ARIA SERIOUS?

American bass-baritone Evan Hughes is making his San Diego Opera debut next month as Figaro, fresh off singing the role in at The Semperoper in Dresden, Germany. As a n alumnus of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Evan's career has already led to great international success including performing roles with companies like the MET, Santa Fe Opera, National Dutch Opera, and Komische Oper, Berlin to name a few. We're looking forward to hearing him in the San Diego Civic Theatre for THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, but we're also excited to get to know him a bit better before he arrives: 1. What was your last gig before coming to San Diego? My last gig was actually three gigs at the same time. I was performing in Germany for two companies, doing two revivals, and one new production within the same couple months. This kind of thing happens in the opera world in Germany! I was singing Somnus in Barry Kosky’s delicious production of Händel’s S...

When you look at Soprano Sarah Shafer's diverse performance resume, it's hard to find a better example of a successful artist in 2018. Her unique ability to sing a variety of vocal and operatic repertoire keeps her busy. In the midst of singing as a soloist for chamber music concerts around North America, and less than a year after her debut at the MET, she is making her San Diego Opera as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro (opening October 20th). We're excited to meet Sarah next week when rehearsals start, but she answered some casual questions so we could all get to know her better before then: 1. What was your last gig before coming to San Diego? I was singing Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 in Norway with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. It was very rainy and very beautiful! 2. How do you relate to/feel about your character (Susanna) in The Marriage of Figaro ? I love Susanna — she is maybe the character I relate most to in all of opera. I lo...

It's hard to argue a better fit for the role of The Countess than American soprano, Caitlin Lynch. Caitlin is making her SDO debut next month after performing the role with the Metropolitan Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Seattle Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Lyric Opera Baltimore, Michigan Opera, and Opera Lyra Ottawa. We asked her ten (11) questions to get to know her better before she arrives in San Diego. 1. What was your last gig before coming to San Diego? Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs singing the soprano solo in Robert Paterson's piece "Walt's America". 2. How do you relate to/feel about your character (The Countess) in The Marriage of Figaro ? I love her. The Countess is the role I have sung the most in my career. My professional debut was singing the Countess with Michigan Opera Theater, in Detroit, my hometown! I have so many wonderful memories singing this role. And I learn more about her (and myself) every new chance I get to dive in...

Wisconsin native mezzo-soprano Emily Fons made her debut with SDO in 2015 as Zerlina in Don Giovanni . Her success in opera has included appearances with the Atlanta Opera, Kentucky Opera, the Berlin Philharmonic, Opéra de Lille, and the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy in Tokyo, Kyoto. Emily also created the role of Ruby in Santa Fe Opera's world premiere of Jennifer Higdon's GRAMMY nominated Cold Mountain. We're excited to host her (and her dog) when she gets in to San Diego in less than two weeks! 1. What was your last gig before coming to San Diego? My last gig was the title role in Cesti's L'Orontea with Haymarket Opera in Chicago. 2. How do you relate to/feel about your character (Cherubino) in The Marriage of Figaro ? I just love Cherubino. I feel like he is the child inside of me that needs to be nurtured and allowed to play and explore and get in trouble and find his way. I love the freshness of his experiences and his emotions, I love the emotio...

American mezzo-soprano and graduate of The Julliard School, Susanne Mentzer made her Company debut as Rosina in 1987’s The Barber of Seville and returned to sing Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier in 1992. We're excited to have here back this season to play Marcellina in our Fall production of The Marriage of Figaro (October 20,23,26,28). Boasting an impressive career that features her voice on over 25 recordings, Ms. Mentzer maintains a private voice studio at San Francisco Conservatory and answered ten questions for us to get to know her a little bit better behind-the-scenes. 1. What was your last gig before coming to San Diego? Teaching at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I do not perform as regularly as I used to and have turned much of my attention to teaching and special projects.  2. How do you relate to/feel about your character in The Marriage of Figaro, Marcellina? After singing hundreds of performances as Cherubino, I turned down early offers to sing Marcell...