We are busy getting ready for season!

Soprano Lindsay Ohse, who will play the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, is being fitted by Costume Designer Howard Tsvi Kaplan and staff. Fittings are currently taking place nonstop in our busy Costume Shop. It won't be long now. Our Winter Festival season opens on February 6 with Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci. Other offerings this season are The Magic Flute, Hansel and Gretel, and Giovanna d'Arco (Joan of Arc).

The Singers Are Back

With less than a month before Opening Night, Sarasota Opera House is abuzz with activity. Apprentice and Studio Artists as well as the cast of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci recently arrived in Sarasota. We celebrated their arrival with a Welcome Buffet, complete with delicious food provided and served by members of the Sarasota Opera Guild and a welcome cake! Currently, everyone is busy rehearsing. The season opens February 6, with the performance at 5 p.m., followed by the elegant Gala dinner/dance in a grand tent behind the Opera House.

Join the Fun at Open House on January 17!

Bring the family and join the fun at our Winter Open House set for Sunday, January 17, from 1:30-3 p.m.

There will be something for everyone:
· Listen to opera, operetta, and musical theater selections, performed throughout the building and in the courtyard by artists from Sarasota Opera’s Winter Opera Festival and by the Youth Opera choruses.
· Meet the Director - Stephanie Sundine, director of Sarasota Opera’s productions of Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci will be on hand to talk about the upcoming production.

· Make-up demos and Costume displays - Wig and makeup designer Georgianna Eberhard and resident costume designer Howard Tsvi Kaplan will host demonstrations of their art.

· Children's activities in our Youth Opera Room

· Backstage tours

· Free refreshments - food from some of our local restaurants

· Free giveaways - special tickets offers - and a free gift to all attendees while they last!

Don't miss it! Sarasota Opera House is at 61 N. Pineapple Ave., downtown Sarasota.

Former Sarasota Opera Apprentice and Studio Artist at the Met

Former Sarasota Opera Apprentice and Studio Artist Kathleen Kim was a huge hit in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Anthony Tommasini in the NY Times praised her Olympia: "The role's high-flying runs and roulades require a true, agile coloratura soprano, and this production has one in the petite Kathleen Kim, who excelled in Olympia's showpiece aria, singing with pinpoint pitch, bright tone and impressive accuracy."

She can bee seen in the Encore HD Live Telecast on January 6. It will likely turn up on PBS sometime this winter as well.

Ms. Kim was a 2002 Sarasota Opera Apprentice Artist and a Studio Artist in 2005. She was the recipeint of the Sarasota Opera Guild's Leo M. Rogers Scholarship.

Divas & Dudes 5k, Saturday, November 14

Tomorrow - Divas & Dudes 5K - Payne Park - 8 a.m. You can still sign up at the field starting at 7 a.m.! Proceeds benefit Sarasota Youth Opera.

Fall Apprentice Artists in Concert

Our fabulous Fall Apprentice Artists will perform in concert Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m. at the Sarasota Opera House. These talented singers have been receiving rave reviews from concert goers this season. Tickets are $5 each. Get them while they're hot!

Sarasota Opera on WWSB ABC 7's Suncoast Scene

Sarasota Opera's La traviata is Linda Carson's pick of the Week on the Suncoast Scene. Telephone number is incorrect, however. It should be 366-8450. Check out the link!

http://www.wwsb.tv/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=4251841&h1=Event%20of%20the%20Week%20-%20Sarasota%20Opera%20performs%20%22La%20Traviata%22&vt1=v&at1=Station%206&d1=182733&LaunchPageAdTag=Station%206&activePane=info&rnd=63630726