Several years ago we saw a change happening in the box office around the country,

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Several years ago we saw a change happening in the box office around the country,
24th May, 2008

'Hot' 2009 San Diego Opera season includes 'Tosca,' 'Butterfly' and 'Rigoletto'

By PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer

San Diego Opera is finishing its 2008 season on a high note with rapturously received productions of both "Aida" and "The Pearl Fishers," so you'd think selling subscriptions to the company's just-announced 2009 season would be a cakewalk.

But Ian Campbell, the company's longtime general and artistic director, knows better. Challenging economic times, the looming specter of tax hikes, and a commitment-phobic public turned off by past productions like the edgy "Wozzeck" or little-known "Maria Stuarda" mean Campbell has a big sales job on his hands.

Fortunately, he's got a very attractive product to sell. The 2009 season is bookended by two Puccini classics, "Tosca" and "Madama Butterfly"; Verdi's "Rigoletto" returns in a more traditional production; superstar Italian bass-baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto leads Massenet's "Don Quixote"; and, fresh from his triumph at the Met, tenor Anthony Dean Griffey will star in Britten's "Peter Grimes."

"Several years ago we saw a change happening in the box office around the country," Campbell said of the drop-off in ticket sales for less-familiar operas. "After a season that had some challenges, 'Tannheuser' and 'Maria Stuarda,' we knew we should follow with a hot season. Our statistics show that 'Tosca,' 'Butterfly' and 'Rigoletto' will usually sell well, but when presented together in a whole season, they'll propel subscriptions."

And subscriptions are what it's all about these days, Campbell said. Ticket sales will make up just half of next year's $17.3 million budget (the rest comes from donations), so filling every seat possible has become critical. And securing those dollars in advance through subscriptions not only provides cash flow year-round, it also reduces advertising costs down the road to sell the remaining unsold tickets.

Two low-cost subscription deals may push some people off the fence. A three-opera package starts at $87 and a new midweek package offers all five operas for the price of four, starting at $145.

"I think it will be very appealing," Campbell said, "and I'm doubly glad we have this season in an economy that is not going to recover in a hurry. The average ticket buyer is feeling the pinch. I'm sure they'll want the hot operas and if they add just one more, they get a fifth one for free."

While "hot" operas fill the bulk of the 2009 season, Campbell gets most excited talking about the singers who will be making their local debuts or returns. In his eyes, it's the singers ---- not the productions ---- that operagoers will remember in the end.

"One of the shames is that the San Diego audience is not as driven by the voices as they should be. It's all about the voice," he said, using the analogy of how different three performances of "La boheme" would be if each night starred a different member of The Three Tenors.

Here's an overview of the season, and a sneak peek at 2010 and 2011:

-- "Tosca" ---- Jan. 24, 27 and 30; Feb. 1 and 4, 2009. French soprano Sylvie Valayre makes her company debut as the fiery opera singer in Puccini's Rome-based love triangle. Campbell describes her as a "fearless" singer, who just finished an acclaimed "Tosca" run with Texas-bred tenor Marcus Haddock, who'll also be making his San Diego Opera debut as her lover, Cavaradossi. American bass-baritone Greer Grimsley as the vile police chief Angelotti ("he's a great villain," Campbell says). Edoardo Muller conducts (the first of three the beloved maestro will helm next season) and Andrew Sinclair (director of the current "Pearl Fishers") directs a production with company-owned sets and costumes.

-- Don Quixote" ---- Feb. 14, 17, 20 and 22. World-renowned Italian bass-baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto plays one of his favorite roles in Massenet's adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes' novel of the Spanish knight errant. Furlanetto, a close friend of Campbell's and a fan of the local golf links, starred here in "Boris Gudunov," "Don Carlo," "Faust" and "Don Giovanni." Campbell will direct a newly built production ("we're trying to figure out how to construct the windmills now") and resident conductor Karen Keltner, a specialist in the French repertoire, leads the orchestra. It will be the first time "Don Quixote" has been performed here in 40 years. "It's a piece I absolutely adore," Campbell said. "It's romantic, gorgeous and touching music, with a beautiful death scene."

