Performances Magazine San Diego | SD Opera, July 2026

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P1 Program

Cast, performances, who’s who, director’s notes, donors and more.

6 In the Wings

“Nat at Night” at San Diego Natural History Museum, The Family Album at La Jolla Playhouse, Scapin at North Coast Rep, Cyrano at The Old Globe, Beethoven by the Bay at The Rady Shell, and more.

10 Feature: Festival Spotlight

La Jolla Music Society’s popular SummerFest—a monthlong chamber music extravaganza—marks its 40th anniversary this year.

17 Dining

Our dining and imbibing picks for July, including NÓMADA (pictured: birria chimichanga bites), JOEY, Anigma, Verise, Sugarfish and Queenstown Del Mar

24 History

La Jolla’s landmark “Pink Lady,” La Valencia Hotel, celebrates its centennial with a 1926 Social Club and more

PUBLISHER

Jeff Levy

EDITOR

Sarah Daoust

ART DIRECTOR

Carol Wakano

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Glenda Mendez

PRODUCTION ARTIST

Diana Gonzalez

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Stephanie Saad

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Kerry Baggett

ACCOUNT DIRECTORS

Walter Lewis, Jean Greene, Liz Moore

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Christine Noriega-Roessler

BUSINESS MANAGER

Leanne Killian Riggar

MARKETING/ PRODUCTION MANAGER

Dawn Kiko Cheng

DIGITAL MANAGER

Lorenzo Dela Rama

Contact Us

ADVERTISING

Kerry.Baggett@ CaliforniaMediaGroup.com

WEBSITE

Lorenzo.DelaRama@ CaliforniaMediaGroup.com

CIRCULATION

Christine.Roessler@ CaliforniaMediaGroup.com

HONORARY PRESIDENT  Ted Levy

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SUNSETS & CENTENNIALS

MUSEUMS

SUMMER FRIDAYS ARE alfresco and artsy, thanks to “Nat at Night.” The event takes place at the San Diego Natural History Museum every Friday—when the museum stays open until 11 p.m., with half-price admission after 5 p.m. You’ll get access to the rooftop patio, offering views overlooking Balboa Park; plus libations and food from Wolf in the Woods; popup programming, such as craft tacos and coffee drinks in the Atrium; live DJ music, Sketchparty and trivia on select nights; and access to the museum’s exhibitions, including its newest: Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea. Tickets can be purchased online in advance or at the door. sdnhm.org At The San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA), the new exhibit Forging a Legacy: 15 Years of Landmark Acquisitions is on view through Sept. 7, marking SDMA’s centennial. Peruse carefully selected works of art that have joined the museum’s exquisite collection in the last 15 years, as a testament to its legacy being created for San Diego—including Picasso, Monet and more. sdmart.org

COLLABS & TOURS

THE LINEUP OF July concerts at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park does not disappoint. Among them, country star Wynonna Judd joins rock musician Melissa Etheridge on stage as part of their “Raised on Radio” tour, slated for July 11. San Diego Symphony presents its annual Beethoven by the Bay concert on July 12—performing Beethoven’s Overture to Egmont; Piano Concerto No. 5, featuring pianist Parker Van Ostrand; and Symphony No. 4. Enjoy the music of composer and conductor John Willians on July 31, with the San Diego Symphony performing Williams’ iconic cinematic scores from movie franchises like India Jones, Star Wars, Superman and more. Six-time Grammy Award winner St. Vincent joins the Symphony Orchestra on Aug. 1; along with special guest Arooj Aftab. On Aug. 2, three-time Grammy winner Sarah McLachlan visits The Shell as part of her “Better Broken” tour; with special guest Allison Russell. 222 Marina Park Way, downtown, 619.235.0804, theshell.org

Center Stage

BASED ON THE book by Sam Chanse, La Jolla Playhouse stages the new musical, The Family Album, July 17-Aug. 16, with music and lyrics by MILCK (aka Connie K. Lim) and AG (Adrianne Gonzalez). After hustling for years to make her big mark, a singersongwriter receives a potentially career-changing phone call; finds herself back home and once again the “disappointing” daughter of her Asian immigrant parents; and is faced with an unresolved secret. lajollaplayhouse.org At The Old Globe, Cyrano—written by Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers, adapted from Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac—runs July 18-Aug. 9. theoldglobe.org North Coast Rep brings us the witty, funny Scapin, July 22-Aug. 16—adapted from Molière by Bill Irwin and Mark O’Donnell. northcoastrep.org And save the date for the smash ‘90s-inspired musical Hell’s Kitchen—presented by Broadway San Diego at the Civic Theatre, Aug. 11-16—with music and lyrics by 16-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys. broadwaysd.com

THEATER

SummerFest Turns 40

La Jolla Music Society is “Making History” with an Epic Anniversary Festival by

STEPHANIE SAAD

LA JOLLA MUSIC

Society’s internationally recognized SummerFest will mark its 40th anniversary this year, slated to run July 31 through Aug. 29, 2026. Under the leadership of Music Director Inon Barnatan, the monthlong chamber music extravaganza will anchor its celebration around the timely theme of “Making History.”

Over four weeks, the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, aka The Conrad, in La Jolla Village will transform into a global center stage for classical, jazz and boundary-pushing music. Featuring 21 concerts and more than 100 world-class musicians, this milestone season looks backward at masterpieces that reshaped music; and forward toward the bold creations defining the future.

“I’ve always been interested in the idea that history isn’t only something that happens around music—sometimes music is right at the center of it,” says Barnatan. “With ‘Making History,’ we’re looking at pieces and moments that changed something: a composer’s life, the way people listened, the way music was written, or even

the way people gathered. It’s a way of hearing these works not as fixed monuments, but as moments that were once new, risky, surprising— and still are.”

The story of SummerFest began in the mid-1980s, when the organization was known as the La Jolla Chamber Music Society. Local founders—inspired by the booming creativity of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in New Mexico— sought to cultivate a similar worldclass musical hub on the Southern California coast. Between 1982 and 1984, the Society initially hosted touring summer sessions with musicians from Santa Fe.

By 1986, the annual event officially established its independent identity, presenting its very first standalone chamber music festival. Over its 40-year evolution, SummerFest has been guided by just four music directors, each shaping the identity of the festival. Heiichiro Ohyama (1986–1998), a former Los Angeles Philharmonic principal violist, served

as the inaugural music director, standardizing the family-style intimacy and elite execution of the festival. At the time, most of the concerts were performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Sherwood Auditorium. For several years, a free outdoor concert was also presented at Ellen Browning Scripps Park.

The prominent husband-andwife classical duo David Finckel and Wu Han (1999–2001) introduced a modern dynamism and championed expansive donor initiatives. Their visibility as performing artists also drew more national and international attention to the festival.

They were succeeded by ChoLiang “Jimmy” Lin (2001–2018)—a world-renowned violinist, who led the festival for nearly 18 years, acting as a champion of contemporary music by commissioning landmark works from elite composers such as Tan Dun, Esa-Pekka Salonen and John Williams.

The current Music Director of SummerFest is Inon Barnatan, who

Alisa Weilerstein and Paul Wiancko; and pianist Jonathan Biss. Each musician will perform at La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest 2026 at The Conrad in La Jolla Village.

took over in 2019. The acclaimed concert pianist expanded the festival’s global footprint by integrating multidisciplinary collaborations— launching international streaming on medici.tv; creating the Synergy Initiative with philanthropist Clara Wu Tsai; and securing his leadership through at least 2030.

“Forty years is a big milestone for SummerFest, and I think what’s special is that the festival still feels curious,” Barnatan says. “It has a wonderful history, of course, and an incredible community around it, but it doesn’t feel settled or predictable. For me, this anniversary is a chance to celebrate everything that has been built here; while also looking forward and asking: What can this festival become next?”

This year’s festival turns The Baker-Baum Concert Hall at The Conrad into an acoustic time machine. Barnatan has curated a roster that brings some of the world’s finest soloists and ensembles together in an unusually accessible,

This high-energy comedy follows Scapin — the world’s greatest con artist — as he manipulates, schemes, and straight-up lies his way through an impossible situation, always one step ahead and turning every problem into a hilarious new opportunity. When two young lovers find themselves up against stubborn, money-minded fathers, Scapin jumps into action with outrageous tricks, bold lies, and comic chaos at every turn. A fresh, modern take on Molière’s beloved farce is packed with mischief, surprises, and nonstop laughs.

WILLIAMS

intimate environment. Renowned returning artists include violinists James Ehnes, Tessa Lark, Yura Lee and Blake Pouliot; alongside master cellist Alisa Weilerstein. The collection of pianists is unmatched, featuring international powerhouses Jonathan Biss, Jeremy Denk, Thomas Adès, Zoltán Fejérvári, and Barnatan himself.

The festival will balance iconic foundational masterworks with radical reimagining. On Aug. 15 and 16, audiences will experience an epic pairing of J.S. Bach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos alongside Shawn Okpebholo’s wind quintet Rise; and a new arrangement of Billy Taylor’s civil rights anthem, “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free.”

At the Balboa Theatre on Aug. 27, a landmark cross-genre concert will feature the haunting catalog of the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, completely reimagined without vocals. This ambitious project brings together jazz piano giant Brad Mehldau, mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile, guitarist Blake Mills, drummer Matt Chamberlain, and a 17-piece chamber orchestra from the University of Southern California.

Adding to the historical weight of the season is

/ CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

Letter from the General Director/Carta del Director General

Welcome to the Southern California premiere of Fellow Travelers

I first became aware of this remarkable work more than a decade ago, before its world premiere. Even then, I knew that this was an opera with a big future. It’s startlingly original, with beautiful vocal writing and a compositional style that sounds ancient and modern at the same time. And it’s an American story – heartbreakingly beautiful.

And it’s now more important to produce than ever, with recent efforts to erase LGBTQ+ people and their stories. This production coincides with the Lavender Names Project, a nationwide effort by its creators to share the real stories of LGBTQ+ Americans who lost employment in our government for simply being who they are.

I’m immensely proud to present Fellow Travelers to you. I hope you are as moved by it as I am.

Sincerely,

David Bennett

Joann Clark General Director and CEO

Bienvenidos al estreno en el sur de California de Fellow Travelers.

Tuve mi primer encuentro con esta extraordinaria obra hace más de una década, antes de su estreno mundial. Incluso entonces, supe que esta opera tenia un gran futuro. Es sorprendentemente original, con una hermosa escritura vocal y un estilo compositivo que suena antiguo y moderno al mismo tiempo. Además es una historia estadounidense: desgarradoramente hermosa.

Es ahora más importante que nunca presentar esta obra ante los recientes esfuerzos por borrar a las personas LGBTQ+ y sus historias. Esta producción coincide con The Lavender Names Project, una iniciativa nacional impulsada por sus creadores para compartir las historias reales de estadounidenses LGBTQ+ que perdieron sus empleos en el gobierno simplemente por ser quien eran.

Me siento inmensamente orgulloso de presentarles Fellow Travelers. Espero que esta obra los conmueva tanto como me ha conmovido a mí.

Atentamente

David Bennett

Director General y CEO Titular de la Cátedra Joann Clark

SAN DIEGO OPERA

Music by GREGORY SPEARS

Libretto by GREG PIERCE

Based on the 2007 novel “Fellow Travelers” by Thomas Mallon

Originally developed and co-commissioned by G. Sterling Zinsmeyer and Cincinnati Opera

Original production directed by Kevin Newbury

Premiered June 17, 2016 at Cincinnati Opera

Season Sponsors PREBYS FOUNDATION CITY OF SAN DIEGO

Premier Production Sponsor LARRY GANZELL IN MEMORY OF JOHN E. FORD

The San Diego Symphony Orchestra is supported, in part, by The Joan and Irwin Jacobs San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera Collaboration Fund

BALBOA THEATRE

July 10 – 7:30 pm | July 11 – 7:30 pm | July 12 – 2:00 pm

Sung in English with supertitles projected above the stage in English and Spanish

CAST

Timothy Laughlin A ndy Acosta

Hawkins Fuller ............................................ Joseph Lattanzi*

Mary Johnson........................................... Amber R. Monroe*

Miss Lightfoot Vanessa Becerra*

Senator Joseph McCarthy/ Estonian Frank/ Interrogator....................Marcus DeLoach*

Lucy Elisa Sunshine*

Tommy McIntyre R andell McGee*

Senator Charles Potter/ General Arlie/Bartender ................................. Kyle Pfortmiller*

Sen. Potter’s Assistant/ Bookseller/ Priest/Technician/Party Guest ...............Jeremy Weiss*

*San Diego Opera debut

Conductor

CREATIVE TEAM

Bruce Stasyna

Director ............................................................ Kevin Newbury*

Novelist............................................................ Thomas Mallon*

Co-Commissioners G. Sterling Zinsmeyer* and Cincinnati Opera

Producer .............................. Up Until Now – Jecca Barry*/ Kevin Newbury*

Scenic Design V ita Tzykun

Original Lighting Design ................................ Thomas Hase

Associate Lighting Designer ................. Joseph Beumer*

Costume Design Paul Carey*

Hair and Makeup Design ............................ Ashlee Naegle*

Stage Manager ........................................................ Nikki Hyde

Supertitle Caller Abigail Allwein

Approximate run time: Two hours and 15 minutes including one intermission

Artists and Production Staff are members of the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO, the labor union that represents musical artists in opera, concert, and dance in the United States.

