San Diego Opera once again will partner with SD Pride, Out at the Fair®, and #NowTrending App for “Out at the Opera” on Saturday, April 25, 2020 surrounding a performance of Rossini’s comic masterpiece The Barber of Seville. This new production is inspired by the films of Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, whose bold colors, unique camera angles, and explorations of themes of sexual freedom and gender fluidity has earned him a cult following both in Spain and abroad.
This is the fourth “Out at the Opera” event the Company has hosted, with previous events surrounding As One (2017), Florencia en el Amazonas (2018), and Carmen (2019). The event will start at 6 PM with a private mix-and-mingle hosted reception featuring hors d’oeuvres, wine, and beer. Guests will have an opportunity of taking an exclusive backstage tour prior to the reception at 5:30 PM. San Diego Opera’s own General Director, David Bennett, will welcome guests and lead the festivities until the 7:30 PM performance of The Barber of Seville at the San Diego Civic Theatre. San Diego Opera is providing a number of discounted tickets for this event which includes the reception, the opera, and a donation to SD Pride to enable the organization to continue its vital mission of fostering pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally.
“Out at the Opera” was created because of the Company’s desire to create a safe, inclusive, welcoming, and fun environment for everyone in our community and to celebrate the diversity within San Diego’s LGBTQIA community.
“Theatre is a safe place to allow us to express our true identities, so partnering with San Diego Pride is a natural fit for us,” shared San Diego Opera General Director, David Bennett. “The last three “Out at the Opera” events have been an incredible success and I look forward to welcoming both new and returning members of San Diego’s rich LGBTQIA community for a night of great music, comradery, inclusiveness, and fun.”
“Creating civic spaces for the LGBTQ community to feel safe, welcome, and authentically themselves is at the core of our mission at San Diego Pride. Fighting for those spaces here in San Diego and around the world is a social justice issue that we are proud to stand up for,” said Fernando Z. López, Executive Director of San Diego Pride. “It’s an honor to partner with the San Diego Opera as we continue to open doors for our LGBTQ community to enjoy some of the best art and culture San Diego has to offer.”
Tickets to “Out at the Opera” start at $134 and include entrance to the pre-opera reception, a performance of The Barber of Seville, and a $25 donation to San Diego Pride. $163, $178, and $229 packages are also available with better seating. Tickets are available online at: https://www.sdopera.org/out_barber
or through the “Out at the Opera” concierge representative, Vanessa Dining, at [email protected].
“With the mission of inclusion, community support and producing family-friendly community festivals across the country,” shares William Zakrajshek, founder of Out at the Fair® and co-founder of the NowTrending app, “we are proud to partner with the San Diego Opera and give our support to the fourth annual Out at the Opera event.”
About The Barber of Seville
Figaro, Figaro, Fiiiigggaarrro! He’s Seville’s “King of Lather and Foam” and master of a few other tricks as well. Barber by day, matchmaker by night, Figaro puts his wiles to work as he aids Count Almaviva in wooing the beautiful Rosina. She’s such a catch that her disreputable guardian Dr. Bartolo keeps her under lock and key with the intent of marrying her himself. But no challenge is too great for Figaro and with hilarious pranks, mistaken identities, and general tomfoolery at every turn, we’ll find out which marriage is made in heaven! Featuring “Largo al factotum,” the famous aria heard everywhere from car commercials to Bugs Bunny, and “Una voce poco fa,” Barber contains some of the most delightful music ever composed. This new production is inspired by the films of Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar whose exploration of sexual freedom, gender fluidity, and bold use of colors and camera angles has earned him a cult following around the world.
About San Diego Pride
San Diego LGBT Pride is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which has distributed more than $2 million in advancement of its mission of “fostering pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally.” All proceeds from the festival support San Diego Pride’s community philanthropy efforts and year-round LGBT-youth-serving programs. You can learn more about the organization by visiting www.sdpride.org
About Out at the Fair®
Out at the Fair® is an award-winning, family-friendly, all-day festival, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, held in five Fairs in California and New Mexico. Conceived in 2011 by Will Zakrajshek as a Facebook group check-in at the San Diego County Fair, as “Unofficial Gay Days at the Fair,” OATF™ became an official Fair event in 2014, which is now produced by WZ Productions, LLC. The event is also held at an official capacity at the California State Fair in Sacramento, the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque, the Marin County Fair in San Rafael, CA, and the Santa Clara County Fair in San Jose, CA. WZP is the recipient of the Western Fairs Association’s Barham Award, the highest honor bestowed in the Fair industry, to recognize innovation, quality, and leadership in the field of service. More information: www.outatthefair.com.
About #NowTrending App
#NowTrending app is San Diego’s only LGBTQ+ app, providing information on community events and local businesses. The mission of NT is to connect the LGBTQ+ community with events and resources across the county. With nearly 16,000 downloads, and 7,000 active users, the app’s multi-faceted platform allows subscribers to interact in an unprecedented variety of ways. In addition to business and event listings, NT features photo galleries, music streaming, videos, raffles, music requests, and much more. More information: www.nowtrendingapp.com
Purchasing Tickets
Tickets for “Out at the Opera” are incredibly limited and be purchased at https://www.sdopera.org/out_barber or by emailing the “Out at the Opera” concierge representative, Vanessa Dinning, at [email protected]
San Diego Opera 2019-2020 Season
Aida Giuseppe Verdi October 19, 22, 25, and 27 (mat), 2019
One Amazing Night with Ailyn Pérez and Joshua Guerrero December 11, 2019
Hansel & Gretel Engelbert Humperdinck February 8, 11, 14, and 16 (mat), 2020
The Bel Canto Trio March 4, 2020
Aging Magician Paola Prestini March 13 and 14 (evening and mat), 2020
The Barber of Seville Gioachino Rossini April 25, 28, May 1 and 3 (mat) 2020
The Falling and the Rising Zach Redler May 8, 9, and 10 (mat) 2020
