“Back in 1994, Priti Gandhi auditioned for a job in the chorus at San Diego Opera. On Wednesday, Gandhi was named the new artistic director for Portland Opera, joining general director Sue Dixon at the 57-year-old company known for its progressive and boundary-breaking work,” writes Pam Kragen in last Wednesday’s (7/21) San Diego Union-Tribune. “Gandhi’s role will include artistic and repertoire planning, casting, developing a resident artist program and [overseeing] … education and community engagement programs. Gandhi spent nearly 20 years as an opera singer before moving to the administrative side of the industry in 2013, when she spent five years as artistic administrator at San Diego Opera and the past three years as chief artistic officer at Minnesota Opera…. As a woman of color, Gandhi said she is honored to be part of the national dialogue the [George Floyd] tragedy has opened up in many industries where minorities are under-represented, including the opera world. ‘There are so many branches of this industry that are creating needed change to evolve not only how we do business, but why,” she said…. She will become one of a handful of women of color in artistic leadership positions at American opera companies.”
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