Used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Helicon Music Corporation, New York, publisher and copyright owner.

THE STORY

Washington, DC, September 1953 to May 1957. Eisenhower is president. Senator Joseph McCarthy is stoking fears that the US federal government is full of Communists, Soviet spies, and homosexuals.

ACT I

Scene 1: Park in Dupont Circle. A fledgling reporter, Timothy Laughlin, sits on a bench reviewing his notes from McCarthy’s wedding when he is approached by State Department employee Hawkins Fuller.

Scene 2: Senator Charles Potter’s Office. Timothy is hired as a speechwriter for Senator Charles Potter. Timothy meets Tommy McIntyre, who gives him unsolicited advice about Washington politics.

Scene 3: Hawkins’ Office/Trover Bookstore. Timothy stops by Hawkins’ office to drop off a thank-you gift. He meets Hawkins’ assistant and best friend Mary, and his secretary Miss Lightfoot, who mocks Timothy after he leaves.

Scene 4: Timothy’s Apartment. Timothy is at home cooking soup and writing his sister a letter when Hawkins unexpectedly stops by to tell him about the delights of Bermuda, among other things.

INTERMISSION

ACT II

Scene 9: McCarthy’s Office. Senator Potter warns McCarthy that the “Adams Chronology,” which details how Roy Cohn and McCarthy pressured the Army to give Cohn’s friend David Schine special treatment, will be McCarthy’s downfall unless he gives up Cohn.

Scene 10: Mary’s Kitchen/Timothy’s Apartment. Mary invites Timothy over to warn him of Hawkins’ fickle nature. She tells Timothy she is pregnant from a one-night stand. In Timothy’s apartment, Hawkins rejoices that he’s been cleared of allegations of homosexuality. Timothy is shocked by how Hawkins wants to celebrate.

Scene 11: Roof of the Old Post Office. Timothy, in agony over his fraught relationship, tells Hawkins he’s decided to enlist in the Army.

Scene 12: Hawkins’ Office. Mary tells Hawkins she is quitting, as she can no longer work in an atmosphere of panic and persecution.

Scene 13: Timothy in France/Hawkins in Chevy Chase, MD. Two years pass. Timothy writes letters to Hawkins and Mary from France, where

Scene 5: St. Peter’s Church. In the afterglow of last night’s encounter with Hawkins, Timothy is torn between his deep Catholicism and his blossoming passion.

Scene 6: Hotel Washington. At a Christmas party, Timothy is approached by an Army general about enlisting; Mary warns Hawkins about his reckless behavior with Timothy; McIntyre tells Potter about McCarthy’s latest political troubles; Miss Lightfoot overhears an intimate exchange between Hawkins and Timothy.

Scene 7: Interrogation Room M304. An interrogator puts Hawkins through a series of humiliating tests in an attempt to determine whether or not he is a homosexual. (Interrogation Room M304 is a fictional location, though such a room could plausibly have existed within the State Department.)

Scene 8: Timothy’s Apartment. Timothy and Hawkins discuss the interrogation, McCarthy, and Hawkins’ illicit amusements in New York City.

he is stationed. Hawkins is now married to a woman named Lucy, with a house in the suburbs, but would clearly like to rekindle his relationship with Timothy upon his return.

Scene 14: Brick House. In a house in DC that Hawkins has rented for his afternoon flings with Timothy, Hawkins expresses that he cannot be everything Timothy wants. Hawkins resolves to end the affair himself.

Scene 15: Mary’s Kitchen/Brick House/Room M304. Mary is packing when Hawkins stops by, distraught. Hawkins confesses that in order to push Timothy away, he has given Timothy’s name to those investigating alleged homosexuals. He asks Mary to tell Timothy about this betrayal in hopes that it will make Timothy hate him.

Scene 16: Park in Dupont Circle. His dreams dashed, Timothy decides to leave Washington, DC and Hawkins Fuller for good. Both heartbroken, they say goodbye.

LA HISTORIA

Washington, D.C., de septiembre de 1953 a mayo de 1957. Eisenhower es presidente. El senador Joseph McCarthy está avivando el temor de que el gobierno federal de los Estados Unidos esté lleno de comunistas, espías soviéticos y homosexuales.

ACTO I

Escena 1: Parque en Dupont Circle. Un novel reportero, Timothy Laughlin, está sentado en una banca revisando sus notas de la boda de McCarthy cuando es abordado por Hawkins Fuller, empleado del Departamento de Estado.

Escena 2: Oficina del Senador Charles Potter. Timothy es contratado como redactor de discursos para el senador Charles Potter. Timothy conoce a Tommy McIntyre, quien le da consejos no pedidos sobre las políticas de Washington.

Escena 3: Oficina de Hawkins / Librería Trover. Timothy pasa por la oficina de Hawkins para darle un regalo de agradecimiento. Allí conoce a Mary, la asistente y mejor amiga de Hawkins, y a su secretaria, la señorita Lightfoot, quien se burla de Timothy después de que se marcha.

Escena 4: Apartamento de Timothy. Timothy está en casa preparando sopa y escribiendo una carta a su hermana cuando Hawkins aparece de repente para hablarle entre otras cosas, de los encantos de las Bermudas.

ACTO II

Escena 9: Oficina de McCarthy. El senador Potter advierte a McCarthy que la «Cronología Adams», que detalla cómo Roy Cohn y McCarthy presionaron al Ejército para otorgarle un trato especial a David Schine, amigo de Cohn, sería la caída de McCarthy a menos que acabara con Cohn.

Escena 10: Cocina de Mary / Apartamento de Timothy. Mary invita a Timothy a su casa para advertirle sobre la naturaleza voluble de Hawkins. Le dice a Timothy que está embarazada a consecuencia de una aventura de una sola noche. En el apartamento de Timothy, Hawkins se regocija de haber sido exonerado de las acusaciones de homosexualidad. Timothy queda sorprendido por la manera en que Hawkins quiere celebrarlo.

Escena 11: Azotea de la Antigua Oficina de Correos. Timothy, atormentado por su conflictiva relación, le dice a Hawkins que ha decidido alistarse en el Ejército.

Escena 12: Oficina de Hawkins. Mary le dice a Hawkins que renuncia ya que ya no puede trabajar en una atmósfera de pánico y persecución.

Escena 13: Timothy en Francia / Hawkins en Chevy Chase, Maryland. Pasan dos años. Timothy escribe

Escena 5: Iglesia de San Pedro. Bajo la emoción de su encuentro con Hawkins la noche anterior, Timothy se encuentra dividido entre su profunda fe católica y su pasión floreciente.

Escena 6: Hotel Washington. Durante una fiesta de Navidad, un general del Ejército se acerca a Timothy para hablarle sobre alistarse; Mary advierte a Hawkins sobre su comportamiento imprudente con Timothy; McIntyre le informa a Potter sobre los más recientes problemas políticos de McCarthy; la señorita Lightfoot escucha accidentalmente un intercambio íntimo entre Hawkins y Timothy.

Escena 7: Sala de Interrogatorios M304. Un interrogador somete a Hawkins a una serie de pruebas humillantes con la intencion de determinar si es o no homosexual. (La Sala de Interrogatorios M304 es un lugar ficticio, aunque una sala de este tipo podría haber sido plausible dentro del Departamento de Estado).

Escena 8: Apartamento de Timothy. Timothy y Hawkins hablan sobre el interrogatorio, McCarthy y las diversiones ilícitas de Hawkins en la ciudad de Nueva York.

cartas a Hawkins y a Mary desde Francia, donde se encuentra en su puesto de servicio. Hawkins ahora está casado con una mujer llamada Lucy y vive en una casa en los suburbios, pero claramente le gustaría reavivar su relación con Timothy cuando éste regresara.

Escena 14: Casa de Ladrillo. En una casa de Washington, D.C., que Hawkins ha alquilado para sus encuentros amorosos vespertinos con Timothy, Hawkins le dice que él no puede ser todo lo que Timothy desea. Hawkins decide ponerle fin a la relación.

Escena 15: Cocina de Mary / Casa de Ladrillo/ Sala M304. Mary está empacando cuando Hawkins llega angustiado. Hawkins le confiesa que para alejar a Timothy, ha dado el nombre de Timothy a quienes investigan a presuntos homosexuales. Le pide a Mary que le cuente a Timothy sobre esta traición con la esperanza de que Timothy lo odie.

Escena 16: Parque en Dupont Circle. Sus sueños, destruidos. Timothy decide abandonar Washington, D.C., y a Hawkins Fuller para siempre. Ambos con el corazón destrozado dicen adiós.

Conductor’s Notes/Notas del Conductor

Among the most striking achievements of Fellow Travelers is the remarkable restraint and precision of its musical language. Rather than employing a grandly romantic idiom, composer Gregory Spears crafts a score whose emotional power emerges through transparency, repetition, and subtle harmonic transformation. The result is a work that speaks with extraordinary directness while retaining considerable musical sophistication. Listeners familiar with the traditions of American minimalism will recognize those musical influences herein. Repeated rhythmic figures, gently evolving harmonic fields, and carefully layered textures create a sense of momentum that mirrors the social and political forces surrounding the drama. This is not repetition for its own sake. Musical patterns function as psychological devices, reflecting the pressures of secrecy, surveillance, and conformity that shape the lives of the characters.

The orchestration is equally distinctive, with the orchestra frequently serving as an extension of the characters’ inner thoughts. A remarkable expressive range is achieved through a judicious use of orchestral color. Delicate woodwind writing, luminous string textures, and transparent chamber-like combinations allow the text to remain in the foreground. The orchestra comments upon the drama, illuminates emotional subtext, and creates atmosphere without ever drawing attention away from the stage.

One of the score’s most compelling qualities is its ability to shift seamlessly between public and private worlds. Political scenes are energized by rhythmic propulsion and tightly controlled ensemble writing, while moments of intimacy are characterized by suspended harmonies, lyrical vocal lines, and a heightened sensitivity to silence. Indeed, silence itself becomes an important expressive tool, allowing emotional weight to accumulate between phrases and beneath spoken truths.

In the pit, Fellow Travelers demands precision, flexibility, and stamina. For audiences, it offers a musical language that is unmistakably contemporary and immediately communicative. Fellow Travelers demonstrates how modern opera can illuminate history while speaking powerfully to the present, creating a sound world of uncommon elegance, vulnerability, and emotional resonance.

Entre los logros más impresionantes de Fellow Travelers se encuentran el considerable refrenamiento y la precisión de su lenguaje musical. En lugar de emplear un lenguaje grandiosamente romántico, el compositor Gregory Spears crea una partitura cuyo poder emocional surge mediante la transparencia, la repetición y la sutil transformación armónica. El resultado es una obra que se expresa con una franqueza extraordinaria, mientras que conserva una considerable sofisticación musical.

Los oyentes familiarizados con las tradiciones del minimalismo estadounidense reconocerán aquí esas influencias musicales. Figuras rítmicas repetidas, campos armónicos que evolucionan suavemente y texturas cuidadosamente superpuestas crean una sensación de ímpetu reflejando las fuerzas sociales y políticas que rodean el drama. Esto no es una repetición de por sí. Los patrones musicales funcionan como recursos psicológicos que reflejan las presiones del secreto, de la vigilancia y la conformidad que moldean la vida de los personajes.

La orquestación es igualmente característica, ya que la orquesta sirve con frecuencia como una extensión de los pensamientos más íntimos de los personajes. Se logra un notable rango de expresión a través del uso sensato del color orquestal. La delicada escritura para las maderas, las luminosas texturas de las cuerdas y las combinaciones transparentes de música de cámara permiten que el texto permanezca en primer plano. La orquesta comenta sobre el drama, ilumina el subtexto emocional sin desviar la atención del escenario. Una de las cualidades más cautivadoras de la partitura es su habilidad para transitar con fluidez entre los mundos público y privado. Las escenas políticas están vigorizadas por una propulsión rítmica y una escritura estrechamente controlada para el conjunto de músicos, mientras que los momentos de intimidad se caracterizan por armonías suspendidas, líneas vocales líricas y una sensibilidad especialmente intensificada hacia el silencio. De hecho, el silencio mismo se convierte en una importante herramienta expresiva, permitiendo que la carga emocional se acumule entre las frases y debajo de las verdades que se dicen.

