Maestro of beautiful singing...
"Karen is wonderful with the bel canto repertoire. Her light touch with the orchestra and sense of vocal line add greatly to the music and overall production. Karen fills this style of music with all the necessary energy and sparkle."
- Ian Campbell, San Diego Opera General Director

In her own words:
"I hope to have a long life in the the standard repertory..."*



Photos: © Ken Howard / © ML Hart


A thoroughly modern maestro...
"...but you're catching me at a time when I'm delightfully aware that this 20th-century stuff is a good fit."*

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

"You have to be deaf and a little numb to not derive pleasure from this opera. It has a palette that says 'Previn,' an ease about the orchestral writing, and an evocative elegance. Every so often there are these mellow licks that sound straight out of jazz. It feels so good to be an American doing this opera.

"There are magical moments. When they happen you just stand there and say, 'My God. It doesn't get any better than this.' Music making is such a privilege. Somehow, it doesn't seem totally right that we could be living our lives in such beauty."*

OF MICE AND MEN

"Of Mice and Men is one of the most challenging and artistically gratifying experiences I have had as a conductor. The overwhelmingly positive and intense reactions that San Diego Opera patrons had to our Of Mice and Men indicates to me that there IS an appetite and appreciation among us for masterworks of our own time."

THE CONQUISTADOR

"When you give life to a piece that's never been done before, like The Conquistador, you stretch yourself - your mind, your heart, your being. When it's over you ask yourself where this wonderful stretch came from and where you keep it the rest of the time." *

"What was so amazing was the collaboration - everyone working together. It made our brains come alive. This time of heightened concentration, of stretching - it was a wonderful opportunity - this is fertile ground to be working in. We all added something, we reached a goal that without the contributions of the others, we couldn't have achieved alone...

"I find more than anything I've done, that on officially off time, everything reminds me of something about the opera. I hear it all the time, I'm obsessed with it. The interaction with Myron is the best part - I know when we're finished with this, there will be a void."**


* Charlene Baldridge, "The Maestra's Many Lives," Performing Arts: Performing Arts Network April 2000, pp 48-52.
** ML Hart, "The Art of Making Opera," San Diego Opera (1997); p.64