History
Our GranD History
Jill Anderson
Jill Anderson and Jean Cook founded Opera San Luis Obispo in 1984 under the name Pacific Repertory Opera. A short 10 months later Ms. Cook passed away leaving the company in the capable hands of Ms. Anderson. Over the next 23 years, Ms. Anderson developed the small regional opera company through more than 35 operas. Additionally, Ms. Anderson conducted performances of Rigoletto, Carmen, Elixir of Love, Barber of Seville, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Don Giovanni, La Traviata and Don Pasquale. Ms. Anderson also stage directed Die Fledermaus, Cosi Fan Tutte, Rigoletto, Riders to the Sea, and L’Enfant et les Sortileges. From 1989-90, Ms. Anderson was an Administrative Fellow in the prestigious Opera America training program, serving fellowships at Los Angeles Opera, Skylight Opera Theatre (Milwaukee) and Sarasota Opera (Florida).
As a professional ensemble singer, Ms. Anderson appeared for ten seasons with the San Francisco Opera Chorus, and for six seasons with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. She has appeared as a soloist with local performing arts groups such as the Cuesta Master Chorale (Handel’s Dixit Dominus, Stravinsky’s Les Noces and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem), the San Luis Obispo Vocal Arts Ensemble (Vivaldi’s Gloria and Handel’s Messiah), and the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival (Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, Mozart’s Requiem, Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia).
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music/Voice from Pomona College, a Master of Music degree in Opera from the University of Southern California, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Robert Ashens
Robert Ashens was the Artistic Director of Opera San Luis Obispo from 2009-2011. He is a distinguished San Francisco-based musician who has conducted to great acclaim in regional opera companies throughout the United States and in many major cities in Europe. He is the co-founder of Opera Oregon and the Johan Strauss Foundation of America.
Ashens also has an extensive career conducting for the ballet and symphony. He concertizes nationally as a solo pianist and chamber ensemble artist, while maintaining coaching studios in San Francisco, Oakland, Corvallis (OR) and Anchorage. During maestro Ashens’ tenure as Artistic Director of Opera San Luis Obispo, he conducted productions of Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, Pirates of Penzance, and The Barber of Seville. In the 2010 season, Pacific Repertory Opera formally changed it’s name to Opera San Luis Obispo.
Volunteer
There are so many ways to give of your time and skills to support Opera San Luis Obispo through direct volunteering. We hope you will find one of these interesting! Call the office at (805) 541-5369 for more information or to volunteer.
Past Operas
Note: “*” denotes a Co-Opera full production partnership between Opera San Luis Obiso and Cal Poly Student Opera Theater Workshop.
