For Sarasota Opera, it's a season to remember

“Kids Do the Craziest Things” was the name of a reality TV show back in 2016, a year currently inspiring a wave of nostalgia. Evidently, 2016 was a “very good year,” as Frank Sinatra once crooned, for a lot of people. It certainly was for Sarasota Opera Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi.

That was the year the Sarasota Opera completed its “Verdi Cycle,” becoming the first opera company in the world to perform all of the Italian composer’s works. Completing the 28-year cycle was a momentous accomplishment. What made it even more extraordinary was that DeRenzi conducted all of them himself.

In honor of his achievement, the city of Sarasota briefly named the stretch of Pineapple Avenue in front of the Sarasota Opera House Verdi Way in January 2016.

But bigger honors were on the way. In June 2016, DeRenzi received the title of Cavaliere dell’ordine della Stella d’Italia (Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy). It’s hard to beat that kind of glory.

But the fat lady hasn’t started singing when it comes to banner years for DeRenzi — 2026 will mark both the maestro’s exit from the Sarasota Opera after 44 years and the 100th anniversary of the Sarasota Opera House, the Mediterranean Revival palace that is looking more historic each day as new construction goes up around it.

Could there be a trifecta for DeRenzi? It’s possible. Maestro hasn’t yet revealed plans for his next act. We know it’s not retirement. In a recent interview he declined to answer questions about his future, saying, “I don’t plan to make any announcements until June 1.”

It’s possible that we’ll see DeRenzi in the orchestra pit of the Opera House as a guest artist in the future. That’s because his successor, Richard Russell, the Sarasota Opera general director who is adding artistic director to his role, is not a professional conductor. 

Photo by Matthew Holler

In any event, DeRenzi’s exit marks the end of an era, to use the well-worn phrase that is truly apt in this case. Under his leadership, a little-known opera company in a sleepy Florida town has become renowned worldwide, attracting talent, audiences and donors from all over.

The Sarasota Opera isn’t in the same league as New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera and other big-city companies. Rather, it’s emerged as a winter counterpart to the Santa Fe Opera, founded as a summer festival in 1956.

A valedictory feeling pervades the 100-year-old Opera House, which underwent a $20 million renovation in 2007-08. It’s reminiscent of graduation, where seniors know their school days are coming to an end. (Cue Lulu’s “To Sir, With Love.”)

Still, there was no sense of “senioritis” as DeRenzi and Russell prepared for the momentous 2026 Winter Festival, which opened Feb. 14 with Puccini’s beloved tale of 1830s Parisian poverty, “La bohème.”

As DeRenzi and Russell sat for an interview, the mood was business as usual.

The usual part? There will be four operas during the Winter Festival. They will be presented in a traditional manner, meaning no bells and whistles or video screens. A live orchestra will accompany the world-class singers wearing elaborate wigs and costumes, surrounded by creative, inspiring sets.

Always room for Verdi

In addition to “La bohème,” there will be a Verdi favorite “Il trovatore,” in keeping with the Opera’s longstanding affiliation with the composer. Also on the bill are Franz Lehár’s lively “The Merry Widow” and Carlisle Floyd’s American opera, “Susannah,” which debuted in Florida.

To make the Winter Festival more accessible to out-of-towners and those who want to squeeze in as much opera in as little time possible, the Sarasota Opera once again will offer its Opera Lovers Weeks. The packages allow ticket buyers to see as many as four operas in three days with a 10% ticket discount for patrons who see all four.

Did DeRenzi know he would be leaving when he and Russell programmed the Winter Opera Festival? We couldn’t get a “yes” or “no” answer. The response made it clear that any artistic decisions are in safe hands with Russell.

Inquiring minds want to know: Is there a formula like the wedding rule of thumb (“something old, something new...”) that guides the selection process for the Winter Opera Festival?

Programming a memorable festival isn’t rocket science, but it’s not a cookie-cutter operation, either. Asked to reveal his recipe, DeRenzi begins, “There should be a Verdi.”

Another factor was the Opera House’s centennial, which DeRenzi says provided an occasion to restage “Susannah,” Carlisle Floyd’s opera about a wrongfully accused woman in the South and the community that turns against her.

“We have always done this combination of popular things,” DeRenzi noted recently, in his first interview with the Observer since the Sarasota Opera’s November 2025 announcement that he would be stepping down at the end of the season.

“‘Susannah’ fits in well with the 100th anniversary of the Opera House,” DeRenzi says. “With an opera like ‘bohème,’ we repeat those every six or seven years. Last time we did ‘bohème,’ we were cut short because of COVID. So if something was six years ago and COVID happened, it was more like eight years ago.”

He continues: “We do a Verdi opera every year, and it seemed the time was right to do ‘trovatore.’” With its lively combination of dance, music and comedy, “The Merry Widow” was selected as the fourth opera for the festival.

Lots of luck in its location 

Pressed for the secret of the Sarasota Opera’s success, DeRenzi and Russell chalked it up to consistency and quality over a long period of time, its location in a vibrant arts community and its home in the magnificent building once known as the A.B. Edwards Theatre.

“We know we’re lucky,” Russell says. “We have this wonderful theater. And we’re in this community that supports the arts in a significant way.”

Added DeRenzi: “I think our audience trusts what we do because we’ve been doing it consistently for so long. They trust that we’re going to do a good production even if they don’t really like the piece. The consistency over the years has been very important to our audience.”

Not long before our interview with DeRenzi and Russell, the New York Times reported that The Metropolitan Opera was experiencing financial difficulties and was cutting its staff, reducing the number of productions and trimming employee salaries. Even with those belt-tightening measures, The Met is still considering selling its massive Marc Chagall murals, valued at $55 million.

Both former New Yorkers, Russell and DeRenzi wouldn’t extrapolate The Met's financial troubles to the rest of the opera world. No dire talk here about where the next generation of patrons will come from.

“The Met has its own set of challenges that are very different from what we have here,” Russell says. “It’s the largest performing arts organization in the world. It’s in this enormous city with high expenses.”

Even though the arts as a whole have rebounded smartly in Sarasota since the 2020 pandemic, attendance numbers aren’t as high at Sarasota Opera as they were before the shutdowns, Russell said.

For organizations with long seasons, selling subscriptions can be a heavy lift these days, when patrons demand flexibility and are apt to change plans at the last minute.

But opera lovers are still willing to make room in their schedule for the Sarasota Opera’s Winter Festival, which has only four operas spread over six weeks. Also with DeRenzi’s imminent departure, even the casual patron knows it’s now or never.

Photo by Rod Millington

As other opera companies experiment with modernized versions of classic operas (“Carmen” with pickup trucks at The Met in 2024) and dramatic video (Santa Fe’s 2023 production of Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande”), the Sarasota Opera has stuck to its knitting. It stages operas in the same fashion they were first presented a century or more ago.

Russell says the Opera’s research vindicates that artistic vision. “Our audiences appreciate our traditional approach,” he says.

While Sarasota Opera doesn’t have a repertory company, some of its performers have risen through the ranks of its apprentice singer program. Audiences like seeing their development over the years.

“I’m not sure seeing a performer return to the stage sells more tickets, but it helps the audience feel more ownership of the company,” DeRenzi says. “We have people who are principal singers who have started with us as apprentices, become studio artists here and have gone on and performed all over the world and yet come back to work with us.

“It’s not just that we’re doing opera,” DeRenzi says. “We’re people doing opera.”