Dear friends, 

Our 40th Anniversary Season is drawing to a close and will conclude with two of the greatest of all operatic comedies, Falstaff and The Magic Flute—a fitting way to celebrate conductor James Conlon in his final performances as our beloved Music Director. Happily, he will remain with the company as our first Conductor Laureate. 

Falstaff was the final opera and crowning achievement of Giuseppe Verdi, the greatest of Italian opera composers. This peerless comic masterpiece is one of ten Verdi operas James has conducted during his two decades with the company; over the course of his career, he has led more than 500 Verdi performances worldwide. 

Our delightful production—first seen in 2013—returns in a revival directed by Shawna Lucey. The superb ensemble cast is led by our longtime friend Craig Colclough as Falstaff, his signature role. This extraordinary bass-baritone began his career with the company, rising from supporting parts to leading roles including Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni, and Capulet in Roméo et Juliette. 

He will be joined by a number of returning company favorites, including soprano Nicole Heaston as Alice Ford and mezzo-soprano Hyona Kim as Mistress Quickly, along with two alumni of our Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program: tenor Anthony León as Fenton and mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino as Meg Page. We are also pleased to welcome baritone Ernesto Petti and soprano Deanna Breiwick to Los Angeles for their company debuts as Ford and Nannetta. Three wonderful current members of the Young Artist Program—tenors Yuntong Han and Nathan Bowles and bass Vinícius Costa—complete the cast. 

I am deeply grateful to the underwriters whose generosity has made it possible for us to bring this masterpiece to our stage, where its humor, brilliance, and emotional depth can be fully appreciated: GRoW @ Annenberg Foundation, Andrea Pessino, the Tarasenka Pankiv Fund (Tara Colburn), Barbara Augusta Teichert, and the Emanuel Treitel Senior Citizen Fund. I also extend my thanks for the additional support of Laura and Carlton Seaver, and my special appreciation to Régina and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten. 

Completed when Verdi was 79 years old, Falstaff represents the culmination of a lifetime of musical mastery, filled with extraordinary orchestral invention, irrepressible energy, intricate ensembles, and unforgettable characters. I hope this triumph of comic opera will move, delight, and inspire you. 

Sincerely, 

Christopher Koelsch
Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco President and CEO