At the ripe old age of 10, Chloe Chaidez formed Wild Youth, a band that covered songs by Sigur Rós and David Bowie. Now 18, Chaidez fronts Kitten, a Los Angeles-based five-piece inspired by the synth-driven sounds of the Eurythmics and the Pet Shop Boys. With only the EPs Sunday School (2010) and Cut it Out (2012) to their credit, Kitten have played SXSW, toured with Paramore, opened for No Doubt, and garnered praise from Carson Daly and Teen Vogue. Daughter of Mike Chaidez (former drummer for the punk band Thee Undertakers), Chloe grew up listening to Siouxsie and the Banshees and has cited the late Ian Curtis as a stylistic influence. These dark spirits mesh with others in Kitten’s tracks, which fall somewhere between the ’80s-inspired electronica of Class Actress and the dark drama of Bat for Lashes.

It won’t appear in full-performance until the Tobin Center opens in 2014, but The Opera San Antonio will preview its world class talent in a gala performance that promises to be dazzling. Soprano Patricia Racette, a regular performer at the San Francisco and Metropolitan Operas, and Texas-based tenor Jay Hunter Morris headline with the San Antonio Symphony. Pieces to be performed span opera repertoire from Handel to today, with works by American composer Leonard Bernstein and TOSA artistic director Tobias Picker, and classics by Verdi, Puccini, and Wagner. A rendition of Jerome Kern’s “Ol’ Man River,” by renowned bass-baritone Eric Owens, gives the lineup a populist twist. Also included are Dolora Zajick, Daniela Mack, Alek Schrader, Lucas Meachem, and Lisette Oropesa.