The San Diego Opera has announced that on March 17, 2019 it will be making its first professional appearance in Palm Springs since 1981.

The company will showcase “Carmen in the Desert,” a program that includes excerpts from the famed Bizet opera. This showcase will be a prelude to the company’s forthcoming production of the French masterpiece, which kicks off on March 30 in San Diego. Among the artists set to appear in “Carmen in the Desert” are Guadalupe Paz, Bernardo Bermudez, Tasha Koontz, and Felipe Prado; Paz is the winner of the Palm Springs Opera Guild’s 2015 Rossini Vocal Competition.

The last time that the San Diego Opera appeared in Palm Springs was in 1981, when it took a production of Gounod’s “Faust.” It first appeared in Palm Springs in 1977 with a production of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” followed in 1978 by “Madama Butterfly.”

“Palm Springs counts many opera lovers among its residents. Many attend opera in San Diego, and the city has two important organizations that raise funds to support opera in their community,” stated San Diego Opera General Director, David Bennett in a press release.“So it only makes sense that we bring San Diego Opera to the desert, and we hope this relationship will continue to grow in the future.”