Opera at the Symphony: Fan Favorites

Featuring Opera Santa Barbara Soloists

Saturday, January 20, 2024 | 7:30pm

Sunday, January 21, 2024 | 3:00pm

Concert Duration: Approximately 90 minutes

The Granada Theatre

Dive Deeper, Read:

Coming Soon: Digital Program

Coming Soon: Program Notes

Soloists from Opera Santa Barbara join The Symphony! Experience the rapture of unforgettable moments from grand operas by Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, Wagner, and others, including Madame Butterfly, Cavalleria Rusticana, and Tosca, to name a few. With local TV personality Anikka Abbott, a concert program of deception, romance, and tragedy unfolds!

The Artists

Nir Kabaretti, Conductor

Karin Wolverton, Soprano

Deborah Nansteel, Mezzo-Soprano

Adam Diegel, Tenor

Timothy Mix, Baritone

Anikka Abbott, Emcee

Karin Wolverton has enjoyed a successful career on both the concert and opera stage. As a frequent guest of Opera Santa Barbara, she has sung the roles of Magda in La Rondine, and Tatyana in Eugene Onegin and will appear as Leonora in the upcoming production of Il Trovatore. She also performs throughout the United States with such companies as Minnesota, Utah, Arizona, Omaha, Austin, Pittsburgh, Tulsa, Santa Barbara, Madison, Mill City Opera, Opera San Antonio, and Des Moines. A champion of new works, Ms. Wolverton has enjoyed collaborating on many world premieres, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night, a role she revived with MN Opera and the recording of which has recently been released by Naxos. She made her Carnegie Hall debut with MN Orchestra and has enjoyed performances with symphonies in Arizona, Jacksonville, Eugene, Sioux Falls, Dayton, Rochester, Pennsylvania, Seattle, and New Hampshire.

Timothy Mix’s recent successes include his debut as Alberich at Opera Santa Barbara in Das Rheingold, his return to the role of Joseph de Rocher Dead Man Walking at Opera Idaho, and as Dr. Bartolo Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Opera Delaware. Other engagements in 2022-23 include Count Capulet Romeo et Juliette at Opera San Antonio, Tutor Le Comte Ory at Opera Southwest, and the title role in Sweeny Todd at Opera Tampa.

The artist often appears at Santa Fe Opera, where he sang the role of Tsar Dodon in Paul Cullen’s Le Coq d’Or, and the role of Jack Hubbard in a new production of Dr. Atomic. San Francisco Opera appearances include Le Bret Cyrano de Bergerac in 2010, Elder Ott/Blitch (c) Susannah in 2014 and Brétigny Manon in 2017. International engagements include Escamillo Carmen at Finnish National Opera, and in Norway he appeared at Bergen National Opera as Albert Werther.

For the 2019-2020 season, Mr. Diegel returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Froh in Das Rheingold. He made a role debut singing Narraboth in Salome with the Atlanta Opera, was the Tenor soloist in Mahler’s Lied von der Erde with Park Ridge Civic Orchestra, debuted with Nashville Opera singing Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, and returned to the Lithuanian National Opera for Madame Butterfly.

In the 2017-18 season, Diegel reprised his critically acclaimed role as Cavardossi in Tosca with Palm Beach Opera and returns to The Metropolitan Opera in Norma and Madama Butterfly. Additionally, Diegel performed two of his signature roles throughout the world as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at Opera Hong Kong and Palm Beach Opera and Don José in Carmen at San Francisco Opera, PORTopera, and Opera San Antonio. Additionally, Diegel sang the title role in Verdi’s Don Carlo with Lithuanian National Opera, Ruggerio in La Rondine with Opera Santa Barbara, Ismaele in Nabucco with The Metropolitan Opera, and the tenor solo in Verdi’s Requiem with Alabama Symphony Orchestra and Spokane Symphony.

Mr. Diegel made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Froh in Robert Lepage’s landmark production of Das Rheingold conducted by Maestro James Levine and later reprised the performance under Fabio Luisi. Further appearances at The Met include Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly under Plácido Domingo and Ismaele in Nabucco under Paolo Carignani. He will return to the famed house in 2019.

Other notable recent U.S. engagements include Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at Atlanta Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Arizona Opera, Opera San Antonio, and Kentucky Opera; Ismaele in Nabucco at Opera Philadelphia; Cavaradossi in Tosca at Vancouver Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Seattle Opera, and Arizona Opera; Don José in Carmen at Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Florida Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, and Madison Opera; and Rodolfo in La bohème at Opera Omaha and Minnesota Opera.

Opera at the Symphony