En el foso de la orquesta, Fellow Travelers exige precisión, flexibilidad y resistencia. Para el público, ofrece un lenguaje musical inequívocamente contemporáneo y de comunicación inmediata. Fellow Travelers demuestra cómo la ópera moderna puede iluminar la historia mientras dialoga poderosamente con el presente, creando un universo sonoro de elegancia poco común, vulnerabilidad y profunda resonancia emocional.

KEVIN NEWBURY

Fifteen years ago, I fell in love with the characters in Thomas Mallon’s seminal novel Fellow Travelers. I knew immediately that this vital gay love story set against the backdrop of a painful, forgotten chapter of LGBTQ+ history deserved to sing. In the decade since our world premiere of Greg Pierce and Gregory Spears’ opera in Cincinnati, I have witnessed firsthand how Fellow Travelers cracks an audiences’ hearts wide open, building community and fostering meaningful conversations among tens of thousands of people from disparate backgrounds across many generations – all around the country.

We are so excited to share this beautiful story with San Diego audiences as part of our 10th Anniversary National Tour, especially since San Diego is a city with a rich LGBTQ+ history and community and a deep connection to government and military service. We are also honored to highlight the stories of both San Diegans and LGBTQ+ people nationwide through our partnership with the LAMBDA Archives of San Diego: a grassroots, archival research initiative called the Lavender Names Project.

As we continue this next chapter in our Fellow Travelers journey, I have been reflecting a lot on my values as a Queer artist and activist making work during these uncertain times for our community. I believe in the power of history. I believe that we stand on the shoulders of the people that came before us who fought so hard and sacrificed so much for us to have the rights we enjoy today. I believe in the power of art to build community. And I believe in the power of a good love story. And Fellow Travelers is, first and foremost, a good love story.

I invite you to find me in the lobby after the show and share your love story.

Director’s Notes/Nota del Director

Hace quince años, me enamoré de los personajes de la novela fundamental Fellow Travelers de Thomas Mallon. Supe de inmediato que esta importante historia de amor entre hombres, ambientada en el contexto de un doloroso y olvidado capítulo de la historia LGBTQ+, merecía ser cantada. En la década transcurrida desde el estreno mundial de la ópera de Greg Pierce y Gregory Spears en Cincinnati, he sido testigo de primera mano de cómo Fellow Travelers rompe por completo el corazón del público, creando comunidad y fomentando conversaciones significativas entre decenas de miles de personas de orígenes y generaciones desiguales en todo el país.

Estamos muy entusiasmados de compartir esta hermosa historia con el público de San Diego como parte de nuestra Gira Nacional del 10.º Aniversario, especialmente porque San Diego es una ciudad con una rica historia y comunidad LGBTQ+, así como una profunda conexión con el gobierno y los servicios militares. También nos sentimos honrados de destacar las historias tanto de habitantes de San Diego como de personas LGBTQ+ de todo el país a través de nuestra colaboración con los Archivos LAMBDA de San Diego: una iniciativa comunitaria de investigación de archivos llamada the Lavender Names Project.

Mientras continuamos este nuevo capítulo en nuestra trayectoria con Fellow Travelers, he estado reflexionando mucho sobre mis valores como artista y activista queer trabajando en obras en estos tiempos inciertos para nuestra comunidad. Creo en el poder de la historia. Creo que nos apoyamos sobre los hombros de quienes vinieron antes que nosotros, quienes lucharon con tanta fuerza y sacrificaron tanto para que hoy podamos disfrutar de los derechos que tenemos. Creo en el poder del arte para construir comunidad. Y creo en el poder de una buena historia de amor. Y Fellow Travelers es, ante todo, una gran historia de amor.

Los invito a buscarme en el vestíbulo después de la función y compartir conmigo su propia historia de amor.

ANDY ACOSTA

Timothy Laughlin, tenor

San Diego Opera Highlights: Clay in Eden; Javier in Dormir.

Recent and Upcoming: Nibbles in West Side Story (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Ismaele in Nabucco in Concert (Washington Concert Opera); Timothy Laughlin in Fellow Travelers (Virginia Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Madison Opera, Seattle Opera, Portland Opera); Tony in West Side Story (Teatro Lirico di Cagliari); Dickson Sowerby in The Secret Garden (Hawaii Opera Theatre); Nemorino in The Elixir of Love (Seattle Opera); Mr. Rodriguez in Awakenings (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); Papi in The Snowy Day (Houston Grand Opera); Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood in Lucia di Lammermoor (Madison Opera); Lord Arturo Bucklaw in Lucia di Lammermoor (Opera San Antonio); Arcadio in Florencia en el Amazonas (Pittsburgh Opera, Pensacola Opera, Jacobs School Of Music at Indiana University); Matteo Borsa in Rigoletto (Minnesota Opera).

JECCA BARRY

Producer

San Diego Opera debut

Jecca is an opera, theatre, film, and music producer, as well as a nonprofit arts leader. Founder of Fin Production in 2022. From 2012-2022, she served as Executive Director of the acclaimed production company Beth Morrison Projects (BMP), and was a Co-Director of New York’s annual PROTOTYPE Festival from 2017-2022. In 2020, Jecca co-founded Up Until Now Collective, a production company that focuses on radically inclusive, accessible, empathetic works of digital and live performance.

VANESSA BECERRA

Miss Lightfoot, soprano

San Diego Opera debut

Recent and Upcoming: Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance (Seattle Opera); Alice Ford in Salieri’s Falstaff (Chicago Opera Theater); Miss Lightfoot in Fellow Travelers (Seattle Opera, Portland Opera); Violetta Valéry in La traviata (Berkshire Opera Festival); Nuria in Ainadamar (LA Opera); Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro (Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Opera Omaha); Norina in Don Pasquale (Festival Napa Valley, Opera Omaha, Lakes Area Music Festival); title role in Leonora (Chicago Opera Theater); Adina in The Elixir of Love (Minnesota Opera); Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Arizona Opera); Maria Celeste/Eos in Galileo Galilei (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment (Minnesota Opera); Carolina in El matrimonio secreto (Florida Grand Opera); Despina in Così fan tutte (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis).

PAUL CAREY

Costume Design

San Diego Opera debut

Recent and Upcoming: Costumes for Il viaggio a Reims (Wolf Trap Opera); Roméo et Juliette (Palm Beach Opera); Hansel and Gretel (Virginia Opera); El niño (San Francisco Symphony); Der Kaiser von Atlantis (Central City Opera/Colorado Symphony/University of Denver; Greenwich Music Festival); Orpheus and Euridice, Green Sneakers and Glory Denied (UrbanArias, Washington, D.C.), as well as costumes and scenery for H.M.S. Pinafore (Caramoor Festival). In addition to opera, his repertoire encompasses theatre, film

and dance. He designed the costumes for Monsura Is Waiting, a short film directed by Kevin Newbury. Regional and New York theatre credits include The Old Globe, Yale Repertory Theatre, Amphibian (Ft. Worth), Clubbed Thumb, New York Musical Theatre Festival, Columbia Stages, One Year Lease, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and Williamstown Theatre Festival Workshop.

MARCUS DELOACH

Senator Joseph McCarthy/ Estonian Frank/ Interrogator, baritone San Diego Opera debut

Recent and Upcoming: Estonian Frank in Fellow Travelers (Portland Opera, Seattle Opera, Arizona Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cincinnati Opera); David in L’Amico Fritz (Teatro Grattacielo); title role in Don Giovanni (Syracuse Opera); Sam in Trouble in Tahiti (Boston Lyric Opera); Figaro in La Mère coupable (On Site Opera); Minister in Breaking the Waves (Prototype Festival, Opera Philadelphia); Ping in Turandot (Wichita Grand Opera); Second armored man in The Magic Flute (Opera Philadelphia); Schaunard in La bohème (Seattle Opera).

THOMAS C. HASE

Lighting Design

San Diego Opera Highlights: Lighting Designer - Madama Butterfly, Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi, Hansel and Gretel, The Marriage of Figaro, La bohème, and Don Giovanni.

Recent and Upcoming: Lighting design for opera companies including LA Opera, New York City Opera, BAM Next Wave, Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Dallas Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Goodspeed Opera House, Portland Opera, New Orleans Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera. His work has also been seen at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Center Stage Theatre, Alliance Theatre, The Dallas Theater Center, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Maine State Music Theater, Syracuse Stage, and Geva Theatre.

JOSEPH LATTANZI

Hawkins Fuller, baritone San Diego Opera debut

Recent and Upcoming: Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro (Pensacola Opera); Hawkins Fuller in Fellow Travelers (Seattle Opera, Opera Parallèle, Des Moines Metro Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cincinnati Opera); title role in Don Giovanni (Arizona Opera); Belcore in The Elixir of Love (Minnesota Opera); Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd (Dayton Opera, The Atlanta Opera); Paul Jobs in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (San Francisco Opera); Sid in La fanciulla del West (Cleveland Orchestra); Silvio in Pagliacci (Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, The Atlanta Opera); Steward in Flight (Seattle Opera); Dandini in La Cenerentola (Virginia Opera, Arizona Opera); Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro (Cincinnati Opera); Lt. Audebert in Silent Night (Arizona Opera); Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Virginia Opera); Sonora in La fanciulla del West (Virginia Opera).

THOMAS MALLON Novelist

Thomas Mallon’s ten books of fiction include Henry and Clara, Fellow Travelers, Watergate (a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award) and the just-published Landfall. He has also written volumes of nonfiction about plagiarism (Stolen Words), diaries ( A Book of One’s Own), letters (Yours Ever) and the Kennedy assassination ( Mrs. Paine’s Garage), as well as two books of essays ( Rockets and Rodeos and In Fact). His work appears in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, and other publications.

Mallon received his Ph. D. in English and American Literature from Harvard University and taught for a number of years at Vassar College. His honors include Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellowships, the National Book Critics Circle citation for reviewing, and the Vursell prize of the American Academy of Arts and Letters for distinguished prose style. He has been literary editor of Gentlemen’s Quarterly and deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and in 2012 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is Professor Emeritus of English at The George Washington University and lives in Washington, D. C.

RANDELL MCGEE

Tommy McIntyre, baritone San Diego Opera debut

Recent and Upcoming: Tommy McIntyre in Fellow Travelers (Portland Opera, Seattle Opera); Customs Officer in La bohème (The Santa Fe Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Union Avenue Opera); Second lackey in Der Rosenkavalier (The Santa Fe Opera); The Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly (Cincinnati Opera); Michele in scenes from Il tabarro (The Santa Fe Opera); Ned in Treemonisha (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); Kaboom, Frat Boy and Lay About Man in Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); A court usher in Rigoletto (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); Bob Beckett in HMS Pinafore (Union Avenue Opera).

AMBER R. MONROE

Mary Johnson, soprano San Diego Opera debut

Recent and Upcoming: Title role in Aida (Washington National Opera); Serena in Porgy and Bess (Washington National Opera); Lucienne in Die tote Stadt (Boston Symphony Orchestra); Soloist in Verdi’s Requiem (National Philharmonic); Nedda in Pagliacci (Glimmerglass Festival, El Paso Opera); High Priestess in Aida (Baltimore Symphony); Mimì in La bohème (Chattanooga Symphony and Opera); Esther in Intimate Apparel (Arizona Opera); Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (Opera Columbus); Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro (Kentucky Opera); Clara in Porgy and Bess (Opera Western Reserve); Clarissa in Castor and Patience (Cincinnati Opera); Harriet Tubman in Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom (Cleveland Opera Theater).

ASHLEE NEAGLE

Hair and Makeup Design

San Diego Opera debut

Ashlee Naegle is the in-house Wigs, Hair and Makeup Manager and Designer at Seattle Opera, where she created the position in 2017. Originally from

Las Vegas, Nevada, she is known for her imaginative wig design and transformative artistry. Her work spans beloved classics such as The Pirates of Penzance, Tosca, The Magic Flute, La traviata, Das Rheingold, and Alcina, as well as world premieres including Jubilee and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Her work was featured on the cover of Opera America’s Winter 2024 issue, recognizing her contributions to the art of operatic design.

KEVIN NEWBURY

Stage Director

San Diego Opera debut

Recent and Upcoming: Director - Three PBS “Great Performances” Broadcasts; Bernstein’s MASS (Ravinia Festival) and the world premieres of Doubt (Minnesota Opera) and Bel Canto (Lyric Opera of Chicago). Dozens of other world premieres, including Kansas City Choir Boy (starring Courtney Love, Prototype Festival / National Tour); GRAMMY winner The(R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Santa Fe, Seattle, San Francisco Operas); Unholy Wars (Spoleto Festival USA, Opera Philadelphia’s O Festival); The Good Swimmer (BAM Next Wave Festival); and five operas with composer Gregory Spears: Fellow Travelers (8 productions, including the world premiere at Cincinnati Opera; NY Times “Best of 2016”); Castor and Patience (Cincinnati Opera, NY Times “Best of 2022”); Paul’s Case (Prototype Festival); O Columbia (Houston Grand Opera) and The Righteous (Santa Fe Opera). Theatre includes Candy & Dorothy (GLAAD Media Award Winner), Eighty-Sixed (Diversionary Theatre, San Diego) Candide (with Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan, Philadelphia Orchestra); TV/Film: Apple TV+’s Dickinson, dozens of music videos, short films, and film festival awards, including the Times Square Midnight Moment.

