Atlanta closes its 2012-13 season with a double whammy. On the eve of the unveiling of its season closer (Rossini’s “L’Italiana in Algeri”), the company officially announced the appointment of its new General and Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun, following the awkward resignation of Zurich General Director Dennis Hanthorn last July. The news came as a big relief to the local opera scene, as the lack of steady artistic vision would have spelled disastrous to the company as it enters its 35th season. Mr. Zvulun thus becomes the fourth Artistic Director to steward the company, and if his work as a director is any indication, his reign promises to bring striking visual productions of tried and true selections from the standard repertoire. If the lineup for next season is any indication, it is also likely to ensure repeats of the same twenty operas the city has been resigned to memorize for the past 34 years. Since your friends at newoutpost are barely middle class and would love to avoid those pesky travel expenses, we are rooting for our home city’s opera company and wish Mr. Zvulun the greatest success.
Isabella (Sandra Piqued Eddy) takes a bath, photo by Jeff Roffman