Opera Vermont’s Joshua Collier Named a 2026 Creative Community Fellow by National Arts Strategies

Opera Vermont founder and Artistic Director Joshua Collier has been named a 2026 Creative Community Fellow by National Arts Strategies (NAS) as part of the Creative Community Fellows: New England program. The fellowship is a cohort-based learning program designed to support and connect cultural leaders who are using arts and culture to drive transformative change in their communities. Fellows enter {…}

Aug 18, 2022

Barn Opera Announces New Production of Ariadne auf Naxos

Brandon Vermont’s BARN OPERA has announced a new production of R. Strauss’ comedic opera, “Ariadne auf Naxos,” set to be staged on Sept. 16 and 17, 2022, at The BARN OPERA House in Brandon, Vermont. The show marks the return of live performances for the company. Artistic Director Joshua Collier’s innovative production keeps with the company’s inventive takes on opera {…}

Feb 21, 2022

Opera Company of Middlebury 2021-22 Review: ‘Candide’

(Photo: Opera Company of Middlebury) Opera Company of Middlebury’s utterly delightful streaming production of Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide,” originally broadcast in June 2021, is back for a few more days, and viewable on OCM’s YouTube channel through Mar. 1, 2022. Don’t miss it. The pandemic was the mother of innovation. And OCM created the best of all possible worlds (wink, wink) {…}

Jan 30, 2022

BARN OPERA’s Artistic Director Joshua Collier on Keeping the Barn Doors Open

The Brandon, Vermont Chamber of Commerce describes the home of BARN OPERA as “the quintessential New England town.” It sits in the middle of the state, closer to the border with Upstate New York than that of New Hampshire. A beautiful, yet simple, old white church, complete with a clock tower and a sky-piercing steeple, sits in the center of {…}

Dec 30, 2021

Barn Opera Announces a British New Year’s Eve Bash Featuring ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’

Vermont’s Barn Opera will be holding a British-themed New Year’s Eve bash full of festivity as it presents a semi-staged production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “H.M.S. Pinafore,” streamed fireworks broadcast from London, and a traditional New Year’s countdown with the streaming of the Times Square celebration. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. ET, on December 31, 2021, with the London {…}

Dec 15, 2021

Barn Opera Announces Performances of ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’

Vermont’s Barn Opera has announced the Dec. 17 and 18, 2021 performance of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at Salisbury Congregational Church in Salisbury, VT. In 2019, Barn Opera proclaimed the production an annual tradition only to have it broken a year later because of COVID. However, the 2019 principal cast is back and ready to delight audiences once again {…}

Oct 28, 2021

Q & A: Composer Felix Jarrar and BARN Opera’s Creative Team on ‘Cask of Amontillado’

Prolific young composer and pianist Felix Jarrar’s ninth opera will premiere virtually on Oct. 31, 2021, and in keeping with the Halloween season, his latest chamber opera is based on an Edgar Allan Poe story. This time around, Jarrar’s libretto is an adaptation of “The Cask of Amontillado” which relates the tale of a quest for a bottle of Spanish {…}

Oct 12, 2021

Vermont’s Barn Opera to Open Company’s New Home with Production of ‘La Traviata’

Vermont’s Barn Opera has announced “La Traviata” as the new Barn Opera House’s inaugural production. The show will run Oct. 15 and 16, 2021. Verdi’s tragic masterpiece will feature soprano Kasey King as the party-loving escort Violetta Valéry, with tenor Chris Plaas as the smitten Alfredo Germont. Baritone Nicholas Tocci sings the role of Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont, whose ambitions {…}

Mar 30, 2021

Barn Opera to Present ‘Tosca’

The Barn Opera in Vermont has announced a production of Puccini’s “Tosca.” The production, which will be performed on August 18, 20, and 21, 2021, will be staged at the Isham Family Farm, Cedar Meadow, and Estabrook Park. “Tosca” will star Cailin Marcel Manson as Baron Scarpia, Andrea Chinedu Nwoke in the title role of Floria Tosca, Joshua Collier as Mario Cavaradossi, {…}

Dec 21, 2020

Barn Opera to Present American Premiere of Andrew Ager’s ‘A Christmas Carol’

On December 21, Barn Opera will present the first of a two-part Christmas Special. Part One features the American premiere of Canadian composer Andrew Ager’s 30-minute operatic adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” The program will stream for free on the company’s webpage at 7:30 p.m. EST. While there is no paywall for viewing, the company suggests a $10 {…}