The San Antonio Grand Opera Festival (sometimes referred to as the San Antonio Opera Festival or just the San Antonio Opera) was an annual opera festival presented by the San Antonio Symphony from 1945 to 1983. The festival presented four operas over two consecutive weekends each spring with leading international opera stars in the principal roles. Notable singers to have performed at the festival include

Rose Bampton Rose Bampton (November 28, 1907 in Lakewood, Ohio – August 21, 2007 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) was an American opera singer who had an active international career during the 1930s and 1940s. She began her professional career performing mostly m ...

Muriel Costa-Greenspon Muriel Salina Costa-Greenspon ( Greenspon; December 1, 1937 – December 26, 2005) was an American mezzo-soprano who had a lengthy career at the New York City Opera from 1963 to 1993. She portrayed a gallery of character roles that extended fro ...

Margaret Harshaw Margaret Harshaw (12 May 1909 – 7 November 1997) was an American opera singer and voice teacher who sang for 22 consecutive seasons at the Metropolitan Opera from November 1942 to March 1964. She began her career as a mezzo-soprano in the ea ...

Brenda Lewis Brenda Lewis (March 2, 1921 – September 16, 2017) was an American operatic soprano, musical theatre actress, opera director, and music educator. She enjoyed a 20-year-long collaboration with the New York City Opera (NYCO) with whom she notably ...

, Mildred Miller,

Beverly Sills Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was especially renowned f ...

, Joan Sutherland,

Norman Treigle Norman Treigle (né Adanelle Wilfred Treigle (March 6, 1927February 16, 1975) was an American operatic bass-baritone, who was acclaimed for his great abilities as a singing-actor, and specialized in roles that evoked villainy and terror. Biograp ...

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticke ...

, and Frances Yeend among others. Initially the festival was housed at the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium which sat 5,000 people, but in 1968 the festival moved to the newly built Theatre for the Performing Arts (which would later be renamed the Lila Cockrell Theatre). Conductor Max Reiter, who envisioned the festival, served as Artistic Director from 1945 until his death in 1950. Victor Alessandro then took the helm, and continued to run the festival successfully until his death in 1976. After the death of Alessandro, the festival floundered under the leadership of first François H. Huybrechts (1978–1980) and then Lawrence Leighton Smith (1980–1983). Facing financial losses, the San Antonio Symphony ceased presenting the festival after 1983.

References

{{authority control American opera companies Music of San Antonio Texas classical music Musical groups established in 1945 Musical groups disestablished in 1983