KYLE PFORTMILLER

Senator Charles Potter/ General Arlie/ Bartender, baritone

San Diego Opera debut

Recent and Upcoming: Senator Potter in Fellow Travelers (Portland Opera, Seattle Opera); Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro (Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera); Gabriel of Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus (Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Opera in Williamsburg, Gulfshore Opera); The Count of Luna in Il trovatore (Toledo Opera); Mr. XE in Angel’s Bone (LA Opera, Beijing/Hong Kong Arts Festival); Second priest in The Magic Flute (Metropolitan Opera); Musiklehrer in Ariadne auf Naxos (Berkshire Opera Festival); Doctor Malatesta in Don Pasquale (Chautauqua Opera Festival); title role in Rigoletto (Opera in Williamsburg); Doctor Falke in Die Fledermaus (Nashville Opera).

GREG PIERCE

Librettist

San Diego Opera debut

Greg Pierce is a playwright, librettist, and lyricist based in New York City. He wrote the libretto for Fellow Travelers with composer Gregory Spears, which premiered at Cincinnati Opera, and the libretto for the Grammy-nominated opera The Hours with composer Kevin Puts, commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera and Opera Philadelphia. He has also written a variety of musicals and plays, including The Landing,

Kid Victory, Slowgirl, Her Requiem, The Quarry, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and Cardinal. Pierce frequently collaborates with singer and actor Mare Winningham, who has recorded many of his songs, and he has received fellowships from the Edward F. Albee Foundation, Yaddo, The Djerassi Institute, the New York Public Library, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center.

BRUCE STASYNA Conductor

San Diego Opera Highlights: Music Director, Pianist, Arranger and Chorus Master for Making Merry: A Choral Holiday Celebration; Conductor – As One; María de Buenos Aires; One Amazing Night with Stephen Costello and Stephen Powell; All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 Holiday Concert; One Amazing Night: When I See Your Face Again; The Barber of Seville; Così fan tutte; GRAMMY Greats Unite with Latonia Moore & J’nai Bridges.

Recent and Upcoming: Chorus Master – New York City Opera, Minnesota Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Des Moines Opera; Conductor – New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Amalfi Coast Music Festival; Artistic Director and Principal Conductor – Green Mountain Opera Festival; Head of Music and Director of the Young Artist Program - Palm Beach Opera; Music Director – Vero Beach Opera.

GREGORY SPEARS

Composer

San Diego Opera debut

Gregory Spears is a New York-based composer who has been commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and more. His opera Fellow Travelers, written in collaboration with Greg Pierce, premiered at Cincinnati Opera in 2016 and has been produced at many companies across the country. The premiere was featured in The New York Times’ “The Best Classical Music of 2016.” His latest opera, The Righteous, written in collaboration with former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, was commissioned by Santa Fe Opera and premiered there in 2024. Castor and Patience, also written in collaboration with Smith, was commissioned by Cincinnati Opera for their 100th Anniversary and premiered in 2022. Both operas were named “Critics Pick” by The New York Times. For the 20212022 season, the New York Philharmonic commissioned and premiered Love Story, an orchestral song cycle for countertenor and orchestra.

ELISA SUNSHINE

Lucy, soprano

San Diego Opera debut

Recent and Upcoming: Lucy in Fellow Travelers (Portland Opera, Seattle Opera); Flower Maiden/Squire in Parsifal (San Francisco Opera); The Page in Rigoletto (San Francisco Opera); Iris in Semele (The Atlanta Opera); Juliette in Die tote Stadt (Boston Symphony Orchestra); Annina in La traviata (Santa Fe Opera); Servant/ Unborn Child in Die Frau ohne Schatten (San Francisco Opera); Carmelite Nuns in Dialogues des Carmélites (San Francisco Opera); The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute (Pensacola Opera); A shepherd in Tosca (San Francisco Opera); Selena in If I Were You (Merola Opera Program); Gretel in Hansel and Gretel (Regina Opera Company).

VITA TZYKUN

Scenic Design

San Diego Opera Highlights: Projection, scenic, and costume design for Soldier Songs.

Recent and Upcoming: Designed sets, costumes, and projections for Wexford Opera Festival (Ireland), Prototype Festival (NYC), The Bolshoi Theater (Russia), Den Norske Opera (Norway), Santa Fe Opera, LA Opera, Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Boston Lyric Opera, Atlanta Opera, and The Kennedy Center among others. Recent projects include scenic design for The (R)Evolution of Steve Jobs (Santa Fe Opera, world premiere), costume design for Dinner At Eight (Minnesota Opera, world premiere), and costume design for Russia’s premiere of The Passenger (Yekaterinburg State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Theater). Numerous film and television credits include art direction for Lady Gaga’s ABC Thanksgiving Special, production design for several award-winning feature films and shorts, and commercials for PBS, DirectTV, Axe, Bulova, Qualcomm, and the U.S. Army.

JEREMY WEISS

Senator Potter’s Assistant/ Bookseller/Priest/Technician/Party Guest, baritone

San Diego Opera debut

Recent and Upcoming: Senator Potter’s Assistant in Fellow Travelers (Portland Opera, Seattle Opera); Harry Easter in Street Scene (Opéra National de Paris); Schaunard in La bohème (Charlottesville Opera); Steve Jobs in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Jacobs School of Music).

G. STERLING ZINSMEYER

Co-commissioner

G. Sterling Zinsmeyer is a veteran producer of films and stage productions. His interest has been to tell the stories of our gay community. His film production credits include The Deception, which premiered at the 2015 Santa Fe Film Festival, and Latter Days, which was released to wide acclaim in 2004. Latter Days has since been selected by The Library of Congress to be archived in their collection of important American films.

After reading Thomas Mallon’s novel Fellow Travelers, Mr. Zinsmeyer enlisted his friend Kevin Newbury to help him bring this story to the stage as a chamber opera. Together they brought Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce aboard as composer and librettist. The opera premiered in Cincinnati in 2016 to rapturous reviews, and was named by The New York Times as one of the ten best classical music events of that year. Mr Zinsmeyer is currently the Acting Director of the Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM.

San Diego Opera’s exclusive young patrons program (ages 25–45) offers discounted tickets, fun pre-show parties, and exclusive events, all for just $150 a year.

Enjoy great opera, make new friends, and support the arts in San Diego.

READY TO ELEVATE YOUR OPERA EXPERIENCE?

Join today and start enjoying Overture benefits! FRIENDS/ PATRON CIRCLE of San Diego Opera

Join now at sdopera.org/overture or scan QR code

JOIN our vibrant OPERA COMMUNITY with a gift TODAY!

YOUR SUPPORT BRINGS:

• Thrilling opera productions

• Free programs for all ages

• Free student dress rehearsals

Gifts of $100+ receive program recognition, invitations to special events, and more. A $5,000 Patron Circle gift includes access to our Patron Lounge with refreshments.

Scan QR code to GIVE TODAY

For more information, contact David Delaney at (619) 533-7630 or david.delaney@sdopera.org, or visit SDOPERA.ORG/SUPPORT

Together we are limitless

We strive to be a true catalyst of change, building the foundations that forever transform the ways we live, work, and connect with each other. That’s why we’re pleased to support the San Diego Opera.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE TOM SHIFTAN OPERA INITIATIVE

To honor Dr. Thomas Shiftan, lifelong opera lover, San Diego Opera Board member, and philanthropist, San Diego Opera has created the Tom Shiftan Opera Initiative which supports our programs for young people.

Through these programs, Tom’s legacy will live on by introducing new generations to the power of opera, sparking curiosity, creativity, and a lifelong love of the arts in young people.

Anonymous (2)

L. Renee Comeau and Terry Gulden

Martha and Edward Dennis

Joan Henkelmann

Doug and Jean Marie Jamieson

Robert H. Kaplan, PhD, and Marina Baroff

C arol Lazier and James A. Merritt

Diana and Eliezer Lombrozo

Carol Randolph and Robert Caplan

Leland W. and Annamarie Sprinkle

Elizabeth and Lester Stiel

Susan and Richard Ulevitch

If you would like to make a gift to support the Tom Shiftan Opera Initiative, please visit sdopera.org/support or call Llewellyn Crain at (619) 533-7046.

KEY MOMENTS IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LGBTQ+ RIGHTS

1953

Executive Order 10450 was signed by President Eisenhower, adding “sexual perversion” to a list of disqualifying factors for government employment (“perversion” interpreted to mean homosexual behavior). Investigations often relied on rumors, anonymous tips, or associations rather than evidence of disloyalty.

1980s

The HIV/AIDS epidemic emerged publicly in 1981, disproportionately affecting gay men. Government inaction, stigma, and fear led to massive loss of life.

2015

The Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

1960s

(June 28–29, 1969): Customers at the Stonewall Inn in New York City fought back against a routine police raid. This spontaneous uprising is widely seen as the spark for the modern gay liberation movement, leading to annual Pride marches and more militant civil rights advocacy.

1973

The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.

1990s

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” was the nickname for a compromise policy allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve in the U.S. military if they did not disclose their orientation or engage in homosexual acts. It ended the outright ban but led to thousands of discharges and continued discrimination.

was

openly gay American elected official.  As a young Navy officer, he was stationed in San Diego for part of his service. After his sexual orientation was discovered, he resigned with a less-thanhonorable discharge to avoid facing a court-martial.

Do you have a story of governmental discrimination?

The Lavender Names Project Invites You to Share

The Lavender Names Project is a national research initiative collecting photos and stories of LGBTQ+ individuals who were discriminated against and fired by federal and local governments in the United States — from the “Lavender Scare” of the 1950s to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the 1990s to today. The photos will become part of an ever-growing visual archive appearing onstage during the finale of future Fellow Travelers performances — a living memorial to the many LGBTQ+ people who suffered this decades-long persecution.

Scan this QR code to learn more and submit your story:

The Lavender Names Project is a collaboration between the American LGBTQ+ Museum and Up Until Now Collective, created in tandem with the 10th anniversary tour of the opera Fellow Travelers.

THANK YOU TO THE SPONSORS OF

SEASON SPONSORS

Prebys Foundation City of San Diego

PREMIER PRODUCTION SPONSOR

LAVENDER SPONSOR

Larry Ganzell in memory of John E. Ford

OPERA PRIDE SPONSORS

Bob Benzel and Gerry Sullivan

Steve Doster

Beth A. Goodman

Glenn Ward and Steve Townsend

Robert Bouchard and Vincent Lummus

SUPPORTERS

Gordon Brodfuehrer

Kevin Crilly

Jeffrey Jordan

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Bobby Boeche

Will Smith

David Workman

OPERA STARS

OPERA STARS

Anonymous (15)

Robert and Meredith Alcock

Jim Algert*

Robin L. Allgren

Lou Alpinieri

Alfred* and Sara Antonicelli

Bobbie Ball-Bradley

Ms. Maurine Beinbrink

Mr. and Mrs.* Doug Bekkedahl

Dr. Fred and Donna Berger

Ms. Inge Bisconer

Margaret L. Boyce*

Mr.* and Mrs. Marlin Brossart

Sarah Blakely Brown

Dr. Joan Heller Brown

Ms. Esther J. Burnham*

Robert and Linda Cain

Richard and Stephanie Coutts

Elisabeth H. Crouch

Anna M. Curren

Stephen and Roberta Edelstein

Gwyn Enright*

Elsa* and George* Feher (of blessed memory)

Dr. Merle* and Teresa* Fischlowitz

Mr.* and Mrs. David C. Fletcher

Dr. William and Judith Friedel

Dr. Michael and Barbara Gerber Lee and Frank* Goldberg

David and Claire Guggenheim

Phyllis Harris

Kathryn Hattox*

Carol Hemming

Dr.* and Mrs.* P. Kahler Hench

Joan Henkelmann

John Hermann*

Mr.* and Mrs.

Joseph W. Hibben

Teresa and Harry Hixson

Shirley and Gene* Hoggatt

Karl and Greet Hostetler

Dr. Steve and Nancy Howard

Lulu Hsu

Patrick Hurley and Linda Peterson

Dr. and Mrs. Robert S. Hutchinson

Ronald Ignelzi

George* and Marlene Imbsen

Jeannette and Douglas Johnson

Thomas Jroski

Marilyn* and Bill* Kneeland

Paul Krueger and Margaret Bouher

Regina Kurtz

Mr.* and Mrs. Jack Landale

Mrs. Charlotte Laverents*

Carol Lazier

Belina L.* and Paul L.* Lazzar

Ruth I. Ledermann

Lester Lefkowitz*

Maria-Cristina Leon

Dr. and Mrs.

