El Paso Opera announces new conductor for ‘Carmen’

El Paso Opera announced Tuesday that “Carmen,” which is set to take place March 17-19 in the Abraham Chavez Theatre, will no longer be conducted by Maestro Bohuslav Rattay of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra due to an unforeseen family emergency.

Maestro Rattay has returned to Prague to be with his family during this tough time. The cast, production team, and orchestra were saddened to hear that Maestro Rattay will not be able to conduct Carmen. The entire Carmen team offers sincere condolences to the Rattay family.

“Carmen” will now be conducted by Maestro Kostis Protopapas, the artistic director of Tulsa Opera and Opera Santa Barbara. The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will be accompanying “Carmen” under the musical direction of Maestro Kostis Protopapas. David Holloway, artistic director of El Paso Opera, is thrilled to have Maestro Proptopapas, who he worked with at Santa Fe Opera, as conductor for Carmen. El Paso Opera is fortunate to have been able to secure Maestro Protopapas to fill in for Maestro Rattay on short notice.

With Tulsa Opera alone Kostis Protopapas has conducted more than twenty five productions since his 2005 debut, including several notable company premieres of American works. About his 2011 Barber of Seville performances, Alex Ross of The New Yorker wrote, “Most impressive was the fluid idiomatic playing of the orchestra … In any city, it’s rare to find a conductor that sets the right tempo so consistently.” Protopapas has also served as assistant conductor for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera and Santa Fe Opera.

He started his career on the music staff of Virginia Opera and Opera Memphis; and has been a guest conductor for the Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Columbus, Shreveport Opera, and Union Avenue Opera. Visit Kostis-proropapas.com to learn more about Maestro Protopapas.

“Carmen” will be staged at 7:30 p.m. March 17-19 in the Abraham Chavez Theatre