Opera San Jose

Opera San Jose puts on first class productions consistently, and offers them at an affordable price. It’s difficult to get Silicon Valley residents to appreciate the magic that is opera but OSJ does it’s best with consistently well-​planned seasons, full of both traditional opera favs and lately, new productions/​world premieres that remind people why opera has survived for such a long time. Their resident artists are passionate and well-​trained singers who put their hearts into their roles. The opera pre-​talk helps newcomers to opera understand what they’re about to see, and provides little-​known facts about the composers and the production for those who are more seasoned patrons. Everyone should go… opera is drama, music, dance, and theatre all in one beautifully costumed package!

We saw Streetcar Named Desire last night and it was just wonderful. It’s a modern opera so you won’t walk out singing the songs. But it was a beautiful telling of the play with music which enhanced the drama and emotion of the story. I think the best performance of Streetcar I have ever seen. Beautiful voices and acting. The long, standing ovation was greatly deserved.
The California Theater itself is lovely with great sight lines. The pre-​opera talk by Larry Hancock is always superb. Parking is easy. Such a much easier experience than almost anywhere else you would go to see fine opera. It is one of San Jose’s jewel’s.

I saw the Marriage of Figaro recently and I just watched it on line from the Met.
I bow my head to this organization as to what they create with what money.
They are $ for $ the best I have ever seen. The stage sets are imaginative and great.
No, I do not work there. I am in construction.
Thank you

The SJ Opera performs in the California Theater building. Park at Convention Center; little lot on W San Salvador; or bigger lot across First St.
Productions this season include Tosca & Carmen. I’m pumped for those. Bring your loudest «Bravos.»

Fresh from attending the Magic Flute, I can truthfully say that my wife and I enjoyed it thoroughly. From music and singing well performed, to a beautiful set design, we loved it. Tucked neatly in the SOFA district, this is a San Jose gem.

Came here last night for an opera show of the Italian Girl in Algiers and I couldn’t believe how well done it actually was.
The cast was phenomenal and the production design was top notch very this venue. It may not be a grandiose as the SF opera, but that doesn’t mean you’re missing much if you chose to watch here.
Everything was spectacular and I hope to come here again relatively soon.

Opera San Jose is a local treasure! Locally produced great opera, performed in a grand theater.
They do four different productions each year, and all are very good.
A great part of the experience, especially for people interested in the back story of the opera and of music in general, is to attend the fantastic lectures before the performance. The lectures are presented by Larry Hancock, the current general manager of the Opera Company (and as of next year the general director). He is perhaps the most knowledgeable person about this subject and presents his hour long lecture with enthusiasm and humor. The lecture for me is always a highlight of the evening’s entertainment. These lectures are nothing like what you may have experienced at the San Francisco opera, which generally are sometimes dry and only talk about that night’s show; the Opera San Jose lectures are wide ranging, in-​depth, and always presented by a natural instructor, who apparently has a great gift of being someone who could teach anybody anything (I have only known very few people who can do that).
The venue is a wonderfully preserved and restored grand theater. Usually, there is a concert in the lobby before the performance. This concert is of classic theater organ music played on the pipe organ in the lobby. A nice touch.
Opera San Jose is a resident company, providing training to the next generation of opera stars. They are already great singers and clearly on their way to international fame.
The ticket prices are very reasonable, especially when compared to the prices charged by the San Francisco Opera. Every seat in this theater is a very good seat with great views of the stage. Even in the back row of the balcony, the view is great. Compared with the San Francisco Opera House, the back row of the California Theatre is like the dress circle in San Francisco. (And these are the inexpensive seats in San Jose). The sound is great anywhere in the theater.

I am an opera n00b but I have been really impressed with the productions here. We always come on Sundays for the matinée where as season ticket holders we can attend a pre-​show discussion about the opera we are about to see. This makes it so much more meaningful for me. I like that they don’t have a stuffy dress code (at least if you are not attending an opening gala) so jeans are not frowned upon. People are friendly and the theater is beautiful. The English supertitles really help me follow along too. We bought season tickets again for next year and look forward to experiencing more of this art form.

