Opera America magazine
Opera America, the quarterly magazine of the national service organization for opera, provides vital information for the full range of opera stakeholders — artists, administrators, educators, trustees and audience members. In addition to showcasing innovative productions and providing thoughtful commentary on trends, the magazine will address pressing issues in every aspect of the opera world, from tax laws to stage safety to fundraising.
ON THE COVER: Kari Marie Sorenson as Elisetta and Alexandra Christoforakis as Fidalma in The University of Maryland — Maryland Opera Studio’s production of Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto, directed by Nick Olcott with design by Daniel Conway (scenery), Tim Burrow (costumes) and Andrew J. Guban (lighting). Photo by Cory Weaver. |
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Highlights Include:
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Letter from the President/CEO
[Read More]
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Learning to Work Together:
Opera Companies and Academic Institutions
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Opera Conference 2009: Making Opera Matter
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Creative Programming in Hard Times
By Thomas May
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Letting the Lion Roar — Words of Wisdom on
Developing and Maintaining the Dramatic Voice
By Roger Pines
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A Legacy of Leadership
By Kelley Rourke
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Recently Published
By Alexa B. Antopol
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ON THE COVER: Tony Boutté as Arjuna in Music-Theatre Group’s production of Douglas Cuomo’s Arjuna’s Dilemma, directed by Robin Guarino with choreography by John Kelly and design by Donald Eastman (scenery), Gabriel Berry (costumes), Robert Wierzel (lighting) and William Cusick (projections). World premiere production presented as part of Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 2008 Next Wave Festival. Photo by Stephanie Berger. |
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Highlights Include:
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Letter from the President/CEO
[Read More]
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Production Portfolio: Brief Encounter
On May 1, 2009, Houston Grand Opera will present the world premiere of Brief Encounter, a new opera by André Previn and John Caird, based on David Lean’s classic film adaptation of a play by Noël Coward. In this sensitive story of emotional infidelity, Laura Jesson (Elizabeth Futral) meets the handsome Alec Harvey (Nathan Gunn) in the refreshment room of a train station.
Endowment for the Arts.[Read More]
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Weaving a Universal Song from Speciffiic Stories
By Kelley Rourke
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Refreshing the Repertory
By Patrick J. Smith
The English opera director Nicholas
Hytner said it best: “The problem
for opera is that its conventions haven’t
been refreshed by a constantly evolving
repertory.” This situation, endemic and almost rusted into opera, had existed from the beginning of the 20th century,
but had become acute in the United States by the end of the 1970s.[Read More]
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In the Works
By Megan Young
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Support for New Works in Canada
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Recently Published
By Alexa B. Antopol
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ON THE COVER: Philip Sheffield as Tom Rakewell in La Monnaie/De Munt’s (Brussels) production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress (Robert Lepage, director; François Barbeau, costume designer; Etienne Boucher, lighting designer; Scène Éthique, scenic construction
and painting). This is a co-production of Ex Machina, Opéra La Monnaie de Munt Brussels, Opéra National de Lyon, San Fransisco Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden London and Teatro Real Madrid. Photo by Johan Jacobs.
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Highlights Include:
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Letter from the President/CEO
[Read More]
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Production Portfolio: OPERA America's Director-Designer Showcase
By Barrymore Laurence Scherer
As part of a continuing
effort to foster emerging opera artists, the bi-annual Showcase seeks to benefit promising stage directors and
designers interested in breaking into the world of opera. It is intended to bring new talent to the forefront and
connect promising artists with those who are in a position to hire them. Designed to be administered as part of
The Opera Fund, the inaugural Director-Designer Showcase was supported by a special grant from the National
Endowment for the Arts.[Read More]
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Making Early Opera Sing
By James Bash
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Highlights from the 2007 Annual Field Report
By Larry Bomback and Anthony Cekay
OPERA America’s Annual Field Report (AFR) is based on the Professional Opera Survey (POS) that member opera companies complete each year, submitting details of their annual financial, performance and attendance activity. The 2007 AFR covers the fiscal year that ended during calendar year 2007, and includes data reaching back to 2003, summarizing key facts and trends in the United States and Canada.
[Read More]
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All the World's a Stage Set
By Thomas May
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The NEA Opera Honors
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Governance and the Artistic Product
By Kelley Rourke
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ON THE COVER: James Ivey as Spalanzani and Ailyn Perez as Olympia in Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’s 2008 production of Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann. The production was directed by Renaud Doucet, with sets and costumes by André Barbe and lighting by Mark McCullough. Photo by Ken Howard.
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Highlights Include:
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Letter from the President/CEO
[Read More]
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Production Portfolio: Glimmerglass 2008 Season
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The Philadelphia Project: Audience Development in a Lively Opera Ecology
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Recognizing American Opera’s Brightest Lights
By Barrymore Laurence Scherer
The success of opera within the United States, in any era, can be traced to the talented individuals — from singers to impresarios — who devote their life to the art form. In celebration of these individuals, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), under the leadership of Chairman Dana Gioia, has established a new lifetime achievement award: the NEA Opera Honors. The inaugural recipients of the award — Leontyne Price, Carlisle Floyd, Richard Gaddes and James Levine — will be officially recognized on October 31, 2008 in Washington, D.C.
[Read More]
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The Performing Arts Community Speaks
By Kelley Rourke
The 2008 National Performing Arts Convention (NPAC) was staffed largely by individuals from each of the participating national service organizations. Most of us were assigned roles similar to those we took at our own conferences — speaker wrangler, session monitor, registration clerk. Twelve of us found ourselves embarking on a new adventure as part of the “Theme Team” — a group assigned to work with the staff of AmericaSpeaks to develop a common agenda based on discussions held by nearly 4,000 people at some 200 different tables in 10 different rooms.
