Sarasota Opera has announced that Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Victor DeRenzi will step down at the end of his contract in May 2026, concluding a 44-year tenure that ranks as the longest of any artistic director in the world.

DeRenzi, who joined the company in 1982, led the company through its Verdi Cycle, which marked the only time an opera company performed every note composed by Giuseppe Verdi. He also established the Masterworks Revival Series and the American Classics Series, expanding the repertory with rarely heard operas and significant 20th-century American works. Over four decades, he oversaw more than 1,500 performances across 218 productions in nine languages and personally conducted nearly 900 of them.

“In 1982, I was hired by Sarasota Opera to give artistic direction to the company and its future. I am proud that my belief in opera and my unwillingness to be swayed from it has brought the company to where it is today,” DeRenzi said per an official press release.

Beginning in June 2026, Richard Russell, General Director of Sarasota Opera, will assume the role of Artistic Director in addition to his current duties. He was the Executive Director of the company from 2012-21 and General Director since 2021.

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