Sarasota Opera is launching a new initiative called "American Classics'' with The Crucible, composed by Robert Ward and based on the Arthur Miller play. Ward's opera, which won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for music, will be part of the 2011 season, with six performances March 5-19. The rest of next season, announced this week, includes La Boheme, Don Giovanni and Verdi's I Lombardi during the winter and La Cenerentola Oct. 29-Nov. 4.

Under artistic director Victor DeRenzi (left), Sarasota has earned a reputation for its Verdi, but the company's cycle of the Italian master's works is winding down. “Many people have asked what we will do once the Verdi cycle is complete,'' DeRenzi said. "We remain committed to finishing the cycle and having Verdi’s works remain a part of our repertoire. Looking forward, we think this is a good time for us to move ahead in other directions. Bringing some of the recognized classics of American opera to Sarasota is a natural next step. The works we are looking at have dramatic as well as musical value and deal with the same human issues that the core romantic repertoire does.”

Here's some of what New York Times music critic Harold C. Schonberg wrote after The Crucible opened at New York City Opera in 1961: "...last night the audience heard an opera that, in philosophy and workmanship, could have been composed at the turn of the century or before.''

Other Amercan operas planned for future Sarasota seasons are Samuel Barber’s Vanessa and Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men.

Sarasota opened its current winter season Saturday with the double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, followed over the next three weeks by The Magic Flute, Hansel and Gretel and this year's Verdi entry, Giovanna d'Arco. For information, click here.

Photo by Salvatore Brancifort