Verdi Part of San Diego Opera Season

San Diego Opera will present five fully staged productions and two non-subscription concerts for 1998-99. The operas will be Verdi’s “Falstaff” (Jan. 23-Feb. 3), Carlisle Floyd’s “Of Mice and Men” (Feb. 13-21), Mozart’s “Cosi fan Tutte” (March 6-17), Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” (April 10-18, 1999) and Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” (May 1-12, 1999).

San Diego veteran Edoardo Muller will conduct, and company general director Ian Campbell will be stage director--his company debut in that function--of “Falstaff.” Rhoda Levine will serve as stage director for “Of Mice and Men,” with company resident conductor Karen Keltner leading the production from the pit. Keltner will also conduct “Hansel and Gretel,” to be staged by Frank Corsaro.

German conductor Peter Erckens will make his San Diego debut leading “Cosi fan Tutte”; Leon Major will stage the Mozart work. Muller returns to conduct “Ballo in Maschera,” which will be staged by Michael Hampe. All performances take place in Civic Theatre in downtown San Diego.

In addition, two non-subscription concerts are part of the season. American soprano Helen Donath, with her husband, conductor Klaus Donath, at the piano, will give a recital under auspices of San Diego Opera, Dec. 6 in Sherwood Auditorium, La Jolla.

“The Great Wagner Concert,” to be conducted by Heinz Fricker, with soprano Katarina Dalayman, tenor Thomas Sunnegardh and basso Kenneth Cox, will be presented Feb. 20 in Civic Theatre. The program includes Act 1 of “Die Walkure,” plus excerpts from “Tannhauser,” “Lohengrin” and “Die Meistersinger.”

Operas will be sung in the original language (Italian, German or English), except “Hansel,” which will be sung in English, with English supertitles projected above the stage. Information: (619) 232-7636.