Finale or interlude?

Ian Campbell, former chief executive of San Diego Opera, is engaged to opera soprano Susan Neves (pronounced "nevs") and the two will live in New York City, according to sources within San Diego Opera and information online. Three years ago, Neves was singing the lead role in Puccini's Turandot in Pittsburgh. She had a friendly TV interview there in which she discussed how she had lost 162 pounds, initially through a gastric bypass. She had come down from 300 pounds, she said.

This will be the third marriage for Campbell. He married singer Rachel Gettler in 1982; they divorced two years later. He came to San Diego as head of San Diego Opera in 1983, and in 1985 married Ann Spira of the opera staff. The two were the highest-paid executives of San Diego Opera — bringing in much more than comparable executives at other opera companies. Their inordinately high pay became quite controversial. They divorced in 2012. They have two sons.

Earlier this year, Campbell tried to close down San Diego Opera quickly, claiming it had no financial future. Initially, the board voted with him, but then some board members came forward to try and save the company. That process is now well underway. Campbell officially left San Diego Opera on May 15 of this year. From the time he tried to close down the opera, it was reported in the Reader that he was planning to live with a female singer in New York City.