Formal recognition to occur during May 7 National Travel & Tourism Week celebration at Ringling Museum of Art
“Maestro Victor DeRenzi has been conducting excellence at the Sarasota Opera for over four decades,” Visit Sarasota County pointed out in a news release this week. “[A]nd now,” the release said, he will be recognized with Visit Sarasota County’s top honor.
During the local National Travel & Tourism Week Celebration on May 7, Visit Sarasota County’s board of directors will name DeRenzi “the 2026 Voice of Sarasota — an honor presented to an individual whose exceptional efforts have significantly promoted Sarasota County as a tourism destination,” the release explained.
Visit Sarasota County is the organization that markets the county to tourists.
“Maestro DeRenzi has played a transformative role in elevating the City of Sarasota onto the international stage,” said John LaCivita, president and CEO of Willis Smith Construction and chair of the Visit Sarasota County board, in the release. “Through his visionary leadership and extraordinary artistic talent, he has shaped the identity of Sarasota Opera from its inception in the late ’70s as a small regional company through to its centennial year, now a world-recognized gem of American opera companies,” LaCivita added in the release.
“I will forever remember the Maestro for leading the charge in the early 2000s to expand and modernize the Opera House’s orchestra pit and theatre — completed in 2008 — enabling the company to perform at the highest level,” LaCivita continued. “His impact continues to strengthen our tourism economy, drawing visitors from around the world to experience why Sarasota is known as Florida’s Cultural Coast.”
During his tenure with Sarasota Opera, the release pointed out, “DeRenzi has overseen more than 1,550 opera performances and 222 productions spanning 123 different works. His leadership brought Sarasota Opera global acclaim, particularly for its commitment to rarely performed works.”
The release further noted, “Renowned as a leading interpreter of Giuseppe Verdi, Maestro DeRenzi initiated Sarasota Opera’s ‘Verdi Cycle,’ which made the company the only one in the world to have performed the full body of Verdi’s music,” which the Opera completed in 2016. “DeRenzi also holds the distinction of being the longest-serving Artistic Director of any opera company in the United States,” the release added.
“While dedicating himself to building Sarasota Opera into an internationally recognized institution,” the release continued, DeRenzi “also maintained an active conducting career across the United States and abroad. In 2015, he was awarded the title of Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia (Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy) by the Italian Republic for his role in advancing Italian culture internationally,” it noted.
“Originally created by the U.S. Travel Association, National Travel & Tourism Week is celebrated annually in May to highlight travel’s role in driving economic growth and strengthening communities,” the release explained. This year’s celebration, hosted by Visit Sarasota County, will be held in the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Courtyard on Tuesday, May 7, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
“Recognizing that the coming year marks a century since John Ringling moved the winter quarters of the Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus to Sarasota,” the release said, “the evening event will feature subtle Art Deco touches, immersive nods to Sarasota’s circus legacy, and a ‘Walk of the Decades,’ ” highlighting local businesses that also are celebrating centennials and other milestones, the release added.
Tickets are on sale at https://visitsarasotacounty.ticketspice.com/2026-national-travel-tourism-week-celebration.