Sarasota Opera 2008 Festival

The season will open with Verdi's Rigoletto, followed by Puccini's La rondine, Verdi's rarely-heard I due Foscari (The Two Foscari), and conclude with Mozart's Così fan tutte. Although Sarasota Opera originally planned to present only three operas due to the restoration of the Sarasota Opera House, the overwhelming demand for tickets for the shortened 2007 season convinced the company that Sarasota audiences wanted a longer festival with more operas. The 2008 Winter Opera Festival will open on March 1 and run six weeks until April 13.

The Sarasota Opera House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is currently undergoing a $20 million renovation and restoration. The project is designed to restore the original glory of the 1920's theater, while creating a state-of-the-art venue for opera for the 21st century. Decorative details are being restored, seating is being replaced, the orchestra pit enlarged to allow for an expansion of the repertoire, backstage systems are being updated, and public areas and amenities are being expanded and enhanced. Construction on the theater began immediately after the closing of the 2007 Winter Opera Festival on March 4 and is expected to be completed in time for the March 2008 reopening of the Opera House.

Verdi's Rigoletto will open the 2008 Opera Festival and mark the reopening of the restored Sarasota Opera House on March 1. Rigoletto was the opera that started the company's acclaimed Verdi Cycle in 1989 and hasn't been heard at the Sarasota Opera House for 19 years. Over the years it has been the most requested work by Sarasota Opera audiences and the company has decided to open the renovated theater with this ever-popular work. The hunchbacked jester Rigoletto tries to shield his daughter from the evils of the world, but tragedy ensues when she falls in love with his master, the licentious Duke of Mantua. Rigoletto will be conducted by Sarasota Opera Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi and will have eleven performances through April 13.

The Gala Opening Night on March 1 will include special events to celebrate a new era for the Sarasota Opera House. The performance will begin at 4 p.m. and during intermission audience members will be treated to hors d'oeuvres stations throughout the newly expanded lobbies and lounges of the Opera House. A spectacular Gala dinner will follow the performance. Ticket information for the Gala Opening Night Performance and Dinner will be available with the 2008 Subscription Brochure, which will be available in mid-April.

Sarasota Opera will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Giacomo Puccini by presenting his charming La rondine. Neglected until recently, audiences have been rediscovering this opera's passionate melodies and delightful score. Nineteenth century Paris is evoked as courtesan Magda attempts one last chance at true love with Ruggiero, only to have her dreams of happiness shattered by reality. Sarasota Opera successfully presented this opera in 1999, but will give the work an entirely new production in 2008. La rondine will open on March 8 and receive eight performances through April 12.

Rare Verdi will return for the third production of the 2008 Opera Festival with I due Foscari (The Two Foscari). Presented as part of the Masterworks Revival Series as well as the company's ongoing Verdi Cycle, this work is not mounted often, but is much prized by Verdi aficionados. Based on actual events, Francesco Foscari, the doge of Venice is torn between his duty and the love of his son Jacopo, who has been accused of treason. There will be seven performances of I due Foscari through April 13.

As Sarasota Opera returns to the renovated Opera House, it honors its past by reviving the most presented opera in the company's history, Mozart's Così fan tutte, for six performances through April 12. The final collaboration between Mozart and the volatile Lorenzo Da Ponte, this opera sparkles with its creators' wit and romanticism. On a bet with a worldly old friend and abetted by a mischievous maid, two soldiers test their fiancées' devotion. Così fan tutte will return in the beautiful sets by David P. Gordon and costumes by Howard Tsvi Kaplan originally created for Sarasota Opera in 2002.

There will be three "Opera Lovers Weekends" during the 2008 Festival on March 28-30, April 4-6, March 11-13. These popular weekends allow visitors to Sarasota to see all four operas in the season over three days, from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. -- www.sarasotaopera.org