Ronald G. Leonardi

Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo, G.G. and John G. Rebelo

James A. Merritt

Elizabeth B. Meyer*

Sam and Mona Morebello

Barbara and Maury Mortensen

Jerome* and Jacqueline* Niederman

Elizabeth A. Otten*

Mr. Bernard Paul John* and Ernie Peak

Jill Polgar in memory of Jane and Peter Polgar

William Purves

Dr. Benjamin Ramirez and Ross Russell

Bruce S. Ross and Eileen F.

OCTOBER 23–25, 2026

Music and libretto by Carlisle

FEBRUARY 12–14, 2027

APRIL 2–4, 2027

Securing the Future of San Diego Opera

San Diego Opera is tremendously grateful to the following donors for their generous support of Crescendo, which supports the next 60 years of San Diego Opera.

Robin L. Allgren

Sigrid Pate Butler

Joann Clark

Larry Ganzell in memory of John E. Ford/John E. Ford San Diego Opera Chorus

Barbara and Joseph Giammona

Beau and Brittany Haugh

Joan* and Irwin Jacobs/Joan and Irwin Jacobs San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera Collaboration Fund

Angela and Matthew Kilman/Kilman Opera Commissioning Fund

Nancy E. Kossan, PhD and Deborah Macdonald/ Nancy E. Kossan, PhD and Deborah Macdonald Adult Learning Programs

Rachel Peniche and Kevin Lomax

Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo

Drs. Gloria and Joseph Shurman

Len Simon

Robert and Tamara Thibodeau

Mary L. Walshok, PhD

DIAMOND DONORS

San Diego Opera salutes and honors its Diamond Donors, those who have contributed $1 million or more to San Diego Opera^. Thank you for your extraordinary support and visionary leadership.

$10 MILLION OR MORE

JOAN B. KROC*

$5 MILLION OR MORE

City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture

Muriel Gluck*/Max H. Gluck Foundation

Carol Anne Lazier

The Joan* and Irwin Jacobs Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation

$3 MILLION OR MORE

Esther J. Burnham* County of San Diego

$2 MILLION OR MORE

Teresa* and Merle* Fischlowitz

The James Irvine Foundation

Gary Jones*

National Endowment for the Arts

Conrad Prebys* and Debbie Turner

Anonymous

Audi of America, Inc.

Raffaella Belanich

California Arts Council

Claire Reiss

San Diego Foundation

Sycuan Casino Resort

U.S. Small Business Administration

$1 MILLION OR MORE

Charmaine* and Maurice* Kaplan

Willis Jerry Larkin*

Mr.* and Mrs.* Charles W. Lynds

Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo and John Rebelo

David C. Copley*/David C. Copley Foundation

Larry Ganzell in memory of John E. Ford

Audrey Geisel*/ San Diego Foundation/ Dr. Seuss Foundation

Lee and Frank* Goldberg

Kathryn* and John* Hattox/Kathryn Hattox

Charitable Trust

Mr.* and Mrs. Joseph W. Hibben

Harry and Teresa Hixson

*

Mr.* and Mrs.* Ralph Thomas Moan

Victor* and Jane Ottenstein

The Prebys Foundation

Allison and Robert Price Family Foundation

Qualcomm Incorporated

Darlene Marcos Shiley

Iris and Matthew* Strauss

Dr. Andrew Viterbi and Erna Finci Viterbi*

SAN DIEGO OPERA IS DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO THE DONORS WHOSE CONTRIBUTIONS MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

SEASON SPONSOR

$ 200,000+

City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture

Larry Ganzell

Lee and Frank* Goldberg

Joan* and Irwin Jacobs

The Prebys Foundation

MAJOR AND LEAD PRODUCTION

SPONSOR $100,000 – $199,999

Joann Clark

Elisabeth Crouch

Kathryn Hattox Charitable Trust

Karl and Greet* Hostetler

Angela and Matt Kilman

Eleanor Hutchinson

Parker Foundation

The Allison and Robert Price Family Foundation Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation

Darlene Marcos Shiley

Drs. Gloria and Joseph Shurman

PRODUCTION SPONSOR

$50,000 – $99,999

Anonymous

James Silberrad Brown Foundation

Doug Carsten

In memory of Leon Lachman

Carol Anne Lazier

Veronica and Miguel Leff

Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo, G.G. and John G. Rebelo

Bill and Clarice Perkins

Price Philanthropies

Dr. Benjamin Ramirez and Ross Russell

Len Simon, Esq.

ARTIST SPONSOR

$ 25,000 – $ 49,999

Robin L. Allgren

Warren* and Eloise Batts

Raffaella Belanich

Ingrid Benirschke and Gordon Perkins

Sigrid Pate Butler

Mary Ellen Clark in loving memory of W. Vere Wolf

Merle and Teresa Fischlowitz

Family Foundation

Barbara and Joseph Giammona

Beau and Brittany Haugh

Joan Henkelmann, in memory of Dr. Charles Henkelmann

Dr. Steve and Nancy Howard

Dr. and Mrs. Ronald G. Leonardi

Diana and Eliezer Lombrozo

Jacqueline B. Mars

Anne and Andy McCammon

National Endowment for the Arts

OPERA America/The Opera Fund

Dorothy Piacentini

Qualcomm Inc.

Stacy and Don Rosenberg

U.S. Bank

Cynthia Walk

Mary L. Walshok, PhD

Philip and Phyllis Ziring

GENERAL DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE

$10,000 – $ 24,999

Anonymous (2)

Patrick Abbott

Richard R. Abello

Sherry and Kevin Ahern

Lou Alpinieri

Patrick Anderson and Ron Koren

Bobbie Ball-Bradley

Jane and Bob Bell

Wallace Brithinee and Bernadette Belleci

Gisele Bonitz

California Arts Council

Salvatore Capizzi

David C. Copley Foundation

Anna M. Curren

Steve and Lorraine Doering

Jill Esterbrooks and

James Robbins

Jennifer and Burke Fisher

Gertrude Fletcher

Alberta Feurzeig

Ann and Andy Irwin

John and Sandy Kim

Nancy E. Kossan, PhD and Deborah Macdonald

Paul Krueger and Margaret Bouher

Willis Jerry Larkin*

James Lasswell and Cindy Jensen

Bellina Lee Lazzar Trust

Ruth I. Ledermann

Carolyn LeVasseur and Dwight Kellogg

Linda Levy and Edward McGrath

Brett and Susan McClain

James A. Merritt

Heidi Munzinger and John Shott

Wendy Nash

Maxwell Paley

Rachel Peniche and Kevin Lomax

Jill Polgar in memory of Jane and Peter Polgar

Peter and Peggy Preuss

ResMed Foundation

Nancy Reynolds

Sue Sesnon Salt

Ellen Browning

Scripps Foundation

Sharry and Larry Seal

Debra Shannon

Sharp HealthCare

Sylvia M. Smith

William D. Smith and Carol A. Harter

Linda P. Spuck

Jeanette R. Stevens

Elizabeth and Lester Stiel

Stephanie Stolarz-Fantino

Annalisa Storchi and Colin Kane

Tamara M. and

Robert P. Thibodeau

Karen Valentino

Shirli, Damien, and Justin Weiss

Margaret Wolfe-Johnson

Carmen Figueroa Young

PATRON CIRCLE

$5,000 – $9,999

Judith Adler

Sandra and Earl Altshuler

Mireille Anderson

Arlene and Michael Bardin

Leslie Bassett

Maurine B. Beinbrink

Doug Bekkedahl

David Bennett

Carolyn and Giovanni Bertussi

David R. Bevilaqua and Craig P. Caldwell

Robert Bouchard

John Boyer

Judith V. Brucker

Cindy Bruecks and David Craig

Mike and Sue Burke

Calori Family Giving Fund at Rancho

Santa Fe Foundation

Bill Carrick

Constance Carroll, PhD

James M. and Lynn B. Caughey

Susan H. and Stephen Childs

Joe Ciacci

Dr. and Mrs. Richard Claytor

County of San Diego

Linda Dawson

Martha and Edward Dennis

Robert and Tatiana Dotson

Dr. and Mrs. Edward J. Doyle

Amy Duncan

Stephen and Roberta Edelstein

Leticia Falquier and Craig Sapin

M. Carr and Marian* Ferguson

Forsyth Leonard Fund at Rancho

Santa Fe Foundation

Maria Frase

Joyce Gattas and Jay Jeffcoat

Beth A. Goodman

Barbara Gross

Karen and John Hayes

Suzanne and Lawrence Hess

Herbert Hoffman and

Janis Sammartino

Lulu Hsu

Robert and Barbara Hutchinson

Ronald Ignelzi

Charles Johnson and Denise Torres-Johnson

David S. Johnson

Jeannette and Douglas Johnson

David K. Jordan

Robert H. Kaplan, PhD and Marina Baroff

Beverly Kilman

Jo Ann Kilty

Lynn Kirkhofer

Sachiko Kohatsu

Betty* and Dr. Leonard Kornreich

Dr. William and Evelyn Lamden

Elizabeth Lancaster

Grace E. Larsen*

Michael and Teresa Lewis

Carl B. and Janet Lind

Russell and Kathleen Loftman

Elizabeth Wohlford MacLeod

Pamela Maher

Ilene Mittman in memory of Dr. Charles Mittman

James* and Melanie Nickel

Bob Palmer

John and Diane W. Parks

Bernard Paul and Maria Sardina

Jon and Jane Pollock

Michael Quiniola

Ms. Kathleen Roche-Tansey

Marcelle Voorhies Rossman

Patricia A. Rutledge

Dave and Phyllis Snyder

Robert Snyder

Steven and Robert Snyder in memory of Dolly Snyder

Carol Jean Spicer

Susan and Dr. Gary Spoto

John Tauscher

Steven Traut and Margaret Mallan

Robert* and Aysegul Underhill

University of San Diego

Ana de Vedia

Gretchen Vik and Larry Clapper*

Armi and Al Williams

Bill and Shelley Wong

Gary Yin

Sara Zaknoen, M.D.

Xinhua Zheng and Richard Studer

Leo* and Emma Zuckerman

Donor Listings

FRIEND $ 3,500 – $ 4,999

Dr. Fred and Donna Berger

Mrs. Marlin W. Brossart

Craig and Joan Heller Brown

Julie and Mark Burgess

Ann Craig

Richard Dooley*

Vicki and Chris Eddy

Paul and Gayle Ganster

Peter C. Gernold and Brian J. McGoldrick

Girard Foundation

Maxine* and James Hall

Jim and Carmen Hughes

Joanne C. Hutchinson and David Cooper*

Gary Jacobson and Martha Blake Jacobson

Mr. and Mrs. John Kesser

Paul Laikind, Lisa Stennes-Laikind, and Elle Marie Laikind

Nancy Lyon

Beverly and Harold Martyn

David Morris

Chandra Mukerji

William and Jensine Nolan

Marybeth Norgren and Per Cederstav

Dr. Peter Seymour and Susan Comden

Robert J. Stall, Jr. and Katherine Nutting

Scott and Jan Steele

Captain Don Watkins, USN (Ret.)* and Mrs. Sharon Watkins

Robert and Ivonne Webb

Jennifer Werner

Donor Listings

FRIEND $ 2,000 – $ 3,499

Anonymous • Irene Abraham and Gabriel Vogeli • Gaylyn N. Boone and James R. Dorcy * • Brilliant Diamonds Fine Jewelry • Stephen Burgdorf • Kimberlee Centera • Neal Chazin and Madeleine Cranfill • Keith Chen • Chad and Stacy Cohen • Karen DeLaurier and Oliver McElroy • Wally and Linda Dieckmann • David Duthu • Drs. Brent and Sarita Eastman • Phyllis and Daniel Epstein • Jeffrey Esko • Dr. Barbara Favorito and Ms. Judith Hairston • Ron and Holli Franzese • Michael and Margaret Grossman • Steven and Christine Hadfield • Barbara Ilizaliturri and Exequiel Ezcurra • Beverly Kelly • Sonia Kuster • Becki Lamont-Etess • Jose and Arlene Lau • Dennis C. and Kathleen Lees • Eileen Mason • Edward and Elizabeth McIntyre • Mark Mead • Drs. Roger and Linda Mills • Sandra Miner • Jason Paguio and Rebecca Maxwell • Igor and Radmila Prislin • Audrey S. Ratner • Kiffie and Chris Robbins • Lynn Rockwell • Ryde Family Memorial Foundation • Jukka Saukkonen * and Velva Wood • Margaret Schoeninger • Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek • Bob and Alexandra Shugert • Carmela Simoncini • Katie Smith • Susan and Fred Smith • Elise Streicher and David Huffman • William G. Tong • Dr. Phyllis Tyson

