By Cheril Lee
Omaha, NE – Roger Weitz is the new General Director for Opera Omaha. Weitz took the helm in early August and is excited to return to Omaha, where he had his first professional experience in arts administration through a summer internship at Opera Omaha in 1998.
After earning a degree in music, Weitz says he learned he'd better leave the singing to the professionals. His interest in opera runs from the classics to some of the newer works, "I love Mozart and Verdi. And I've really come to appreciate Benjamin Britten (20th century English composer and conductor). When I was in Chicago, we made it our mission to bring audiences the bookends. We started with the earliest operas and finished with the 20th or 21st century."
Though he had no hand in planning the current season for Opera Omaha, Weitz said future seasons will include both lesser-known works as well as the blockbusters that people expect to see when they attend the opera.
For details on Opera Omaha's current season, the website is operaomaha.org.