The 57-year-old arts organization is building its Hispanic customer base with works like the art-themed Spanish-language opera opening Oct. 29
By Pam Kragen
Sept. 7, 2022 6 AM PT
The marketing poster for San Diego Opera’s “The Falling and the Rising” designed by Mexican artist Raúl Urias.
The marketing poster for San Diego Opera’s “Ghosts” designed by Mexican artist Raúl Urias.
Marketing posters for some of San Diego Opera’s productions this season, by artist Raúl Urias of Mexico.
San Diego Opera is celebrating its growing Hispanic audience and the upcoming world premiere of its Spanish language opera “El último sueño de Frida y Diego” with new branding logos and a series of show posters designed by prominent Mexican artist Raúl Urias.
The 57-year-old arts organization today announced a new partnership with Esser Design, a national brand design company that has helped San Diego Opera create a new logo and graphic feel for the 2022-23 season. Single tickets for the season also went on sale today.
The season kicks off Oct. 29 through Nov. 6 with composer Gabriela Lena Frank and librettist Nilo Cruz’s new opera, which translates as “The Last Dream of Frida and Diego.” It’s the fictional the story of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera praying for one last visit from his late wife, painter Frida Kahlo, who returns from the afterlife on the Day of the Dead to rekindle their passion one last time.
Pam Esser, partner and marketing director for Esser Design, said one of the primary goals of the rebranding campaign was to better align San Diego Opera with San Diego’s culturally diverse communities and reach out to new audiences.
“San Diego has a rapidly growing Hispanic population and with that in mind, we set out to explore illustrators who would provide that infusion of Latin culture to celebrate the new season and the world premiere,” Esser said in a statement.
The new logo has a playful, more youthful look and bright color scheme, and the new marketing tagline, “Every Voice Tells a Story” reinforces the company’s mission to tell stories that celebrate the expressive power of the human voice.
At the same time, Esser was tasked with finding a new artist to design the 2022-23 season’s show posters. In recent years, the posters have been designed by artist R. Black. For the upcoming season, San Diego Opera and Esser Design chose Urias, an artist based in Chihuahua, Mexico. His artwork and illustrations mix his own Mexican heritage with the influences of Alphonse Mucha’s Art Nouveau, ‘60s psychedelic poster art, Austrian art deco, and graphic designer Milton Glaser.
Urias said in a statement: “I was excited by this project because it is the first time that I have worked on a project for an opera. When I researched this, I learned that there are already posters made 100 years ago for operas. I am excited to be part of that legacy and tradition.”
Matt Graber, who recently joined San Diego Opera as chief marketing officer, said the company’s ticket sales are off to a strong start this year, which “already shows ... that our community is excitedly anticipating this incredible season. The work that Esser and Raul have done is only going to amplify this excitement.”
The season continues with: “The Puccini Duo: Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi,” Feb. 11-19; Puccini’s “Tosca,” March 25-April 2; the world premiere of Nicolas Reveles’ “Ghosts,” a trio of horror-inspired one-act operas, April 14-16; and Zach Redler’s “The Falling and the Rising,” May 12-14.
For tickets, visit sdopera.org.
Kragen writes about theater and opera for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Email her at pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com.
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