$18 million in 2014 to $10 million in 2018 and established a schedule of three traditional opera productions each year, along with a "Detour series" of smaller, more innovative works and increased community outreach programs. Notable performers Since 2005, musicians from the San Diego Symphony have performed as the pit orchestra for San Diego Opera. Notable artists, in addition to those named above, who have performed with San Diego Opera include Ferruccio Furlanetto, Denyce Graves, Richard Bonynge, Richard Leech, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Jane Eaglen, Richard Margison, Jerry Hadley, Vivica Genaux, Isabel Bayrakdarian, James Westman and Carol Vaness. Notable productions include the world premieres of Gian Carlo Menotti's La Loca (1979, written for and starring Beverly Sills); Myron Fink's The Conquistador (1993); and Alva Henderson's Medea. United States premieres included Daniel Catán's Rapaccini's Daughter, Hans Werner Henze's Der junge Lord, Riccardo Zandonai's Giulietta e Romeo, and Emmanuel Chabrier's Gwendoline. Additional notable performances and productions include the farewell performance of Beverly Sills opposite Joan Sutherland in Die Fledermaus (1980); the San Diego Opera-commissioned productions by Zandra Rhodes of The Magic Flute (2001) and The Pearl Fishers (2004); and the West Coast premieres of Giuseppe Verdi's Giovanna d'Arco and I Lombardi, and of Sergei Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges. In a 2023 production of Giacomo Puccini's one-act comic opera Gianni Schicchi, the baritone role of Gianni was sung by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, possibly the first time in the world that a female singer has performed a baritone role in a professional production. Association with the San Diego State University In association with the San Diego State University the San Diego opera proposes to students, through the School of music and dance Opera theatre, to perform operatic literature on stage or in workshops. References Notes Other sources Cohn, Fred, "Revised Ending", Opera News, September 2014, Vol. 79, No. 3, pp. 28–32 External links Chute, James, "San Diego Opera chooses a noble death: But given the company's financial condition, were there other options?" The San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 March 2014. San Diego Opera's official website The San Diego Civic Theatre Turegano, Preston, "Pay to play", San Diego Union Tribune, 12 February 2006. Turegano, Preston, "Playhouse, Opera get $1.3 million in grants", San Diego Union Tribune, 11 August 2006. Peter Rowe, "Ian Campbell's dramatic and controversial curtain call: In long career, opera chief has amazed many and infuriated more than a few", The San