Despite internal conflicts and scathing audits, the Geneva Opera has maintained its reputation as one of the world’s best opera houses. The respected but abrasive current director, Jean-Marie Blanchard, will now make way for the congenial Tobias Richter, whose first season will comprise productions programmed by the two men. Richter, who began his international career in Geneva, announces a new era packed with changes and introduces a style described as elegant, erudite and entertaining.