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San Diego Opera General Director David Bennett photographed in the company\u2019s offices. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune<\/p>\nDavid Bennett, who has served as San Diego Opera\u2019s general director for the past 10 years, will carry on at least through the 2029-30 season, the organization\u2019s board of directors announced last week.<\/p>\n
Bennett was offered another five-year contract extension in thanks for his continued innovative leadership through turbulent times.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid\u2019s visionary leadership has been transformational for San Diego Opera,\u201d said Linda Spuck, president of the opera\u2019s board of directors, in a statement. \u201cHe\u2019s commissioned and brought new, innovative operatic works to San Diego and the field of opera, introduced us to world-class singers, developed outside-the-box programming like our Detour series, figured out how to produce and perform during the pandemic \u2014 all of this and more while maintaining strong relationships with his staff, the board of directors, five labor unions, our audience, and treasured supporters. We are thrilled to announce that David will be with us in San Diego for at least the next five years.\u201d<\/p>\n
San Diego Opera General Director David Bennett photographed in the company\u2019s offices. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune<\/p>\n
When Bennett joined the company 10 years ago, its future was in limbo following a near-closure in 2014.<\/p>\n
During his first five-year contract, Bennett, his staff and the board winnowed down the company\u2019s budget to better match annual expenses and ticket sales, while also creating the Detour series of smaller, nontraditional opera works to expand the company\u2019s audience.<\/p>\n
He also collaborated with Opera America to host Opera Hack, a competition for creative and technology leaders to devise new and more affordable ways to produce and present opera, ranging from the use of haptics devices for disabled attendees, projection-mapping scenic design, software to improve supertitle and score transcription and a database to help opera companies share scenery and costume designs.<\/p>\n
When the pandemic shut down arts organizations nationwide in 2020, San Diego Opera was the first professional opera company in the nation to stage performances before a live audience during the shutdown \u2014 presenting drive-in productions of \u201cLa boh\u00e8me\u201d and \u201cThe Barber of Seville\u201d in the parking lot of San Diego\u2019s Pechanga Arena.<\/p>\n
In recent years, the company has also extended its Opera en Espa\u00f1ol program. This includes co-commissioning \u201cEl \u00faltimo sue\u00f1o de Frida y Diego,\u201d a 2022 opera about Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera by composer Gabriela Lena Frank and librettist Nilo Cruz.<\/p>\n
Another co-commission is Nicol\u00e1s Lell Benavides\u2019s \u201cDolores,\u201d based on the life of labor leader Dolores Huerta, which just received its premiere at West Edge Opera in Oakland. Its San Diego debut has yet to be announced.<\/p>\n
Like all performing arts organizations in America post-pandemic,\u00a0 the company has been navigating an unpredictable environment with declines in subscription and ticket sales as well as donations and grants.<\/p>\n
To reduce San Diego Opera\u2019s production costs, the number of productions and performances each season has been reduced, the Detour series is on temporary hold and the runs of each production have been condensed into single weekends rather than spread out over two weeks.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s previously announced 2024-25 season will kick off this fall with Ruggero Leoncavallo\u2019s \u201cPagliacci\u201d Oct. 31-Nov. 2; Gioachino Rossini\u2019s \u201cThe Barber of Seville\u201d Feb. 13-15, 2026; and Georges Bizet\u2019s \u201cCarmen,\u201d March 27-29, 2026.<\/p>\n
On July 30, the company announced an addition to the upcoming season, Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce\u2019s 2016 opera \u201cFellow Travelers,\u201d based on the Thomas Mallon novel. It\u2019s the story of a secret love affair between two men in the federal government in Washington, D.C. during the McCarthy era of the 1950s. It will play July 10-12 at the Balboa Theatre.<\/p>\n