FRIEND $1,000 – $1,999

Anonymous (3) • Helen Adams • Mr. Ronald G. Allen and Mr. Lindsay R. Fong • Libby Andersen • Joseph Annese • J. David Archibald and Gloria E. Bader • Bank of America • Scott Warren Barnard • Bob Benzel and Gerry Sullivan • Lynne M. Champagne and Wilfred S. Kearse • Jui-Yuan Chang • Black Sails Consulting • Elsian Contreras • Robert Croke • Jason Cyr • Ann De Fields • Steve Doster • Carol Druckman • Henry Eimstad and Barbara Nolan • Alfred F. and Karin Esser • Paul Fanfera • Socorro Fimbres • Elissa and Richard Finerman • Gabriela Frank • Catherine R. Friedman • Jean Fort • Richard Ghalie • Marcia and David * Gill • Martha Gilmer • Michael and Brenda Goldbaum • Carrie and Jim Greenstein • Douglas and Gail Hall • Judith C. Harris * and Robert Singer • Megan Heine • Carol Hemming • Mike Hogan • Michael Homan • Gurdon Hornor • House of Italy • Nancy Howard Cobb • Mrs. Phyllis Ingram • Valentin Isacescu, MD • Adrian Jaffer and Ann Laddon • Doug and Jean Marie Jamieson • Peter and Virginia Jensen • Bryan and Donna Jones • Carol Kearney • Sue Lasbury • Juan * and Alexis Lasheras • Nancy Laturno • Charles Laughlin • Patrick and Cheryl Ledden, In Memory of Sally Ledden • Anthony W. Leonard and Jin-Soo Kim • Judy and Jack Leshefka • Larry and Trisha Liebermensch • Vicki Lindblade • Marci Lizerbram • Charles S.* and Robin Luby • Nick Lupu • David Marshman • Joseph Martinez • Seonaid McArthur • Brian P. and Ann McDonald • Dr. Mark and Mrs. Amy Melden • Rena Minisi and Rich Paul • Maureen O’Brien • Rev. Raymond G. O’Donnell • Victor and Chrissy Orsatti • Dr. Robert Penner • Michael Perkins * and Anne Turhollow • Rachel and Robert Perlmutter • Mary Yankee Peters and John David Peters • Dr. Sandra Petersen and Tuba Jim • William R. Pond • Katherine and Alfredo Prelat • Ivan and Jeanette Quiceno • Ms. Barbara Rabiner • Bruce and Patricia Rasmussen • Laura Ravine • Mr. and Mrs. Don Reckles • Michael J. Rensink • Lois J. Richmond Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation • Patrick and Marti Ritto • Robert Rubenstein and Marie Raftery • Vicki and Alan Salton • The San Diego Foundation • Betty Scalice Foundation, Coastal Community Foundation at San Diego Foundation • Hermeen Scharaga • Sally Schwerdtfeger, PhD • Kari Lorraine Scott • Debbie and Darren Sigal • Drs. Eleanor Smith and John Malone • Alamanita Ellis Stjerne and James Stjerne • Ulf Sundberg • Daniel and Holly Swanson • Jennifer Thomas • Austin Tipp • Dr. Fred and Erika Torri • Susan and Richard Ulevitch • Glenn Ward and Steve Townsend • Nathan and Evette Weiss • Mary Ann White and Lee Margot • Vernon White • Harry and Sandra Wilbur • Joyce Williams • Carole Wilson and Robert Brandt * • Joseph and Mary Witztum • David Woon • Barbara and Mel Yost

FRIEND $ 600 – $999

Kathleen and Charles Ables • Alexander S. Ardwin and Sherry Santa Cruz • Capt. Joseph Bartel, USN • Barbara Carlton • Diana Clark • Anne Colburn • L. Renee Comeau and Terry Gulden • Steve and Cathy Constable • Tracy Cooke • RayMonda Duvall • Jay and Rose Marie Finger • Dieter Fischers’ Mercedes Srv. Inc. • Alison Gildred • Mary Hazzard • Bonifacio G. and Suzanne M. Hernandez • Anne Hoiberg • Elena Juarez • Linda and Norman Kass • Miriam Kastner • Mr. Maurice Kawashima • Joseph Koob II • Ruth Landaal and Charles Simmons • Alfred Manaster • Susan Marberry • Candice and Aaron Markowitz • Elizabeth McClellan • Michael and Kimberly McSherry • Grant Miller • Joan and Alex Mincks •

Julie Nydam • Kathleen Ogilvie • Jerome Podczaski and Carrie Kirshman • Bill Purves and Donald Schmidt • Bruce Ramet • Leah Rosenthal • Carol Schrauzer • Christopher Shields • Bruce E. Shirer, M.D. • Mrs. Linda Silverman • Rebecca Smith and Tom Tseng • Janis and David Steller • Edward Stickgold and Steven Cande • John Stover • Suhaila White • James Wigdel • Scott Williford and Luke Schlimme • Emel Yuceturk

FRIEND

$ 300 - $599

Anonymous (4) • Sarah Agler • Robert and Meredith Alcock • Lawrence Andrews III • Andris Baltins and Lynne McGuire • Susan Barbey-Booth • Arthur J.* and Darlene Bauer • David Bauer • Leland Beck and Marla J. English • Leslia L. Belanger • Hassan Bencheqroun • Dr. Liliana Binner • Ms. Inge Bisconer • Lois Bloom • David and Beth Blue • Richard Bonacci • John and Rebecca Borg • Katie M. Boyer • Richard and Rosalie Bregante • Gordon Brodfuehrer • Juanita Cabrera • Robert and Linda * Cain • Dr. Mary Ann Calcott • Karen Cardno • April Cargill and Mike Rogers • Bill Cerny • Chevron • Angela Chilcott • Cyrus Choobineh • Alice A. and Arthur Clawson • Donald Coleman • Richard Crosland, PhD • Peter Curtin • Mike Dessert and Anne Hanneken • William and Maxine Donlon • Jo-Lind Eckstein • Jerome E. Eggers • Patricia and Jack Eldon • Joseph Fannella • Christopher Ferreria • Dr. William and Judith Friedel • Paul and Sandra Gerard • Heinrich Gerd Bringentoff • Douglas and Ellen Goepfert • Lyman Green • Jim Greene • Cherie Tirschwell Halladay • Eva Halpern • John and Kaye Hambleton • Robert and Christine Hatch • Joe Hellmers • Paul Herstein • Frederick Howden • Tyler Hower • Patrick Hurley and Linda Peterson • Kenneth Jackson • Jeffrey Jordan • Pamela Kaires • Ulrike Kamitter-Lobbia • Yasuko Karstens • Jo Kiernan and Bjorn Bjerede * • David and Martha King • Helen and Webster Kinnaird • Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Knipstein • Roberto and Elena Kucinski • Rod and Phyllis Kunishige • Marilyn A. Lamb • Elizabeth B. Leech • Elizabeth and James Leighton • Maria-Cristina Leon • Helga Lupu • Steven and Margaret MacPherson • Sohini Manna and Tom Gillespie • Tom Maricich • Karen McBride • Douglas M. and Paula A. McGraime Charitable Foundation • Jim and Patty McNeill • Tanya Mestechkina • Michael S. and Jessica Middleton • Millipore • Mr. and Mrs. John Minteer • Cheryl Morabito • Faith Much • Colleen Mullen • Scott Munroe • Peter Navarra • Gregory Nesbitt • Robin and Henry Nordhoff • Katherine and Matthew Nowak • Jeanette A. Ollivier • Patti and Peter Orsatti • Charles L. Perrin • Marlene and Tom Petrie • Annie Pham • Michael and Beverly Phillips • Drs. Jenny Price and Tony Hunter • Eve Pritchard • Michael Quan • Martha Quinn • Dennis Ragen and Christine Hickman • Ms. Sandra Reus • Dr. Raquel Rissman • Mary Ann Roberts • Ruth Rollins • Rose Marie Royster • Rosalia Salinas • William Sherrard • Anne and Ronald Simon • Woon-Wah Siu • Ronald L. Smith • Maida Soghikian • Mr. Robert J. Sokolowski and Mr. John J. Winkelman • Vina Spiehler • Kenneth Spindler • Roger G. Spragg • Pat Stromberg • Charles Stroyeck • Tony Su • Jeff and Cathy Tipton • Judith Trento and Michael Drummy • Richard Triglia • Frederique Vernhes • Rava Villon and David Duke • Kathleen C. and Thomas * Volle • Nancy Ward • Sandra Wawrytko • John and Nalani Webster • Mr. Eliot Weitz • Janet and Jonathan White • Maria and Benjamin White • Dr. Ian A. Wilson • Sheila E. Wilson • N E Wineberg • Peggy Yamamoto

FRIEND $100 – $ 299

Anonymous (2) • Charles Adair • Diana Adam • Joel Adams • Paulina Aguilar • Dianne Aker • Gary Allard • Gail and R.C. Allen • Carol Alvey and Suhail Hasan • John Anderson • Brandon Armendariz • Kishu Azama • Corliss Baca • David Baker and Melinda O’Brien • Kirby Baker • Barbara Bank • Jessica Barag • Christine Barton • Teri Barwood • Thomas Hay Bauer • Lori Baxter • Mina and Michael Bell • Thomas Benge • Bernardo J. Bermudez • Kassie Betts • Jim and Joanne Bodien • Dallas Boggs and Susan Fellows • Peter Bonavich • Nada Borsa • Kate and Jerry Bower • Kate Boyd • David Brown and Jean Hebert-Brown • Robert Brown • Stanford Brown • Avery Winston Burke • Lisa and Colin Campbell • Stephanie Camopolito • Vinicius Carreira • Monica Cendejas • Danielle Cervantes and Michelle Gilchrist • Sandra Chanis • Steve and Adina Chinowsky • Barbara Chung • Audrey Clark • Elizabeth Clarquist • Todd Cloaninger • Patricia Coffey • Sheila Corey • Llewellyn Crain • Kevin Crilly • Tiko Crofoot • Elizabeth Crosthwaite • Diane and Norman Cullen • Joan Cumming • Dorothy Curry • Angela D’Amico and Dale Barbour • Nancy Daruwala • Joy de Beyer • Gastón De La Garza and Virginia Taracena • Antonio De Maio • Constance Delauro and Jeffrey Winick • John D. Deluna • Don Demko • Michael and Elena Deutsch • Matthew and Carolyn Dharm •