Opera San Jose is an amazing experience. It is incredibly reasonably priced compared to Opera San Francisco, and I like the choices of operas at SJ much better. This season, 2013 – 2014, has knocked it out of the ball park. «Madame Butterfly» was mesmerizing.

Turns out that the Grinch’s heart really did grow three sizes the day the box office received my email complaining about my wasted trip to pick up my tickets.
After writing my initial review, I received an apologetic email from the Director of Marketing offering to make it right with some comped tickets for my mother.
I appreciate both the personal apology and the effort to make things right for my mom. She’s very much looking forward to the performance.

This is a long overdue review for our favorite opera house in the Bay Area.
The venue is great — the acoustics, stage, seat upholstery, everything — including the guy who plays the piano in the lobby before each performance. This opera company has a lot of heart.
Why am I giving San Jose Opera 5 stars while San Francisco Opera gets only 4 stars? Because you have to take their mission into account. San Jose Opera trains the next generation of performers, while San Francisco Opera showcases established performers from around the world. Objectively, the sets and singers performing in San Francisco are better — but that’s to be expected. It’s like comparing an awesome diner to, say, the French Laundry. Different missions, different evaluation criteria.
Also, the cost of a performance at San Jose Opera is far lower. As an example, a Tier 3 seat (approximately $ 60 for subscribers) at San Jose provides a significantly better view than a Dress Circle Rear seat (around $ 98 for subscribers) at San Francisco. I also prefer the atmosphere at San Jose Opera — it’s more laid back, less bombastic, perfect for a Sunday afternoon.
We look forward to attending more operas here in the coming years. Our only complaint is they only have 4 operas per season. Wish they could have more productions, but perhaps this is not possible due to financial constraints…

We became subscribers several years ago after attending a performance of «La Boheme.» This is a talented and well run company playing in a beautiful setting; the California Theater. Last Thursday night we enjoyed the opera «Falstaff» by Verdi. What a treat. Everybody there seemed to love it and I did not get drowsy even though it was long enough for two intermissions!
This was a funny opera, but even the tragic ones like «Madam Butterfly» are excellent entertainment. Long live Opera San Jose!

We’ve been going to San Francisco Opera on and off for about 20 years and were recently given tickets to see «Il Trovatore» at SJ Opera. We’ve never been, and I have to admit to being a little prejudiced, thinking that there was no way this company would be as good as its neighbor to the north.
We were pleasantly surprised! The venue was easy to get to and nearby parking was no problem. The orchestra was incredible, and the acoustics in the California Theater were wonderful. Most of the singers were very good, though a few of the soloists had some noticeable problems (I could say the same for some SF productions we’ve seen, though).
The company seems to be a good jumping-​off point for young singers starting their careers. Aside from a couple of issues, the singers were all very good (the Leonore we saw last night was exceptional).
We will be returning for sure. What a great thing to have two great opera companies in the Bay Area!

New Subscribers here and so far VERY impressed! The Pearl Fisher was wonderful and last night saw Die Fledermaus which was fun and very entertaining. The California Theatre is a lovely venue — the restoration incredibly well done. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful Opera Company right here in San Jose! Bravo!!!

I watched Mozart’s Idomeneo here recently and was struck by the elegance of the stage set design, costuming, sheer number of chorus members, and beauty of theater itself. What a gem right in the heart of downtown San Jose! I thoroughly enjoyed my evening and will eagerly attend another Opera San Jose event.

I love this — a little culture in San Jose. Being a New Yorker at heart I CRAVE culture! Opera SJ and SJ Ballet have saved it. Driving to San Francisco just to feel like I am part a great community just isn’t going to happen more than a few times a year.
Opera San Jose is wonderful… I was blown away by the caliber of the performances, scenery, theater, etc. Everything about Opera SJ is top notch!

