Opera San José is an American opera company founded in 1984 by Irene Dalis (1925-2014) based in San Jose, California. History Opera San José was founded in 1984 by mezzo-soprano singer Irene Dalis (1925-2014), who directed the company for 30 years until her retirement in 2014. In 1988 it formed a residency of principal artists that would perform in all productions, modeled after traditional European opera companies. The company purchased two apartment buildings to provide the artists with housing rent-free. Initially performances took place in the Montgomery Theater in San Jose's Civic Auditorium complex until 2004 when productions moved to the newly-restored historical California Theatre. Larry Hancock, who had served with the organization for many years, became General Director in 2014. Hancock announced his retirement in April 2019, introducing arts administrator Khori Dastoor as his successor. Joseph Marcheso has been the music director and Principal Conductor since 2014. In June 2021, Dastoor was selected to become the next General Director and CEO of Houston Grand Opera (beginning in January 2022), taking the helm of one of the country's largest opera companies. Opera San José announced the appointment of nationally acclaimed opera and theater director Shawna Lucey as its new General Director and CEO in December 2021. Lucey's appointment as the fourth General Director in Opera San José's history will begin in January 2022, midway through the company's 38th season, overseeing the productions of Bizet's Carmen and Bernstein's West Side Story, as well as the return of the Irene Dalis Vocal Competition. Following cancellations in 2020-21 due to COVID, the company's 2021–22 season kicked off in September 2021 with the digital production of Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri, starring baritones Sidney Outlaw (Salieri) and Simon Barrad (Mozart). A month later, the company made its triumphant return to the California Theatre with a new production of Purcell's baroque masterpiece, Dido and Aeneas. Casting for this celebrated work included mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz as Dido, baritone Efraín Solís as Aeneas, soprano Maya Kherani as Belinda, bass-baritone Nathan Stark as the Sorcerer, and dancers from San José Dance Theatre. Opera San José's return to in-person performances was met with great success, with the San Francisco Chronicle calling the production, “Exquisite. Heart-rending, thrillingly fierce. Magnificent.” In June 2020, Opera San José unveiled its plans to create the Heiman Digital Media Studio, a new performance/film space that enables the company to stream high-quality, fully produced operatic performances into