-- "Rigoletto" ---- March 28 and 13; April 3, 5 and 8. Verdi's Mantuan tragedy, about a cruel court jester who loses his daughter to his lecherous boss, is known for its ensembles and famed tenor solo ("La donna e mobile") and Campbell promises a great cast to bring it to life. Georgian baritone Lado Antoneli (star of last season's "Simon Boccanegra") returns as the jester Rigoletto. Italian tenor Roberto Aronica makes his company debut in one of Pavarotti's signature roles. And Slovakian soprano L'ubica Vargicova plays the doomed daughter Gilda. Six years ago, San Diego Opera produced a "Rigoletto" set in modern-day Hollywood that was unpopular with many fans. This time around, director Lotfi Mansouri will do it in traditional style with conducting by Edoardo Muller.

-- "Peter Grimes" ---- April 18, 21, 24 and 26. The only contemporary, English-language opera of the 2009 season, Benjamin Britten's dark tragedy is the story of a stern fisherman hounded to suicide by villagers when his young apprentices keep ending up dead. American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey (seen here as Lenny in "Of Mice and Men" and Mitch in "A Streetcar Named Desire") just earned rave reviews as Peter Grimes at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He's joined by L.A. baritone Rod Gilfry (Count Almaviva in 1998's "Marriage of Figaro" in his role debut as Captain Balstrode) and American soprano Jennifer Casey Cabot ("The Magic Flute," "Cosi fan tutte") as Ellen, the school teacher in the remote English fishing village. Englishman John Copley directs his favorite opera in a production built for him by Lyric Opera of Chicago and British conductor Steuart Bedford leads the orchestra.

-- "Madama Butterfly" ---- May 9, 12, 15, 17 and 20. American soprano Patricia Racette (star here of "Katya Kabanova" and "Cold Sassy Tree") plays one of her signature roles, Cio-Cio-San, the faithful Japanese geisha used and discarded by her American sea captain husband, Pinkerton, in this Puccini classic. Uruguayan tenor Carlo Ventre (just seen here as Radames in "Aida") plays Pinkerton and Malcolm McKenzie (now playing Zurga in "The Pearl Fishers") plays the sympathetic American consul Sharpless. Zheng Cao returns as Cio-Cio-San's maid, Suzuki, in the company's vividly colored production last seen in 2003.

2010:

Several up-and-coming tenors will make their debut in this well-balanced season, which opens with Puccini's "La Boheme" starring Anja Harteros ("La Traviata") and Polish tenor Piotr Beczala as Rodolfo in his debut. And Del Mar-raised soprano Priti Gandhi makes her role debut as Musetta. Italian bass-baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto stars in Verdi's biblical epic "Nabucco," co-starring next season's Tosca, Sylvie Valayre. Gounod's "Romeo and Juliet" stars real-life husband-and-wife Stephen Costello and Ailyn Perez in their company debuts. Verdi's "La Traviata" returns with Elizabeth Futral (Nedda in this season's "Pagliacci") and Romanian tenor Marius Brenciu in his company debut. Puccini's "Manon Lescaut" closes the season with Patricia Racette (next season's "Butterfly") in her role debut as Manon. Latvian tenor Alexsandrs Antonenko debuts. And veteran Met baritone Dwayne Croft plays Lescaut.

2011:

American soprano Lise Lindstrom makes her company debut in her signature role as Puccini's "Turandot." Superstar Italian tenor Fabio Armiliato makes his company debut singing the famed "Nessun Dorma." Jake Heggie's new opera "Moby Dick" makes its West Coast premiere. Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier" will star Ferruccio Furlanetto and Anja Harteros. Gounod's "Faust" co-stars husband-and-wife Stephen Costello and Ailyn Perez (from 2010's "Romeo and Juliet") and the season closes with Bizet's "Carmen" featuring the debut of Georgian mezzo Nino Surguladze as the fiery Gypsy and tenor Julian Gavin.

Release link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/05/07/entertainment/theater/z38231a4d82f318d888257440005f2616.prt