Selby Gardens announces collaboration with former Sarasota Opera maestro

Victor DeRenzi, who stepped down as artistic director and conductor of the Sarasota Opera in May, will lend his creative talents to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens for its spring 2027 season. 

De Renzi brings a wealth of experience and contacts to Selby Gardens, which periodically offers live arts programming on its 15-acre downtown campus, often in partnership with other arts groups. With De Renzi as a partner, the potential is great for Selby Gardens to expand its global profile in performing arts.

"Victor DeRenzi's artistic vision has enriched our community for decades," said Jennifer Rominiecki, president and CEO of Selby Gardens, in a statement. "We are honored to have Maestro as the driving artistic force behind this special interdisciplinary program, which reflects our shared commitment to education, creativity and meaningful cultural experiences. His remarkable legacy and insight will help create an inspiring spring 2027 season that highlights and celebrates the relationship among music, art and nature."

During DeRenzi's 44-year tenure, the Sarasota Opera became the only opera in the world to perform all the works of Giuseppe Verdi, an achievement that was completed in 2016. It has favored traditional productions, which DeRenzi was known to say were "performed as they were meant to be performed." 

"This collaboration represents an extraordinary opportunity to bring together two powerful sources of inspiration," said DeRenzi. "Music and gardens both invite us to slow down, observe and experience beauty in profound ways. I am honored to work with Selby Gardens to create programs that celebrate these shared qualities."

Selby Gardens was the setting for the Sarasota Opera's April 11 gala to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Sarasota Opera House. The black-tie event followed an afternoon of wide-ranging performances by the Opera and several other cultural organizations inside the Opera House.

A native of Staten Island, New York, DeRenzi joined the Sarasota Opera in 1982, its last season performing in The Ringling's Historic Asolo Theatre before moving to its current home in the former A.B. Edwards Theatre, a Mediterranean-Revival palace that first opened in 1926.

Before joining Sarasota Opera, DeRenzi conducted six productions at the New York City Opera and was associated with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, New Orleans Opera and Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among others. 

While their time didn't overlap, Rominiecki and DeRenzi both share New York City work experience. Rominiecki spent 15 years at the New York Botanical Garden before joining Selby Gardens in 2015. Under her leadership, Selby has moved to a living museum model that encourages membership and repeat visitation. 

Rominiecki has also overseen the implementation of an ambitious master plan that has expanded and upgraded Selby Gardens.

Phase One of the master plan opened in January 2024 with the addition of 188,033 square feet of new amenities to the downtown campus, including the Morganroth Family Living Energy Access Facility. Dubbed LEAF, it houses parking, The Green Orchid by Michael’s On East restaurant, a gift shop, vertical gardens and a solar array that makes Selby Gardens the first net-positive energy botanical garden complex in the world.

Phase One also included the construction of the open-air Jean Goldstein Welcome Center, the Steinwachs Family Plant Research Center and a stormwater management system. In December 2025, Selby Gardens broke ground on Phase Two of the master plan, which is expected to be completed in 2028. All told, more than $121 million has been raised for the entire project.