Opera Gold their full vocal demands. This philosophy has enabled many singers to go on to work for Opera Houses abroad without too much difficulty. The company has also staged productions of John Blow's "Venus and Adonis" (2004); Henry Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" (2005); Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" (2006); Bizet's "Carmen" (2007); Britten's "Peter Grimes" (2008); Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" (2009); Verdi's "Rigoletto" (2010); Puccini's "La Bohème" (2011); Verdi's "La Traviata" (2012); Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (2013) and a reprise of Mozart's" Die Zauberflöte" (2014). The 2015 production will be Johann Strauss II's "Die Fledermaus" with a guest conductor. Distinguished singers
Tom Grimes Tom Grimes Tom Grimes is an American novelist, playwright, and creative writing instructor. He currently teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Texas State University in San Marcos, and served as the program's director from 1996 to 2015. Grimes was a promising student at the famed Iowa Writers' Workshop while it was under the direction of Frank Conroy, author of the memoir "Stop-Time". Grimes’ own memoir, "Mentor: A Memoir" (Tin House), is largely concerned with his time in Iowa and his friendship with Conroy, who Grimes first met while writing and working as a waiter in Key West.