Opera San Jose turns 40
Opera San José is celebrating its 40th anniversary Feb. 2 at the South First Friday art walk in downtown San Jose. The company will open the California Theatre at 345 South First St. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. for a sneak peek of the upcoming production of Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” birthday treats, activities and usher-led tours of the historic theater.
The entertainment begins at 6 p.m. with performances by Opera San José soprano Alexandra Halchak, tenor WooYoung Yoon and baritone Robert Balonek with pianist Veronika Agranov-Dafoe. The anniversary festivities will start at 7 p.m. with local balloon artist Hey Balloon Lady! Guests can show off their vocal chops by singing “Happy Birthday” to Opera San José and enjoy cupcakes by San Jose-based Peter’s Bakery. Then at 7:15 p.m., organist Jerry Nagano will perform tunes on the California Theatre’s Wurlitzer organ. Following that will be party games with an Opera San José twist, such as pinning the crown on company founder Irene Dalis and tackling a handmade pinata by local party supply store Dulceria Mi Carnaval. A string quartet of Opera San José orchestra musicians will close out the evening with a performance starting at 8 p.m.
For more information or to ensure a free seat, visit operasj.org/event/first-friday.
Neighborhood Notes
ROSE GARDEN>>Sanskriti “Tiya” Singh, a senior at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, has been named a scholar in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2024, the nation’s oldest science and math competition for high school seniors. Only 300 students were selected from 2,162 entrants from 712 schools. These students were selected based on their research projects, essays, academic achievements, leadership skills, community involvement and demonstration of creativity and promise as future leaders in STEM. Each scholar was awarded $2,000, and each school was awarded $2,000 for each scholar enrolled.
