Quick on the heels of being named Weschester County’s Arts Organization of the Year, Taconic Opera begins its fifteenth anniversary season by expanding to lower Westchester and adding performances in White Plains and SUNY Purchase. It will continue to serve its thousands of faithful audience members up in Yorktown Heights, but after a sold-out trial run of Nabucco last fall at SUNY, the company decided to bring its entire season to the White Plains metro area.

In celebration of their fifteenth season, in October 2012 they will present the General Director’s favorite opera, Mefistofele, by Arrigo Boito. “This is a monumental work of art that was ahead of its time,” says General Director, Dan Montez. “When it first opened in Italy, it caused a number of riots because of its musical audacity. It is the only version of the Faust story to redeem its lead character and features some of the most breathtaking chorus music ever written.”

Next in the company’s line up in March of 2013 is the world premiere of a new oratorio, Enoch, composed by General Director Dan Montez. This is his second oratorio; his first was performed in California twenty years ago. Montez has established himself as a liturgical choral composer for thirty-five years. He was a winner in his first composition competition at age fifteen. In addition, he was a full time opera singer, performing over fifty roles in houses that include San Francisco Opera, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. Later, he also appeared as a concert pianist, performing Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto in San Jose, California.

Taconic Opera’s season ends in May of 2013 with Donizetti’s comic masterpiece, Daughter of the Regiment. The opera, first made famous by Pavarotti because of the nine high C’s in the tenor aria, was recently revived at the MET and Covent Garden with wide acclaim for Natalie Dessay’s comic portrayal of the soprano lead.

Season tickets are available on Taconic Opera’s website, www.taconicopera.org, where people can read more about the operas, meet the singers, see pictures from previous productions, and sign up on the mailing list. Taconic Opera’s toll free phone number is 1-(855) 88-OPERA (67372).