San Antonians have supported opera since the late 19^th century; in 1945 San Antonio became the first city in Texas to start a resident company. But sustaining an ongoing company in collaboration with the San Antonio Symphony, such as Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin have done with their symphonies, has eluded the city.

During his 26-year tenure starting in 1950, San Antonio Symphony director Victor Alessandro continued the San Antonio Symphony Society’s Grand Opera Festival and brought in world-renowned singers. After his death in 1976, the Symphony continued producing operas until 1983.

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Opera San Antonio will stage widely loved masterpieces by composers Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini for its 2017-18 season.

Verdi’s “Macbeth” will be performed Sept. 8 and 10, the opera company has announced, and Puccini’s “La Bohéme” will be presented May 17 and 19, 2018. All performances will occur at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

“Macbeth” is based on the William Shakespeare play, a story of a tragic quest for power. “La Bohéme” is set in Paris’ Latin Quarter about 1830 and is a tale of the happiness and sadness from love and loss.

Opera is sorta like baseball. A home-run slugger or two can give the fans some transitory thrills, but the team needs strength in every other position, all the way down to the short-relief pitchers and the batboys, to make it to the World Series. 

Opera San Antonio’s production of Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, which opened May 6 in the Tobin Center, was the work of a World Series contender.