Long before Gounod’s famous Faust, a 26-year-old French composer named Louise Bertin took on Goethe’s epic drama and created something entirely her own. Fausto, receiving its American premiere with Opera Neo, is an astonishingly rare work, seen only at its 1831 Paris premiere, its modern revival in Essen, Germany, and now here in San Diego. Bertin’s score is raw, visceral, and unfiltered, blending Mozartian classicism, Italian opera, German magic opera, and emerging French Romanticism into a strikingly eclectic yet deeply personal musical voice. The opera follows an aging and disillusioned scientist’s desperate bargain with the Devil to reclaim youth and pleasure, posing eternal questions about the value of knowledge and the price of love. Both bold and deeply human, Fausto invites audiences to rediscover a forgotten masterpiece and encounter a uniquely youthful female perspective on one of Western culture’s most enduring stories.

Fausto

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

EPSG:4326

Evan Katsefes, Classical Voice – Tenor

Manhattan School of Music

In celebration of the San Diego Museum of Art’s centennial and Opera Neo’s 15th Anniversary Season, Opera Neo artists present a unique recital. This “exhibition” of art songs is curated to explore and complement some of the works of art in the museum’s galleries, spanning several centuries of art history and bridging multiple continents. The performance at the La Jolla Woman’s Club will be accompanied by immersive projections, and directed by Samantha Fox and Beatrice Huang.

A Night at the Museum: Art Song Recital

La Jolla Woman's Club

Rossini’s Il turco in Italia is a witty, self-aware comedy that playfully blurs the line between life and art. Fueled by curiosity, attraction, and cultural collision, the opera centers on the encounter between Selim, a Turkish traveler, and Fiorilla, a free-spirited Italian woman, whose mutual fascination ignites a whirlwind of romantic confusion and comic chaos. Beneath the laughter, the opera examines cultural and gender divides, and the tension between personal desire and social expectation. Rossini’s music drives the comedy with restless energy and quick turns of perspective, using rapid-fire ensembles and abrupt changes of direction to pull the audience into a world where flirtation becomes strategy, identity is constantly negotiated, and no one is quite as settled as they pretend to be. The music sparkles with rapid-fire ensembles, lyrical elegance, and irresistible comedic timing. As entertaining as it is insightful, Il turco in Italia remains remarkably relevant, offering a witty yet pointed look at relationships, identity, and the ever-lasting challenge of being true to oneself.

Evan Katsefes

Events

Upcoming events

26 - 27 Jun, 2026

Fausto · Opera Neo

Jul 18, 2026

A Night at the Museum: Art Song Recital · Opera Neo

24 - 25 Jul, 2026

Il turco in Italia · Opera Neo

Past events

26 - 27 Jun, 2026

Fausto · Opera Neo

May 12, 2025

Evan Katsefes, Classical Voice – Tenor · Manhattan School of Music

Future and recently performed repertoire

Narciso in Il turco in Italia by Rossini

Opera Neo

Valentino (cover) Ensemble in Fausto by Bertin

Opera Neo

About

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