The opera world has been rocked by the sexual abuse scandal at the Metropolitan Opera centering around maestro James Levine. The topic was confronted head on at Opera Conference 2018 hosted by OPERA America in a panel titled “Confronting Sexual Harassment, Abuse and Assault” that tackled these issues that have unfortunately become much too pertinent in the opera world. The {…}
Over the next few days, Santosh Venkataraman will be attending the Opera America Conference from St. Louis, providing us with in-depth coverage of some of the major events. Stay tuned! Patricia Racette recalled an email she got after the announcement was made that she would be making her directorial debut at Opera Theatre of St. Louis this summer with La {…}
On June 1, Operamission will hold a “Handel Warehouse.” The event, which will be open to the public, will be held at OPERA America’s National Opera Center. “Handel Warehouse” will offer a host of workshops, open rehearsals, refreshments, and festivities with conductor/harpsichordist Jennifer Peterson and stage director Jeff Caldwell lead the proceedings, to be held in the Charles MacKay Studio. Workshops {…}
Opera America has announced the latest recipients of the Discovery Grants from the Opera Grants for Female Composers program. The grants are made possible by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation and are given to promote the development of works by women. This year’s recipients include Lisa DeSpain for “That Hell-Bound Train,” Alexa Dexa for “Be a Doll,” Germaine Franco for “¡La Capitana!,” Elizabeth Kelly for “Losing Her Voice,” Leanna Kirchoff for “Friday After Friday,” {…}
Opera America has announced the recipients for the 2018 National Opera Trustee Recognition. The recipients are “Carol F. Henry, Los Angeles Opera; R. Jamison Williams, Michigan Opera Theatre; Henry Fogel, Chicago Opera Theater; and John Serrage, Opera Maine.” The award is in its 11th year and its intention is to honor “U.S. opera companies for their exemplary leadership, generosity and audience-building efforts on behalf of their respective {…}
I was lucky enough this past November that a friend of mine had an extra ticket for “Die Walküre” at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Now I had already seen it opening night and reviewed it for this site. Of course, the chance to again see Wagner at Lyric with top-notch performers like Christine Goerke and Eric Owens wasn’t something that {…}
OPERA America has announced that protégés and mentors have been selected for the organization’s new Mentorship Program for Women. The Mentorship Program for Women is intended to provide a unique opportunity for promising female administrators (protégés) in the field to be paired with established leaders (mentors), to help the protégés identify advancement barriers and create a plan for professional growth. This {…}
OPERA America has announced the grant awards for 11 opera companies through the Repertoire Development Grants program, supported by The Opera Fund. A total of $225,000 was awarded to 11 opera companies including the Metropolitan Opera’s upcoming opera “Eurydice” by composer Matthew Aucoin and librettist Sarah Ruhl. The work will be based on the play by Sarah Ruhl and tells the Orpheus story from the perspective of {…}
Opera America has announced its 2017-18 Onstage at the Opera Center season and it will feature quite a number of exciting artists. Kicking off on Oct. 5, 2017, the season will feature three different series, including “Creators in Concert,” “Conversations,” and “Emerging Artist Recitals.” “Creators in Concert” will feature “Thumbprint” composer Kamala Sankaram on Oct. 19, 2017. Then on Feb. {…}
Opera America has awarded $100,000 to six opera companies for their support for female composers. The six companies include the Houston Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, Opera Parallèle, Sarasota Opera, Seattle Opera and Washington National Opera. The Houston Grand has commission Nkeiru Okoye’s “Home of My Ancestors” while Minnesota Opera’s grant is for Paola Prestini’s “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.” {…}
Opera America continues its busy summer, recently announcing 13 participants from the U.S., Canada, and Latin America that will join its 2017 Leadership intensive Program. The 13 include Lyric Opera of Chicago’s director of community programs Alejandra Boyer, Austin Opera’s chief development officer Jennifer Dubin, Minnesota Opera’s assistant production director Julia Gallagher, Opera Memphis’ director of development Jason Hardy, Opera Philadelphia’s {…}
