Tickets for Sarasota Opera 2012-2013 Season Go On Sale 8/1

Single tickets go on sale online at www.sarasotaopera.org to the general public Wednesday, August 1^st, 2012 for Sarasota Opera's 2012-2013 Fall and Winter Festival seasons, the company's 54^th consecutive season.  Sarasota Opera continues its tradition of assembling casts of international talent to perform a mixture of classic favorites paired with rarely performed works of artistic excellence in the beautiful historic Sarasota Opera House.

The fall 2012 season opens with the return of the acclaimed Sarasota Opera production of Verdi's Rigoletto (Oct. 26 – Nov. 12), last seen in 2008 as the opera chosen to commemorate the re-opening of the newly renovated Sarasota Opera House. Interspersed between the final two performances of Rigoletto will be the Sarasota Youth Opera world premiere of their fifth commissioned opera Little Nemo in Slumberland (Nov. 10 – 11), music by Daron Hagen and story by J.D. McClatchy. 

Opening the 2013 Winter Festival on February 9^th will be Giacomo Puccini's vocally extravagant Turandot, the largest production ever mounted at Sarasota Opera.  Immediately following will be Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, Verdi's second operaA King for a Day (the 29^th installment of Sarasota Opera's ongoing Verdi Cycle) and Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men (the third opera presented in the company's ongoing American Classics Series).  The Winter Festival will close on March 24^th withThe Verdi Concert: Celebrating the 200^th anniversary of the birth of Verdi featuring Sarasota Opera soloists, chorus and orchestra conducted by Maestro Victor DeRenzi. 

Additional concerts available for ticket purchase will be the Apprenctice & Studio Artists Concert: Verdi's Times on March 8, 2013 and the Artists Choice Concert on March 17, 2013.  Also available will be Sarasota Opera's ongoing lecture series entitled Meet the Artists where patrons are offered an insider's perspective as Maestro DeRenzi interviews the singers, directors and designers of all 6 of the Sarasota Opera productions. 

Due to the overwhelming popularity of our matinee performances, Sarasota Opera will continue to offer weekday matineesduring the fall and winter season for specific performances of Rigoletto, Turandot and The Pearl Fishers.  All matinee performances begin at 1:30pm.  Check www.sarasotaopera.org or call the box office for specific dates. 

And patrons travel from around the world for Sarasota Opera's "Opera Lovers' Weekend"!  Perfect for those with a tighter travel schedule, Sarasota Opera offers three consecutive weekends in March where anyone can see all 4 operas in 3 days! Dates for the 2013 Season are March 8-10, March 15-17, or March 22-24.  Log on to www.sarasotaopera.org for more information. 

Single tickets go on sale in the Box Office on September 4, 2012.  Subscription packages are still available for purchase in four and five show packages through the Box Office as well.