David Bennett (born c. 1963) is the general director of the

San Diego Opera The San Diego Opera (SDO) is a professional opera company based in San Diego, California. The opera performs at the San Diego Civic Theatre. The San Diego Symphony serves as the orchestra for the opera. History San Diego Opera Guild was founded ...

. Prior to that he was the executive director of

Gotham Chamber Opera Gotham Chamber Opera was a professional opera company located in New York City. The company was founded in 2000 under the name of the Henry Street Chamber Opera by Artistic Director Neal Goren and specialized in producing rarely performed chamber ...

. He began his opera career as a singer, performing as a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

for multiple companies.

Early life and education

Bennett was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. His mother was a pianist and piano teacher, and his brother is a jazz trumpeter. He began singing and acting in high school and began to focus on opera in college. He earned a degree in music from

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

. He has Master of Business Administration and Master of Arts Administration degrees from

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

Career

A baritone, he performed as an opera singer for more than a decade, with appearances at the

Dallas Opera The Dallas Opera is an American opera company located in Dallas, Texas. The company performs at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, one venue of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. History The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic ...

, the

Dallas Symphony The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

, Skylight Opera Theater, and Florentine Opera of Milwaukee, among others. He then moved into management. He served as a consultant to Arts Resources International, then became managing director of Dance New Amsterdam in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 2006 he went to work for the

as managing director and was named executive director in 2010. He was regarded as an innovator, broadening the company's repertoire and presenting productions in unorthodox venues. During his tenure the company's operating budget tripled and the number of fully staged productions grew from one to four per season. However, after his departure the Chamber Opera was discovered to be deeply in debt, and it went out of business in 2015. He has also served as vice chair of

Opera America __NOTOC__ Opera America (stylized as OPERA America) is a New York–based service organization promoting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera in the United States. Almost all professional opera company, opera companies and some semi-pr ...

. Marc Scorca, president and CEO of Opera America, described him as "one of the most creative, energetic and effective opera leaders in the country". In March 2015 the San Diego Opera announced his hiring as general director, replacing Ian Campbell, who left in May 2014 after unsuccessfully proposing a controversial shutdown of the opera company.Ng, David
"San Diego Opera officially parts ways with director Ian Campbell"
''Los Angeles Times'', May 15, 2014 Bennett is the fourth general director in the company's 50-year history. Assuming San Diego Opera's leadership in 2015 after its near-death experience, he was "tasked with downsizing and reimagining the company for 21st century audiences." Under his supervision the company's budget was cut from $18 million in 2014 to $10 million in 2018. There are three traditional opera productions each year, along with a "Detour series" of smaller, more innovative works and increased community outreach programs. In 2018 the board of directors renewed his three-year contract for another three years, with the board chairman commenting, "David is clearly the leader San Diego Opera needs at this point in time."

References

External links

General Director / David Bennett
San Diego Opera {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, David Living people 1960s births American opera directors Singers from Missouri Musicians from San Diego Texas Christian University alumni Southern Methodist University alumni American baritones Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Year of birth missing (living people)