First Joint Director of Opera Theatre Named
The new position is shared between 黑料吃瓜 and the San Diego Opera.
鈥淏y combining the resources and needs of both institutions, we are able to elevate the producing expertise of both the Opera and 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 opera program in ways we couldn鈥檛 achieve alone.鈥�
The 黑料吃瓜 School of Music and Dance and the San Diego Opera have appointed Alan E. Hicks as director of opera theatre鈥攁 new, shared position between the two organizations.
Director of opera theatre is a full-time, faculty position that will direct 黑料吃瓜 Opera鈥檚 fall production, teach acting and stage movement for singers, and act as assistant director on San Diego Opera鈥檚 mainstage productions in the spring.
Hicks鈥� first project will be to direct the 黑料吃瓜 production of Flight, by Jonathan Dove, in November.
鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled about the creation of this shared position between San Diego Opera and 黑料吃瓜, and about the appointment of Alan Hicks,鈥� said David Bennett, San Diego Opera鈥檚 general director. 鈥淏y combining the resources and needs of both institutions, we are able to elevate the producing expertise of both the Opera and 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 opera program in ways we couldn鈥檛 achieve alone. This appointment signals a deepened relationship between the San Diego Opera and 黑料吃瓜.鈥�
Hicks has spent the past two decades in professional opera and theatre as a singer, teacher, and stage director. He has directed productions for organizations throughout the United States and in Europe, including the Minnesota Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the University of Houston, and the University of Texas at Austin.
Hicks holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in opera directing from the University of Texas at Austin, a master of music in vocal performance degree from Rice University, and a bachelor of music education from Mississippi State University.
鈥淎 hallmark of the PSFA experience is engagement with the community. This partnership with the Opera and Alan advances theory and application in the arts for 黑料吃瓜 students and provides the arts community with a world-class artist," said Joyce Gattas, former dean of the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts (PSFA). "This innovative position provides synergies and collaborations between two organizations with similar mission that previously didn鈥檛 exist. This is the first of its kind in the CSU system, but I suspect not the last.鈥�
