Opera San José has announced the appointment of opera and theater director Shawna Lucey as its new General Director and CEO.

Lucey will officially join Opera San José in January 2022 and will bring both a wealth of opera experience and an exciting artistic vision to the company which has captured a national reputation for its development of opera talent through its residency program, as well as international acclaim for its inventive digital offerings.

In a statement, Lucey said, “I am thrilled to be joining the Opera San José family as the next General Director. Opera San José‘s vibrant energy, support for emerging talent, and artistic excellence drew me to the company as a stage director in 2018. It is now my honor to carry forward the mission of this innovative company into our operatic future.”

Lucey directed a production of “Tosca” at the San Francisco Opera and made her directorial debut with Opera San José in 2018 with “La Traviata,”  She has also worked with The Metropolitan Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Santa Fe Opera. Around the world, her work has been seen at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Bolshoi Theater, and Schauspiel Hannover, among many others.

In addition to opera, Lucey has staged Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance.”

With her appointment, Lucey will become the company’s fourth General Director in OSJ’s history and she will be overseeing the upcoming productions of Bizet’s “Carmen” and Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” as well as the return of the Irene Dalis Vocal Competition.