According to the paper, Matthew A. Epstein, currently the artistic director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, is rumored to be the leading candidate for the post. The Lyric recently announced that Epstein's contract would not be renewed at the end of the season.

Adrian Collette, the general manager of Opera Australia, and Anthony Freud, the general director of the Welsh National Opera, are also said to be finalists.

Rosenberg announced in June that she would depart the SFO at the end of the 2005-06 season. Her tenure has been marked by well-received productions of modern operas, including the American premiere of Messiaen's Saint Fran‹ois d'Assise. But she has had to scale down her artistic ambitions in the face of the company's financial problems.