaching from conductors and directors. It prepares them for bigger careers in opera.

How Opera San José Works

Opera San José has put on 150 opera productions so far. This includes five world premieres and 64 different opera titles. Some famous productions include the American premiere of Alma Deutscher's Cinderella in 2017. They also performed Jake Heggie's Moby-Dick in 2019.

The company also focuses on education. They have given over 2,300 performances for students from kindergarten to 12th grade. They have also done about 3,200 community programs for adults. In their 2018-2019 season, they reached about 113,000 people through all their programs.

Opera San José is known for managing its money well. It has received high ratings from Charity Navigator. The company gets funding from the city of San José and from many donors. These donors include Applied Materials, Packard Humanities Institute, Hewlett Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Getty Foundation.

External links

• Opera San José