This was my first time attending a real opera performance (Opera in the Park at AT&T doesn’t count) so naturally, the first time seeing an Opera San Jose show as well. I had been meaning to make it out to a show since my friend’s wife is part of the company.
Came to the matinée showing of The Barber of Seville with my Aunt. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. These folks are truly talented! The whole production is amazing. The opera singers and orchestra were perfection. I enjoyed when the singers pretended to play instruments and the orchestra made it look as if it was really them. The voice control and range that the singers have is quite awesome.
I have a new found respect for opera and plan to be back for another show in the future.

As my first time experience of the opera, I was disappointed in the «Anna Karenina». The voices were extraordinary, and the site (California theatre) is beautiful. However, the composer’s discordant and disharmonious music gave me a headache! — literally! It seemed impossibly astringent and unpleasant, which actually increased my admiration for the musicians — how they stood rehearsal and performance is a mystery to me – only 3 hours was almost more than I could voluntarily stand.
The set was «spare», and hard-​edged, and it certainly fit the music. And yes, the plot was understandable — and in English language, although I still appreciated the screened words. The play was faithful to the Tolstoy story, and it was a testament to the vocalists that the presentation does evoke some of the tension and emotion of the book.
So finally, I have taken aspirin, and still have great admiration for the voices, training and skill of the musicians (both singers and symphony) who could rehearse and perform such music without (apparently) going mad. I have decided not to hold the choices of this particular piece and this particular composer against all of opera — I will give opera another chance with something more melodic!

Terrible customer service. I won complimentary tickets to see the opening show of Anna Karenina which my husband and I were really excited about. I ended up going INTO LABOR on 9÷09÷10 so could not make the ⁹⁄₁₁ showing as we were in the hospital with a 2 day old.
I called this morning and spoke with Mike Cheatwood to see if we could get other tickets for a different night or a different opening night as I know that the complementary tickets are usually only for opening night.
Mike Cheatwood was extremely rude to me, speaking to me in a condescending manner, and stated that they would not accommodate us with other tickets. I explained why we had missed the show and he just kept repeating that he WOULD NOT honor our tickets for a later showing as if the tickets were not redeemed on opening night then they were voided.
A long story short, I was in tears by the end of the call and informed Mike that my husband and I would no longer support Opera San Jose if this was the type of service that we would receive. I asked to speak to another manager and he transferred me to a voice mail box. Hoping that they actually call me back but still shocked to receive this type of service.
VERY DISAPPOINTED! They have lost 2 customers. We will go else where to see our Operas.

Saw Manon, an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet.
French Opera is garbage. Especially this one. Before this review goes south, I must say that the Opera sucked, not the performance or cast at SJOpera. That part was great.
Manon is a whiny bitch that doesn’t get her way. Because of that I slept thru act one. Take that fat lady.
The music was well executed and the Soprano and Tenor roles well sung.
Want some culture in San Jose past drinking shitty beer out of a can or trying to find the taqueria that wont make you sick? Try the opera.
The California Theater is really nice and swank and they don’t sweat you for wearing blue jeans and a t-​shirt to the show. Try that in uppity old stuffy San Francisco.
Bravo Opera SJ — try not to book any more crap French sob stories.

Saw Carmen on ⁴⁄₁₉ matinée.
Not bad, not too great. Average, not so much depth on most voices. I guess it’s the age of the casts.
Many seniors, about ¾ of the crowd; took sometime to get around them coming in and out — is it because it was Sunday?
But the best? Free tickets won from KDFC.

We saw The Elixir of Love here this weekend, and it was wonderful. Vocal quality was excellent (both leads and chorus), acting was spot on, and the orchestra was top of the line.
I particularly enjoyed the concept that was applied to this show, which set it in San Jose sometime around the turn of the century. (Having worked on a couple of concept shows in the past, I appreciate one that is well done. This one definitely was.)
The production that we saw was in the California Theater, which is just gorgeous. The acoustics are also fantastic, which is a nice change from some theaters that I know.
From what I’ve read it seems that Opera San Jose is a little more casual than the SF Opera, but we saw fashions ranging across the board for both women and men. I wore a dress to be on the safe side, but observation indicated that business casual would have also been just fine.
Looking forward to going again sometime!