Five years ago, Opera San Antonio hired Tobias Picker as their inaugural Artistic Director. As of January 31st, he’s no longer with the company. Picker, who’s also a composer, knew from the start his time in San Antonio would be limited.
“He essentially put various commissions that he had working on hold and the time arose where he felt as though he was compelled really, to go back and tend to those responsibilities,” said Mel Weingart, Opera San Antonio Board Chair.
I asked, “Given that it came at the end of a 5-year contract it probably wasn’t that big a surprise?”
“No, no, no, we had talked about it for the last number of months, actually,” Weingart replied.
On most questions about the future of Opera San Antonio, Weingart played his cards close to his chest, but he did tell me this interesting tidbit:
“We’ve had in excess of probably ten individuals who have stepped forward and expressed strong interest in Opera San Antonio, what we’re doing here, the collaboration that we have with the symphony.”
“Are you saying those are potential candidates?” I asked.
“We’re going through the process of interviewing them and we’ll continue doing that until such time as we find the right person.”
In the meantime he and the board are also planning Opera San Antonio's 2015-2016 season. We’ll keep you updated.
