Taos Opera Institute presents the third annual Winter Warmup for Summer Song on JANUARY 10th, 2025.

Taos, NM Taos Opera Institute (TOI*) proudly presents the third annual Winter Warmup for Summer Song, featuring acclaimed tenor David Portillo and Santa Fe-based pianist Nathan Salazar on January 10, 2025, 5:30 pm at the Taos Center for the Arts. Proceeds will benefit Young Artists scholarships to TOI’s summer institute. For information about Taos Opera Institute, go to TaosOI.org For concert tickets, go to tcataos.org/calendar.

David Portillo performed in both Don Giovanni and Der Rosenkavalier at the Santa Fe Opera’s 2024 season. Of his performance in Don Giovanni, Opera with Opera News raved, “David Portillo made a musical, characteristically forthright Ottavio; his arias, beautifully sculpted in flowing lines, were in vocal terms the evening’s highest points, along with the Mask Trio.” He comes to Taos fresh from performing Tamino in the Metropolitan Opera’s holiday production of The Magic Flute. According to Dr. Mark Craig, General Director of TOI, “David held our students in the palm of his hand during his masterclasses at TOI in 2024, and his ties to TOI go back to when he studied with co-founder Linda Poetschke in Texas.”

Nathan Salazar has worked and performed with Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Colorado, The Handel and Haydn Society, The Boston Symphony, and the Boston Lyric Opera. He recently made his company debuts at San Francisco Opera and Los Angeles Opera in Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Ultimo Sueno de Frida y Diego. Salazar made an indelible impression at TOI’s October 2024 Fall Into Song concert when he accompanied Mark Craig and Olga Perez Flora in a wide-ranging program. For information about Taos Opera Institute, go to TaosOI.org For concert tickets, go to tcataos.org/calendar.

David and Nathan will perform an evening of beloved opera classics, along with art song and musical theater repertoire. Tickets for the concert only are $50, and $100 for the concert followed by a reception to meet the artists. For information about Taos Opera Institute, go to TaosOI.org For concert tickets, go to tcataos.org/calendar.

About Taos Opera Institute (TOI) TOI was founded by Mary Jane Johnson and Linda Poetschke as a four-week comprehensive. program designed to bridge the gap between academia and apprenticeship for emerging vocal artists. In 2022, the co-founders named Dr. Mark Craig General Director. Mark is continuing the Institute’s focus on integrating and improving artists’ vocal technique, physical well-being, and overall artistry. Aspiring singers from across the country compete to study at TOI in Taos Ski Valley for the month of June. In addition to technical training in four languages, the twenty-four participants chosen receive physical conditioning (yoga, hiking, etc), individual coaching, participation in master classes with well-established vocal artists, and numerous opportunities to. perform. The “TOI Festival” is the concert series that features the Young Artists in multiple venues around Taos. TOI also presents concerts featuring professional singers during the year. *In addition to the acronym for Taos Opera Institute (TOI), the expression, “toi, toi, toi” is theoperatic equivalent of theater’s “break a leg” and is derived from the German language.