Lyric Opera San Diego

Lyric Opera San Diego is a San Diego, California based theatre company specialising in Comic opera, Operetta, and Musical theatre. The company was founded in 1979, primarily for the purpose of performing Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. At the time it was known as the "San Diego Gilbert and Sullivan Company". The focus of the company changed in 1990, when Leon Natker was hired as General Director, and the company was renamed "San Diego Comic Opera". The mission was revised: “To provide a regional model for the production of Comic Opera, Operetta, and Musical Theater that develops new generations of artists and audiences by producing a season of fully mounted productions and education programs.”

Current status

In the years following, the company has completed 14 of 15 seasons in the black, while increasing its annual budget from $96,000 to more than $800,000. It has expanded its repertoire from Gilbert and Sullivan to include musical theatre, song revue programs, comic operas, and operettas. All productions are in English.

The company has also seen an increase in ticket sales and the number of community sponsors. The average percentage of seats sold per performance has increased from 40 per cent in 1990 to 93 per cent in 1997, a level of sales it has maintained since.

Leon Natker remains as Lyric Opera San Diego's General Director and the artistic director is J. Sherwood "Jack" Montgomery. The company is a member of Opera America, the national organization for opera companies. Driven by their commitment to find and develop new talent, the company has helped launch the careers of several young San Diego artists, of whom many are now performing on national and international stages.

In summer 2006 Lyric Opera San Diego launched its Summer Academy, created to train middle and high school students in the arts of the stage, including acting, singing, dancing and theatre production.

North Park Theatre restoration

In 2001 the company was offered the opportunity to take part in the restoration of the historic North Park Theatre, located at 2891 University Avenue. Originally built in 1928, this once-thriving theatre had been closed and decaying for more than 15 years. The North Park community and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego were undertaking a revitalization campaign for the community. The centerpiece of their plan was the restoration of the North Park Theatre as a mid-sized performance venue with approximately 750 seats and the building of a 390-space parking garage to accommodate the increased traffic.

Entering into a partnership with developer Bud Fischer, the company embarked on a two-year fundraising campaign to raise $8 million toward the renovation of the theatre. In 2003 the final name change was effected and the company became Lyric Opera San Diego, to better reflect its goals, its accomplishments, and its future plans. The fully renovated, state-of-the-art theatre opened in October 2005 as "The Stephen and Mary Birch North Park Theatre", with Lyric Opera San Diego as its managing tenant. This makes the company one of only twelve opera companies in the United States that own or operate their own venues, and the only one in California.