Lidia Domagalska • Claudia Drake • Christine Dupont • Beverly Edge and Darien DeLorenzo • Stephen Egbert • Michael Eichler and Pat Libby • Dr. Connie J. Evashwick • Joan Foster and Susie Virgilio • Terre Frank • Richard Fridell • Roy Funk • Francis Gabbai • Elizabeth Galati • Emily Gallagher • Graco Ramirez Garrido, Sr. • Tange Gavin • Jeannette George • Jonathan Gerard • Bar-Giora Goldberg • Louis Goldich • Sonya and Robert Googins • Barbara and Roy Graf • Paul Grandinetti • Dr. and Mrs. Schuyler Grant • Dr. Kurt Grimm • Tyler Grubenhoff • Sivana and Ephraim Gur • Anthony Gurrola • Helga Halsey • Reno and Leslie Harnish • Alec Harootunian • Mary Hart • Kristin Haydinger • Andrew Helgerson • Joanna and Brooks Herman • Brad Higgins • Yoshiko and Steven Higurashi-Jensen • Stephen Hion • Christiane J. Hoffman and Greg W. Frank • Ed Hofmeister • Jeffrey Holloway • Terry and Peter Holt • Janet Houts • Rudolf Hradecky • Mark Huberman • Camilla Ingram • Mr. and Mrs. Andris Inveiss • Linda P. Ivor and Chris Steinhardt • Geraldine Jenkins • Jewish Communal Fund • Gary Jongeward and Vicki Pinkus • Jaya Kaelberer • Heather Kane • David Kardok, In Memory of Edward Kentner • Amy Kelch • Esther Kemper • Norman Kenney • Ronald King and Adriana Groza • Larry Knight • Michael Kohn and Cynthia Kohn • Jane Kolar • Karen Kolehmainen and Yasha Karant • Nancy Kollisch, M.D. and Jeff Pressman, M.D. • Jay Kopelman • Susan and Haig Koshkarian • Anne Kounis • Greg Kowieski • Barbara Kozikowski • Richard Kruse and Anne Mahoney-Kruse • Gabrielle Kunin • Lloyd LaPlant • Laurie Lehmann-Gray • Scott Linder • Julian Llerandi • Frances Lobman • Kathy Lockridge • Robert Lott • Stacey Love • Linda and Robert Lowry • Michael Lowry • Mary M. and Thomas * Lytle • Dominique Maciejewski-Lenoir • Monica Magaña • Pamela Mallory • Daniel and Kieu Marnell • Maryann Martone • Thomas McAndrews • Peggy McCamey • Mary McGrath • Perry McLelland • Susan and Philip Mekrut • Judith Mellinger • Victor Cardello and Robert Melton • Paul David Mindus • Denise Mirabile • Lynn and Trudy Mitchell • Brian Mooney • Samuel and Mona Morebello • Elizabeth Moser • Prof. Bruce Stephen Naschak • Rikki Navarro • Nancy J. Neigus • Rhoda Nevins • Nam Nguyen • Inga Nielsen de Gonzalez • Teresa A. Norton • Larry and Kristina Nugent • Kathleen O’Classen • Justin Oetting • Ken Oleno • Melinda Oliver • Virginia Oliver • Ms. Joann Onishi-Mogg • Robert Opliger • Eddie Ortiz • Celia Peachey • Catherine and Bob Palmer • Al and Marie Paparelli • Barbara L. Parry, M.D. • Janet Parsons • Thomas C. Passios • Millie Paul • Barbara and Harry Peacock • Carol and Richard Phipps • Mrs. Viviana Polinsky • David and Sandra Polster • Ross Porter and Roy DeVries • Ann C. Posthill • Calogero Presti and Cecilia Stagni • Camille Pruvost • Ann Quebedeaux • Peter Quinlan • Mary Ray • Dr. and Mrs. H. Kent Reed • Sherry Register • Louise Rehling • Jane Renninger • Shari Ressel • Diane Retallack • Laura Rey • Lt. Edgar T. Rhoderick • Ronald and Susan Robboy • Jolie Rodriguez • Ms. Jordanna Rose, Ms. Nancy Hurwitz and Ken Rose, Esq. • Bruce S. Ross and Ava Ross • Richard Rothwell • William Rowland • Norman M. and Barbara Rozansky • Robert and Sharon Russakoff • Vanya Russell • Bruce Sachs • Takako Sakai • Gail Saucedo • Adrian Schreiber • Todd Schultz • Maria * and Dominick Scigliano • Mary Scott • Bret and Sarah Sealey • Anu Seppala • Ms. Katharine Sheehan • Susan Shuchter • Ben Shwachman and Karen Wren • John Smaha • Dorothea Smith and Austin Faricy • Harvey * and Gail Smith • Joseph D. Smith • Riley Smith • Olga Solovyeva • Steven and Kathleen Sorensen • Marsha Spitzer and Michael Nelson • Leland W. and Annemarie Sprinkle • Joann Stang • Richard Sternberg • Janis K. Stocks • James Stuhlbarg and Christine Berger • Teresa Suarez • Michael and Julie Summers • Ruth Anne Swiderski • Monica Szakos • Javier Tamayo • Nancy J. Taylor • Kay Teeters • Lynn Ten Eyck and Linda Swofford-Ten Eyck • Kathryn A. Thickstun • Paul Thomas • Nancy Thornton • Lawrence C. and Martha R. Thum • Kathleen Thuner • Katrina Tjhung • Rachelle and Louie Tubongbanua • Judith Tweed • Susan Valentino • Ed and Gaby Veldin • John Vinson • William Voltan • Les and Carol Von Sederholm • Krista Vowels • Samuel Curtis Wagner • Stefani Walens • Brandon Wander • Marie T. Watson-Ching • Sandy Webb • Michael Weinrick • Rosemary Wells-Tejada • Carson Grihalva White • Steven White • Constance Wickens • Eileen S. Wingard • Paul Wright • Maria Romero Zadorozny • Joseph A. Zechman • Leanna Zevely • Patricia Zimmermann FRIEND

* In memoriam

Listing as of May 28, 2026. We sincerely regret any errors or omissions. To make a correction, please contact philanthropy@sdopera.org or (619) 232-763 6.

San Diego Opera is grateful for our major institutional partners. Please support those who support us.

CORPORATE PARTNERS

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOUNDATION SUPPORTERS

San Diego Symphony

VIOLIN

Wesley Precourt Associate Concertmaster

Jisun Yang‡ Assistant Concertmaster

Ai Nihira Awata

Jing Yan Bowcott

Kenneth Liao

Evan Pasternak

Julia Pautz

VIOLA

Chi-Yuan Chen Principal KAREN AND WARREN KESSLER CHAIR

Jason Karlyn

RAFAEL PAYARE

Music & Artistic Director

CELLO

Yao Zhao Principal

Xian Zhuo

BASS

Susan Wulff Associate Principal

P.J. Cinque

FLUTE

Diana Morgan

OBOE

Rodion Belousov

CLARINET / BASS CLARINET

Frank Renk

TROMBONE

Kyle R. Covington Principal

BASS TROMBONE

Kyle Mendiguchia

PIANO

Jay Rozendaal+

PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN

Courtney Secoy Cohen

LIBRARIAN

Rachel Fields

* Long Term Substitute Musician + Guest Musician

‡ Performs on an instrument generously made available by Dr. Irwin & Joan Jacobs

The musicians of the San Diego Symphony are members of San Diego County, Local 325, American Federation of Musicians, AFL-CIO.

The Up Until Now Collective extends a heartfelt thank you to the following supporters who have helped make this national tour of Fellow Travelers possible.

Anonymous • Susan Bienkowski • Brautigam Kaplan Foundation (David Kaplan and Glenn Ostergaard) • Allen and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund For New Music • Michael Burak • Michael and Emilie Corey • Roseanna DeMaria and Allan Dinkoff • Milo Depew • Kathy G. Gallo Fund • Hargrove Pierce Foundation • Lynn Loacker • Seniel and Dorothy Ostrow Foundation • San Francisco Foundation • Russell Schrader • Ted Snowdon and Duffy Violante • Sarah Billinghurst Solomon • Jill and Bill Steinberg • Michael Young and Debra Valentine • Annette Vass • Andrew D. Zacks Foundation

OFFICERS

Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo, GG, MFA

Chair of the Board

Linda Spuck President

Karl Hostetler, MD

Executive Vice President

Clarice Perkins

Secretary/Parliamentarian

San Diego Opera Board and Leadership

2026–27 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DIRECTORS

Robin Allgren, MD, PhD, MBA

Joann Clark

Joseph Giammona

Beau Haugh

Joan Henkelmann

Matthew Kilman

Veronica Leff, MAM

Ronald Leonardi, PhD

Benjamin Ramirez, MD

Ross Russell

Gloria M. Shurman, PhD

SAN

DIEGO OPERA STAFF

Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Philanthropy – Llewellyn Crain

Director of Learning and Engagement –

Bernardo Bermudez

Director of Marketing and Communications –Ed Hofmeister

Director of Finance and Operations –Ricardo Camberos

Director of Production and Artistic Administration – Joan T. Foster

LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

Teaching Artists –Natalie Barshow, Terri Cannicott, Agustin Castaneda, Maria Dolan Caughey, Carly Cummings, Michelle GallardoArias, Devon Guthrie, Katie Klaerich, Victoria Robertson, Tamara Rodriguez, Ricardo Rosales, Brian Wahlstrom

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Marketing Operations Director – Greg Watkins

FINANCE AND OPERATIONS

Senior Accountant – Mario Adame

IT Administrator – Joseph Huitzil

Executive Assistant/Operations Associate –

Angelica Mondragon

Operations Coordinator – Eduardo Saavedra

PATRON SERVICES

Patron Services Manager – Claire Michael

Group Sales Associate – Matt Kissel

Patron Services Representatives –

Emerson Clarke, Erin Oleno

PHILANTHROPY

Data and Donor Operations Manager –Kevin Boudoin

Philanthropy Associate – Camryn Burton

Major Gifts Officer – David Delaney

Events and Engagement Manager –

Frankie Lynn Patino

Institutional Giving Manager – Emma Saturday

Senior Philanthropy Officer – Peter Shavitz

PRODUCTION AND ARTISTIC

Technical Director – Tim Wallace

Associate Director of Production – Grace Herzog

Conductor-in-Residence and Chorus Master –

Bruce Stasyna

Artistic Administrator – Adam Cioffari

Assistant Lighting Designer – Daniel Friedman

Stage Manager – Nikki Hyde

Assistant Stage Managers – Holden Fox, Quinn Chase

Production Assistant – Keelyn McDermott

COSTUME DEPARTMENT

Costume Assistant – Spencer Tuchscher-Hart

WARDROBE

Wardrobe Head – Mary Harris

Dressers – Donna Couchman, Margaret Hagar, Robin Lemon, Christy Stewart

WIGS AND MAKE-UP

Department Head – Peter Herman

Principal Wig and Makeup Artists –

Emily Bonosoro, Pam Stompoly Ericson, Danielle Evans, Desiree Villalpando

Len Simon

Dale Smith

Mary Lindenstein Walshok, PhD

HONORARY LIFE DIRECTORS

Teresa Fischlowitz (in memoriam)

Lee Goldberg

Harry F. Hixson, Jr., PhD

Carol Lazier

Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo, GG, MFA

HONORARY DIRECTOR

Dame Zandra Rhodes

SCENIC STUDIO

Scenic Studio Office Coordinator –

Chase Lowary

Master Carpenter – Jack Hernandez

Lead Carpenter – Cory Klinge

Shop Steward – Antonia Hogue

Carpenters – Anthony Chambers, Rodney Foley, Ryan Monaghan, Lucas Skoug

Lead Welder – Ty Meservy

Charge Artist – Darin Hibi

Lead Scenic Artist – Jessica Harriman

Scenic Artist – Samantha Leon

TECHNICAL STAGEHANDS

Head Carpenter – Anthony Chambers

Assistant Carpenter – Sergio Pinales

Head Electrician – Richard Bonnin

Assistant Electrician – Leah Nellman

Flyman – Nate Garbutt

Assistant Flyman – Gustavo Cota

Board Operator – Mike Lowe

Head Props – Antonia Hogue

Assistant Props – Aimee Smith

Head Audio – Tony Medina

Titles Operator – Thomas Jumper

Follow Spot – Sean Murray

VOLUNTEER COORDINATING COUNCIL

Kate Bower, Barbara Carlton, Norman Cullen, Brenda Hines

JULY GEMS

From a New Sushi Spot in Little Italy to a Hidden Cocktail Den in Encinitas by SARAH DAOUST

FAMOUS FOR ITS traditional sushi preparations and omakase-style service, Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa (with locations in L.A., O.C. and NYC) has opened its first S.D. location in Little Italy. The decor is modern and minimalist, with a wood-beamed ceiling and small corner sushi bar. Choose from three prix fixe menus, with delights like toro hand rolls, Hokkaido scallops and Japanese yellowtail; or splurge on the 10-course omakase experience. 2100 Kettner Blvd., Suite 1100, Little Italy, 858.326.1294, sugarfishsushi.com

In Carlsbad, the new Hotel Solea (formerly Sheraton Carlsbad Resort) debuts an elegant new dining destination, Verise. The hotel’s signature allday, modern Italian restaurant offers cuisine inspired by central Italy—from antipasti to handcrafted pastas to wood-fired pizzas and dishes, all spotlighting seasonal ingredients. Grilled meat and seafood entrees on the dinner menu shine in particular, with stars like the Tagliata di Manzo: a 16-ounce New York strip steak with baby arugula, cipollini onions and shaved Parmigiano; and a daily

fresh catch. Tranquil olive groves surround Verise, setting the stage for a romantic, sophisticated dining experience sans pretension. You’ll notice unique, tasseled hanging lanterns, olive-hued banquettes, an alfresco bar and patio, and pool views. 5420 Grand Pacific Drive, Carlsbad, 760.827.2514, verisecarlsbad.com

Grand Restaurant Group and acclaimed chef/partner Alex Carballo have opened a stunning coastal Mexican restaurant in Carlsbad’s La Costa neighborhood. Welcome to NÓMADA, spanning a 5,600-square-foot

indoor/outdoor space that features a lush patio, an expansive dining room and a central bar. Feast on wood-fired, Sinaloan-inspired dishes (Carballo was born in Sinaloa, Mexico), from duck mole tacos to wood-fired oysters to

ahi tostadas to salads to enchiladas and more. The restaurant has also launched a daily lunch service and weekend brunch (try the breakfast hash); plus extended hours until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, with cocktails,

Experience the Joy of Live Performance

From GRAMMY® Award-winning musicians and ensembles in classical and jazz to thrilling evenings of contemporary dance—and more— our new season brings unforgettable live experiences at The Conrad and beyond. Your seats await! Explore the 2026–27 Season today.

July 31–August 29

La Jolla Music Society invites you to The Conrad for four thrilling weeks of themed concerts and community events led by music director Inon Barnatan. This year, SummerFest turns 40, and the celebration has never sounded better!

“Every concert is an event”

late-night bites, DJs and a street-style taco stand. 6996 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, 858.500.5150, nomadadining.com

The latest outpost by Queenstown Hospitality Group, Queenstown Del Mar—open daily for lunch and dinner—offers New Zealand comfort food, wine, beer and cocktails amid a whimsical “green-

house hideaway” layout.