[Read More]
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The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD: Who Attends, and Why?
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In the Works: A Listing of New Works and Works in Progress
By Megan Young
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ON THE COVER: Curtis student Joshua Stewart in the role of Ruiz Alonso; middle, left to right: Curtis graduate Rachael Garcia and Curtis students Ashley Thouret, Karen Jesse, Sarah Shafer, Allison Sanders and Marquita Raley; bottom: Curtis student Katherine Lerner in the role of Federico Garcia Lorca in Curtis Opera Theatre’s (in association with Opera Company of Philadelphia and Kimmel Center Presents) production of Golijov’s Ainadamar, conducted by Corrado Rovaris and directed by Chas Rader-Shieber, with designs by David Zinn (sets), Richard St. Clair (costumes) and Mark Barton (lighting). Photo by David Swanson.
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Highlights Include:
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Letter from the President/CEO
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Production Portfolio: Aida
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The Operatic Evolution of John Adams: Remaking Opera for Our time
By Thomas May
Nixon in China was an unlikely success when it premiered over two decades ago. But John Adams has continued forging new paths for American opera with his subsequent stage works and, in the process, evolving his own language as a composer.
[Read More]
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Summer Festivals: Finding a Way to Shine During the Dark Months
By Kelley Rourke
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Big Screen Dreams: A New Stage for Opera
By Rebecca Winzenreid
Will anyone really pay $20 to see an opera in a movie theater?
The question so many people were asking a little more than a year ago seems almost quaint now as operacasts to movie theaters have skyrocketed in number.
[Read More]
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OPERA America’s Action-Oriented Think Tanks
By Kelley Rourke
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Arts Advocacy: Four Easy Steps
By Haley Gordon
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ON THE COVER: Gerald Finley stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2007-2008 production of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic. Photo by Dan Rest/Lyric Opera of Chicago.
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Highlights Include:
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Letter from the President/CEO
[Read More]
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Production Portfolio: Flight
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The Role of the Dramaturg in the Creation of New Work
By Andrew Eggert
Increasingly, composers and producers have called on the knowledge and experience of a dramaturg — a knowledgeable theater practitioner — to help give direction to the creative process.
[Read More]
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Danny Newman — A Personal Recollection
By William Mason
There was a full house for Danny’s funeral in December, which would have pleased him greatly. He’d long grown accustomed to seeing every seat filled before a performance at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and he taught us all to expect nothing less.
[Read More]
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Alternative Paths for Singer Training
By Jocelyn Dueck
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A Bright Future For Canadian Opera
By Colin Eatock
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ON THE COVER: University of Texas at Austin’s
2006 world premiere production of Turrin’s The
Scarecrow. Photo by Amitava Sarkar.
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Highlights Include:
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Letter from the President/CEO
[Read More]
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Production Portfolio: Later The Same Evening
[Read More]
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Learning to Lead
By Kelley Rourke
Successful leaders in the opera field have shown a knack for
managing their own education, often identifying and seizing
learning opportunities in the most unlikely situations.
[Read More]
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A New Stage for Artists
By Thomas May
The long-dominant model of what defines a performing artist’s
career is undergoing a rapid paradigm shift. Teaching artists are
poised to replace the divas of stereotype with a new approach to the
art of performance — both on and off the stage.
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People Make Opera
By Bill Richardson
In summer 2007, leaders in Canada’s opera community came
together for People Make Opera, a three-day colloquium
organized by Opera.ca and The Banff Centre.
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Highlights from the 2006 Annual Field Report
By Patricia Egan and Nancy Sasser
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ON THE COVER: Indira Mahajan as Bess and Victor Ryan Robertson as Sportin’
Life in Los Angeles Opera’s May 2007 production of Gershwin’s
Porgy and Bess. Photo by Robert Millard and courtesy of Los Angeles Opera.
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Highlights Include:
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Letter from the President/CEO
[Read More]
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Production Portfolio: Frau Margot
[Read More]
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The Return of Gluck: The Reformer Makes His Mark Anew in America’s Opera Houses
By Thomas May
The spate of revivals of Monteverdi, Rameau and Handel have
proved that operas once dismissed as dated, historical artifacts can
still hold sway over audiences. Could it be Gluck’s turn?
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Opera and Architecture: Building a Home for the
Art Form in the Modern World
By Philip Kennicott
Opera and architecture seem to circle each other, taking inspiration
from each other indirectly. At times, each art form approaches the
concerns and anxieties of the other.
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American Musical Theater in the Opera House
By Larry Bomback
The American musical theater repertoire is rooted in a European
tradition that has long captivated audiences around the world.
[Read More]
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Major Efforts for Major Gifts
By Elizabeth Hurley
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The Perspectives Series - SPECIAL LIMITED TIME OFFER!
Perspectives is a series of books that features articles written by opera professionals, offering observations and counsel on various subjects relevant to singers, including Audition Advice for Singers, The Singer/Manager Relationship, Building and Managing Your Network and Business Advice for Singers. These books are not meant to be how-to manuals. Rather, their aim is to present a wide range of viewpoints in order to assist artists in finding unique and successful careers.
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Music!Words!Opera! (M!W!O!)
This three-part set of instructional resource materials, based on the work of master teachers and opera professionals, offers two approaches to learning. Listen and Discover introduces students to the operatic art form and explores how and why specific operas were written. With Create and Produce, students produce their own original opera. Levels I and II each include "What to Listen For" CDs with music excerpts that accompany the lesson plans, a Teacher’s Manual and Student Studybooks. Level III includes a Teacher’s Manual and complete recordings of the play Othello and the opera Otello.
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