Photo By Pittsburgh Opera

Ruth Ann Swenson plays Marguerite in Cincinnati Opera's season-opening production of Faust.

Evans Mirageas' eagerness to talk about Cincinnati Opera's summer lineup is exceeded only by his excitement over a personal milestone: "It's my first second season!"

Mirageas begins his second year as artistic director of Cincinnati Opera with a quartet of productions ranging from a warhorse to a contemporary classic. The season was planned well before he took over, but Mirageas made his own selection of performing and production artists.

This season's roster features world-renowned singers and many gaining international acclaim. A beloved veteran conductor returns to the podium, along with two newcomers and two stage directors making their debuts.

As for the season itself, Mirageas has no trouble finding the common thread.

"Let's make a deal," he says. "Taking risks is an important part of each opera. There's so much at stake on personal and political levels and it all plays out with glorious music performed by some of the most exciting singers today."

The ultimate dealmaker kicks off a production of Faust by Charles Gounod. The legendary tale of the man who trades his soul to the devil in exchange for youth and sex features tenor Richard Leech as Faust and soprano Ruth Ann Swenson as Marguerite. A favorite of Cincinnati Opera audiences, Leech has performed Faust at the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera and San Francisco Opera.

Swenson made her own headlines earlier this spring when she announced that the Metropolitan Opera had not engaged her beyond the 2008 season. Her fiery Cleopatra in the Met's recent production of Handel's Giulio Cesare -- after completing a round of chemotherapy for breast cancer -- garnered acclaim from critics and audiences. She also sang Marguerite at the Met.

"I had my spies out," says Mirageas. "She's at the top of her form. Her voice is in its prime."

Julius Rudel conducts, making his first Cincinnati appearance in 25 years.

Mozart offers up a less sinister pact, but one with plenty of troubling undercurrents in Cosi fan tutte ("All Women Do That"). Two young men bet that their girlfriends -- two sisters -- will remain faithful after they disguise themselves and go after each other's sweetheart. Of course, it goes awry despite the often lighthearted music, and the ending is deliberately ambiguous.

The action is updated to 1930s Hollywood where characters play out the action on and off screen, with the deal's instigator, Don Alfonso, acting as director. The real director is Alain Gauthier, whose frothy comic production of L'Étoile was last season's surprise hit.

Three singers from Cincinnati Opera's hugely successful Don Giovanni production two years ago make welcome return engagements. Soprano Alexandra Deshorties sings the mostly steadfast sister Fiordiligi, tenor Shawn Mathey, who was a remarkable Don Ottavio, sings Ferrando and his buddy Guglielmo is Teddy Tahu Rhodes, whom the intrepid opera blogger Operachic refers to as "that big lumberjack of a sek-say baritone."

It's that '70s show when Nixon in China takes the stage for the season's most anticipated production. Composer John Adams' landmark musical setting of Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972 combines voice, movement, drama and stunning visuals that have made it one of the most frequently performed contemporary operas and "the most influential opera of the past 20 years," according to the London Guardian.

"Of all four operas, this is the only deal that pays off," says Mirageas, "and it's a personal joy for me because I was at the world premiere in 1987 and attended many of the rehearsals (directed by Peter Sellars and choreographed by Mark Morris)."

James Robinson directs his production, most recently staged for Opera Theatre of St. Louis in 2004. The set is minimal with video as an important scenic factor.

Nixon's visit to China was an international media event, "one of the first to be shown in real time throughout the world," says Mirageas. "So the presence of television is central to our understanding of the events."

The stage will be flanked by TV sets projecting actual footage of events that Mirgaeas calls "almost a color backdrop" integrated with the action onstage.

Adams' inventive score is at once minimalist and inviting, with elements of everything from 19th-century romantic ballet to foxtrot to Latin American rhythms. Another Jaarvi steps into the pit when Kristjan Jaarvi, a leading interpreter of contemporary music and CSO Director Paavo Jaarvi's younger brother, leads the musical forces.

Nixon's cast features renowned interpreters of their roles, including Robert Orth, who sang the lead in St. Louis and was acclaimed for his stunning portrayal. Thomas Hammons reprises the role of Henry Kissinger, which he created in the original production and on the Nonesuch recording. Tenor Mark T. Panuccio sings the role of Mao Tse-Tung, and soprano Maureen O'Flynn is Pat Nixon.

The season concludes with Aida, the grandest of operas, in a production from Florida Grand Opera. Despite the outsize triumphal march scene with legions of spear carriers and anything from elephants to stallions, Verdi's masterpiece has moments of intense intimacy and conflict more appropriate for chamber theater. And Aida's deal?

"She has to choose between love of country and her father and love for Radames, the Egyptian general," explains Mirageas. "Her decision destroys everyone."

Soprano Lisa Daltirus sings the title role and tenor Richard Margison, seen in last year's A Masked Ball, returns as Aida's lover, Radames. Director Bliss Hebert staged the original production and returns to Cincinnati to direct.

Will an elephant be making its debut? Mirageas won't say, but he promises "wonderful surprises."

There's more to celebrate than a first second season. Subscription renewals are the highest since 2000, and last season attracted 500 new subscribers. Mirageas can't claim sole credit for these achievements -- and he doesn't. He acknowledges the roles of Cincinnati Opera's administration and board and, just as important, that of his predecessor, Nicholas Muni.

"Under Nic's stewardship," he says, "audiences woke up to the possible in opera, the excitement of drama, thanks to the original productions he brought to the Music Hall stage. My job is to find great directors -- for the musicians and for the stage -- who will provide a consistent level of excellence across all four operas."