Designed by Michael Soriano, the space features fully retractable windows, lots of lush greenery and ocean views. Menu highlights include New Zealand sausage rolls, meat pies, beer-battered fish ‘n’ chips, burgers and lamb skewers. Return for weekend brunch and indulge in shrimp ‘n’ grits, lamb hash,

location has opened at Westfield UTC. The spacious, contemporary restaurant and bar features a striking fire bowl that greets guests, framed by wraparound seating and lush landscaping. On the menu: starters like Bang Bang Chicken and Korean Fried Cauliflower; mains from fajitas to truffle-udon carbonara; sushi, salads, steaks and handhelds; and exceptional craft cocktails. 4489 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 1600, UTC, 858.834.7639, joeyrestaurants.com

and The Cure—a biscuit with sausage gravy, scrambled eggs, and your choice of spicy chicken sausage, fried chicken or bacon.

1435 Camino del Mar, Suite D, Del Mar, 858.925.5771, queenstowndelmar.com

Enjoy premium casual dining and a globally inspired menu at JOEY, the successful chain whose first San Diego County

Clique Hospitality brings us a coastal-inspired cafe at Torrey Pines Science Park. Open for breakfast and lunch, Playa Kitchen serves healthy, locally sourced fare, such as salads, sandwiches, bowls, wraps, fresh juices, smoothies, coffee drinks and teas. Start the day with a croissant and an acai bowl; or pop in for

lunch and try the roasted chicken salad, fish tacos or classic club sandwich. The indoor/outdoor space is ideal for unwinding— offering lounge seating, cornhole and shuffleboard. 11011 N. Torrey Pines Road, 858.331.9946, La Jolla, playakitchensd.com

Encinitas welcomes a chef-driven pasta destination: Pastaria Vivi, located at Encinitas Village Shopping Center. Launched by chefs Brandon Jennings and William Treff, the home-kitchen-style outpost is one part retail shop; one part counter serving daily handmade pastas and sauces; one part casual eatery; and also offers a monthly pasta subscrip-

tion box service—catering to dine-in guests and home cooks alike. Pastaria Vivi offers more than 75 rotating pasta-and-sauce combos, house-made focaccia and burrata,

curated wines, and even pasta-making classes.

119 N. El Camino Real, Encinitas, 760.232.6878, pastariavivi.com

Encinitas also unveils a mysterious, hidden new

cocktail den by the owners of The Roxy. Anigma (an update from the name Arcana) is outfitted with just 47 seats. Pass through an astrolabe-inspired door and jewel-toned velvet

A STANDING OVATION FOR SELF-CARE

The performance may end, but the indulgence doesn’t have to. Escape to Spa at La Valencia in the heart of La Jolla Village for luxurious treatments and restorative therapies.

Use promo code OVATION* for 15% off weekday treatments, plus complimentary valet parking and pool access.

* Valid through December 31, 2026

BALBOA PARK EXPLORER

ANNUAL

MUSEUM PASS

One year of unlimited general admission to 16 participating museums in the Balboa Park Cultural District.

Tasting Menu by chef Travis Swikard. Available exclusively in the restaurant’s Soleil Room (a tranquil, glass-enclosed space surrounded by greenery), the new “Menu du Marché” comprises seven courses, spotlighting French and Italian Riviera flavors, coastal seafood, and local, seasonal produce and ingredients. Think: canapés to start, handmade pasta dishes, market fish, roasted meats and elegant desserts.

Menu du Marché is priced at $145 per person; $75 per optional wine-pairing. 4727 Executive Drive, Suite 100, UTC, 858.332.2655, fleurettesd.com

At the Fairmont Grand Del Mar, AMAYA has launched a refreshed menu spotlighting globally infused California cuisine. Helmed by executive chef Bryn McArthur and chef de cuisine Tushar Kandalgaonkar, the AMAYA kitchen is churning out new dishes such as cured kampachi, leek-potato ravioli, olive-oil-poached halibut, burrata with persimmons, roasted peaches with caramelized white chocolate and crème fraîche for dessert, and more. To drink, try new libations like the Baja Sour, Signet and French Camino. Enjoy all on the shaded terrace overlooking the canyon preserve. 5300 Grand Del Mar Court, Del Mar, 858.314.2727, granddelmar.com/dine

PRETTY IN PINK

La Jolla’s Landmark “Pink Lady,” La Valencia Hotel, Celebrates Its Centennial by SARAH DAOUST

YOU CAN’T MISS IT.

You’re driving into La Jolla Village along Prospect Street—with its sidewalks bustling on both sides as the street delicately curves, offering peeks of restaurants, shops, galleries and the ocean—and then that unmistakable, pink-hued, 11-story tower

comes into view. La Jolla’s landmark “Pink Lady,” La Valencia Hotel, turns 100 years old this year. While such real estate milestones may be no biggie in other parts of the world, a SoCal centennial is special and worth celebrating. And this historical property is doing just that.

The History

OPENED IN 1926, La Valencia Hotel was designed in its signature Spanish Colonial Revival style by architect Reginald Johnson; with its skyline-skimming tower debuting in 1928. While many think its “Pink Lady” nickname is a nod to the

building’s pale pink color, it actually stems from a 1928 tile work by Ernest Batchelder—a renowned American tilemaker and artist—capturing a Spanish woman donning a pink Sevilla dress. In 1950, the property acquired the adjacent Cabrillo Hotel (first opened in 1909), designed by celebrated architect Irving Gill.

With its idyllic seaside location overlooking La Jolla Cove, and as the

Village began to develop into a coveted enclave, La Valencia Hotel became an escape for Hollywood stars of the 1920s and ‘30s. Think: Joan Crawford, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo and more. In the 1940s, you’d see the likes of Gregory Peck, Mel Ferrer, Dorothy McGuire and other theater greats, who founded and/or contributed to the “La Jolla Playhouse Era.” In the 1950s, famed La Jolla resident Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), Raymond Chandler and other literary notables frequented the hotel’s Whaling Bar.

The Property TODAY, LA VALENCIA Hotel remains a revered

coastal retreat and culinary destination for vacationers and locals alike. (La Jolla Cove Beach is just a four-minute walk away.) With 114 guest rooms, suites and ocean villas, the property boasts original 1940s hand-painted murals, a striking ocean-view pool, sun-splashed courtyards and tropical gardens. The Mediterranean Room, its dining flagship, is backed by an ocean terrace and fronted by the charming Med Patio. The La Sala Lounge lobby bar boasts a piano, a postcard-perfect central window that looks out to the Pacific, and hand-painted ceilings.

First opened in 1949, the property’s iconic cocktail den, The Whaling

Bar, reopened in February 2024 after a 10-year closure. Inside the nostalgic, beautifully renovated space—which is outfitted in emerald-tufted booths and brass pendant lights— you’ll find stylish patrons sipping fancy libations like the gin-based Rolls Royce and the Truffle Old Fashioned; while dining on Osetra caviar, Maine scallops and duck meatballs.

Opened in August 2025, the new Spa at La Valencia looks and feels like a quaint, converted cottage in a Mediterranean village, tucked behind lush greenery down the stairs to the right of the hotel. And once you step inside, you’re transported to that imagined Mediterranean

escape—with the ocean just steps away and visible from the spa’s private alfresco lounge and treatment rooms. And there’s a treatment for every speed, from holistic wellness therapies, to pampering facials, to sacred stone massages, to packages that offer it all.

The

Festivities IN CELEBRATION OF its centennial, La Valencia Hotel debuts the 1926 Social Club, taking place on the Med Patio every Thursday evening. Embrace the Roaring Twenties with live jazz music, featuring a rotating roster of musicians; plus Prohibition-era cocktails with fun names like the Mary Pickford, Cat’s Rye

and La Jolla Holiday. Guests can also indulge in a special $100 prix fixe food menu for two.

Other anniversary offerings include historical, concierge-led property tours; a “Starlet Escape” spa package; and commemorative keepsakes, from Pink Lady postcards to apparel. And save the dates for a 1920s-themed “Murder Mystery” dinner series in the Mediterranean Room, beginning this September; and a glamorous anniversary soirée to close out 2026 in December.

The iconic, 100-year-old La Valencia Hotel is located at 1132 Prospect St. in La Jolla. Call 855.476.6870 or visit lavalencia.com for info.

Composer-in-Residence

Paul Wiancko, cellist of the Kronos Quartet, whose 2018 work Vox Petra will be prominently featured alongside new commissions. Other notable debuts and appearances include rising star violinist Randall Goosby, saxophonist Steven Banks, and contrabass innovator Mark Dresser.

“This season feels like a wonderful collision of old friends and new discoveries,” Barnatan says. “There are artists who carry so much of SummerFest’s history with them, like Jimmy Lin and Steve Schick; there are people who have become essential to the festival, like Alisa Weilerstein, Thomas Adès, and James Ehnes, to name just a few. And then there are artists and instruments that may be new to many of our listeners: Radu Rățoi and the accordion, Steven Banks and the saxophone, or incredible string players like Karen Gomyo

and Timothy Ridout. But what makes SummerFest special is that it isn’t built around hierarchy. The excitement comes from putting these artists together as equals and seeing what sparks.”

For those seeking a classic, elite chamber music experience, the festival brings back its beloved Midweek Masterworks series on Wednesday evenings. The concerts are curated as fast-paced, intermission-free deep dives into iconic cornerstones of the classical repertoire. To cultivate a sense of shared community and celebration, each Midweek Masterworks performance concludes with a complimentary sparkling wine toast hosted out in the open-air Wu Tsai QRT.yrd of The Conrad.

Beyond the annual SummerFest Gala on Saturday, Aug. 22, the entire month features celebratory milestones, including the marquee retrospective concert

“SummerFest at 40!” on Friday, Aug. 21.

Additionally, the festival’s unique localized partnership with its neighbor, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD), will continue. This historic “cross-Village partnership” weaves dynamic art selections into the visual identity of the festival.

True to the core mission of the La Jolla Music Society, SummerFest 2026 extends far beyond the walls of the concert hall. To break traditional classical stereotypes and welcome listeners of all ages, the organization is hosting more than 50 free wraparound learning and engagement events around the community.

At Open Rehearsals, music lovers can slip into The Baker-Baum Concert Hall at The Conrad for free to watch world-class musicians demystify the rehearsal process and craft complex interpretations in real time.

Led by prominent musi-

cologists and the artists themselves, pre-concert lectures and new Listening Lounges explore the historical contexts, hidden meanings, and technical triumphs found behind the pieces being played.

Through the festival’s highly competitive Farfy Foundation Fellowship Artist Program, selected young artists receive hands-on master classes from senior festival artists, career honorariums, and direct performance opportunities on the main stage. This year, participating artists are the Prometheus Quartet and the Kairos Piano Quartet.

Single tickets for mainstage concerts range from $45 to $145; premium multi-concert ticket packages are also currently available.

La Jolla Music Society’s 40th Anniversary SummerFest 2026 runs July 31-Aug. 29. For complete programming and schedule, and to book seats, visit theconrad.org.

38th San Diego International

Organ Festival

Every Monday Night July 13 - Sept 7 | 7:30 PM

The Spreckels Organ Society presents the largest organ festival in the United States, featuring the Spreckels Organ, the largest open-air musical instrument in the world.

• Acclaimed International Organists and Competition Winners

• Piano & Organ Duo MusArt-Barcelona with Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto

• An Organ and Orchestra Celebration featuring conductor Alejandro Gómez Guillén, soloist Raúl Prieto Ramírez and concertmaster Jeff Thayer

• The Not-So-Silent Movie Night featuring Keaton's and Chaplin's films

• The Labor Day Classic Rock Concert. Featuring ORGAN-ISM, the Organ Pavilion Rock Band on hits by The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Dire Straits, Deep Purple and more For more information:

BROADSTAGE THE EDYE | CENTER THEATRE GROUP AHMANSON THEATRE KIRK

DOUGLAS THEATRE MARK TAPER FORUM | LOS ANGELES OPERA DOROTHY CHANDLER

DANCE AT THE MUSIC CENTER

PAVILION | DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION JERRY MOSS

PLAZA | LOS ANGELES

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL | WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL | PASADENA PLAYHOUSE | AMBASSADOR AUDITORIUM | LA MIRADA THEATRE | A NOISE WITHIN

MASTER CHORALE PASADENA

SYMPHONY | THE

WALLIS ANNENBERG CENTER BRAM GOLDSMITH THEATRE LOVELACE STUDIO THEATRE

| OLD GLOBE OLD GLOBE THEATRE WHITE THEATRE DAVIES FESTIVAL THEATRE | SAN

DIEGO SYMPHONY JACOBS MUSIC CENTER THE RADY SHELL AT JACOBS PARK | LA JOLLA

PLAYHOUSE MANDELL WEISS THEATRE MANDELL WEISS FORUM POTIKER THEATRE | SAN DIEGO OPERA SAN DIEGO CIVIC THEATRE | SEGERSTROM CENTER BROADWAY SERIES

PACIFIC SYMPHONY DANCE SERIES PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY | SOUTH COAST REP FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION PERFORMANCESMAGAZINE.COM