Bay Area audiences are invited to revel in the passion and melody of classic opera, as the young artists of the 2024 Merola Opera Program perform extended scenes from Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, Gounod's Faust, Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Massenet's Cendrillon, Puccini's La bohème, and Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Performed with a full orchestra, the Schwabacher Summer Concert will be conducted by the internationally renowned Maestro Louis Lohraseb, with direction by Omer Ben Seadia (Merola ‘14). Since his professional debut at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in 2019, Maestro Lohraseb has quickly established himself as an exciting new conductor on the international stage, with debuts at the Semperoper Dresden, Los Angeles Opera, and Komische Oper Berlin. Known for her inventive, thoughtful, and socially conscious productions, 2014 Merola alum Ben Seadia began to work extensively in the U.S. in 2012 after more than a decade with the Israeli Opera. Assisting in this program is up-and-coming stage director, choreographer, and Merola participant Anna Theodosakis (Merola ‘24) who will stage one of the scenes. Theodosakis has directed opera and musical theatre for companies including Saskatoon Opera, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and Toronto Summer Music Festival.