Board and Staff

David Bennett has led San Diego Opera as its General Director and CEO since 2015. In that time, he has transformed the organization into a leading regional opera company known for its innovation, new works, identifying up-and-coming opera stars of the future, and dynamic and responsive community engagement programs. San Diego Opera, under Bennett’s direction, led the co-commission and development of El último sueño de Frida y Diego by Gabriela Lena Frank, which, after its San Diego Opera debut in 2022, has become one of the most frequently produced new grand operas in the United States, with productions by San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. A proud member of San Diego’s LGBTQ+ community, he was named one of San Diego Business Journal’s 2026 LGBTQ+ Leaders of Influence.

Prior to coming to San Diego Opera, David served as Gotham Chamber Opera’s Managing and Executive Directors and Managing Director of Dance New Amsterdam where he led a $5.7 million capital campaign for Dance New Amsterdam’s new home. He has also served on the Board of Directors of OPERA America. Earlier in his career, David enjoyed a successful career as an operatic baritone and holds an MBA and MA in Arts Administration from Southern Methodist University.

Maestro Yves Abel is San Diego Opera’s Principal Conductor, a post he has held since 2020 and which was recently extended through the 2031-32 season. He made his Company debut in 2013 for performances of The Daughter of the Regiment. He has conducted San Diego Opera performances of Pagliacci, Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Roméo et Juliette, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, Don Giovanni, Salome, La traviata and was last heard locally in 2026 for performances of The Barber of Seville.

Previous posts include Chief Conductor of Germany’s Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie from 2015-2021, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 2005-2013.

A frequent guest at the world’s great opera houses, he regularly conducts at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala di Milano, the Opera National de Paris, the Vienna Staatsoper, the San Francisco Opera, London’s Royal Opera and the Gran Teatre del Liceu, to name a few.

In concert, he has conducted major symphony orchestras worldwide in cities which include Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Berlin, Toronto, Montreal, San Francisco, Lyon, Dublin, Liverpool, New York, Genova, Milan, Naples, Bologna, Porto, Copenhagen, among many others.

His recordings include a CD of Ravel and Bizet symphonic works with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Massenet’s Thaïs with Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson, Massenet’s Werther with Andrea Bocelli, a disk of French arias with Elina Garança, and another French disc with Patricia Petitbon, plus a recording of Madama Butterfly on Chandon in its English language series. He also has conducted a disc of Italian arias with Maria Luigia Borsi.

Founder and Music Director of L’Opéra Français de New York, he breathed new life into rarities of the French opera repertoire including Cherubini, Rameau, Gluck, Donizetti, Bizet, Saint-Saëns, Offenbach as well as conducting ‘modern’ operas including those by Milhaud, Poulenc and Dusapin.

In 2009, he was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.

Recent performances: Carmen at Wiener Staatsoper; Le dialogues des carmélites at Teatro Regio di Torino (house debut in 2025-26 season); La damnation de Faust at Opernhaus Zurich (house debut in 2025-26 season); La fille du regiment at Royal Ballet & Opera London; and a concert with Filarmonica Toscanini in Parma (featuring Ciardelli’s Brano inedito (5/10′) (new commission), Bruch’s Fantasia scozzese, op.46 and Elgar’s Enigma Variations, op. 36).