Cincinnati Operais an Americanoperacompany based inCincinnati, Ohioand the second oldest opera company in the United States (after theNew YorkMetropolitan Opera).[1]Beginning with its first season in 1920, Cincinnati Opera has produced operas in the summer months of June and July with theCincinnati Symphony Orchestraproviding orchestral accompaniment.
 Cincinnati Music Hall,the home of Cincinnati Opera | |
| Formerly | Cincinnati Opera Association |
|---|---|
| Company type | Opera company |
| Headquarters | |
| Revenue | 7,337,052 United States dollar (2017) |
| Website | www |
History
editThe company, originally named Cincinnati Opera Association, gave its first performance,Flotow'sMartha,on Sunday, June 27, 1920. During its early years, the company was under the direction ofRalph Lyford,an American composer and conductor whose single operaCastle Agrazantwould receive its world premiere atCincinnati Music Hallon April 29, 1926, following Lyford's departure from Cincinnati Opera in 1925.[2]From 1956 to 1990, the company ran a singing competition known as theAmerican Opera Auditions.
For most of its first fifty years, Cincinnati Opera's performances were held at theCincinnati ZooPavilion. During that time, many prominent singers appeared in the company's productions includingPlácido Domingo,Beverly Sills,Norman Treigle,Sherrill Milnes,Montserrat Caballé,Jan Peerce,Robert Merrill,Roberta Peters,Shirley Verrett,Lawrence Tibbett,Richard Tucker,Martina Arroyo,James Morris,Elinor RossandBarbara Daniels.In 1972, Cincinnati Opera moved its performance base toCincinnati Music Hall,[3]a 3,417-seat theater listed as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior. In its 2016 and 2017 seasons, whileMusic Hallwas being restored and renovated, Cincinnati Opera performed throughout theAronoff Center for the Artsinstead. The Opera returned toCincinnati Music Hallfor its 2018 season, and has performed there since.[4]
The company under James de Blasis
editJames de Blasis became the company's Resident Stage Director in 1968. He then served as its General Director from 1973 to 1987. In 1988 he became its artistic director, a post which he held until 1996.
Under his tenure, the company produced rare operas such asFranco Alfano'sRisurrezionein 1983 andWeinberger'sSchwanda the Bagpiperin 1986. It also addedmusicalsto its repertory in an effort to broaden its audience base. One of the highlights of the de Blasis era was a new interpretation ofDonizetti'sL'elisir d'amorewhich changed the setting from theBasque regionof Spain in the 1820s to the "Wild West" of late 19th centuryTexas.The production was filmed byPBSand nationally televised in 1968.
The company under Nicholas Muni
editIn 1996, the internationally known stage director Nicholas Muni succeeded James de Blasis as artistic director of the company. Under his leadership Cincinnati Opera further enlarged its repertory with many company premieres outside the standard repertory includingJanáček'sJenůfa,Britten'sThe Turn of the Screw,Debussy'sPelléas et Mélisande,Bartók'sBluebeard's Castle,Schoenberg'sErwartung,Heggie'sDead Man Walking,Strauss'sElektra,Poulenc'sLa Voix Humaine,Weill'sThe Seven Deadly Sins,Ullmann'sThe Emperor of Atlantis,and the U.S. premiere of Peter Bengtson'sThe Maids.[5]The company also performed its first mainstage commission,Richard Danielpour'sMargaret Garner(co-commissioned withMichigan Opera TheatreandOpera Company of Philadelphia). The Cincinnati performances coincided with the opening of Cincinnati'sNational Underground Railroad Freedom Centerand starredDenyce Gravesin the title role.
The company under Evans Mirageas
editIn 2006,Evans Mirageas,an influential casting director and former head ofDecca's Artists & Repertoire division, became Cincinnati Opera's new artistic director. Following his first season with the company,Opera Newsmagazine listed him as one of the "25 Most Powerful Names in U.S. Opera."[6]
The 2008 Summer Festival, the first to be fully programmed by Mirageas, included the French version ofDonizetti'sLucia di Lammermoorplus the company premiere ofDaniel Catán'sFlorencia en el Amazonas.The company's 2009 season featured four operas set in Spain:Le Nozze di Figaro,Don Carlo,Carmen,and the regional premiere ofOsvaldo Golijov'sAinadamar.The 2010 season presented a 90th Anniversary Gala Concert, featuring, among others, guest hostsRyan SeacrestandSherrill Milnesand singersMaria Luigia Borsi,Angela Brown,Christine Brewer,Denyce Graves,andRichard Leech.Following in 2011 wasJohn Adams'sA Flowering Tree,while the 2012 season offered the company's first performances ofThe Gershwins'Porgy and BessandPiazzolla'sMaría de Buenos Aires.
In 2012,Mirageasannounced an expansion of the company's season to "festival" format featuring grand opera performances inMusic Hall;lectures, films, and recitals inMemorial Hall;outdoor concerts inWashington Park;and small-scale productions in the 750-seat Corbett Theater at theSchool for Creative and Performing Arts.
Performances in the Corbett Theater have includedPhilip Glass'sGalileo Galilei(2013) andFrancesco Cavalli's 1651 operaLa Calisto(2014), and the world premiere ofRicky Ian GordonandWilliam M. Hoffman'sMorning Star.
Recent Seasons
editWhileCincinnati Music Hallwas closed for an extensive renovation, Cincinnati Opera's performances took place at theAronoff Center for the Arts.The company's 2016 season featured the world premiere ofFellow Travelersby composerGregory Spearsand librettist Greg Pierce and a new production ofToscaby Robert Perdziola. Its 2017 season consisted ofLa Bohème,a company premiere ofFridabyRobert Xavier Rodríguez,a silent film-styledThe Magic Flutefrom directorBarrie Koskyand 1927, and a production ofMissy Mazzoli's new operaSong from the Uproar.[7]
Cincinnati Opera moved back toCincinnati Music Hallfor its 2018 season, and performed Verdi'sLa Traviata,a new production of Wagner'sThe Flying Dutchman,the U.S. premiere ofAnother Brick in the Wall: The Opera,a new production of Monteverdi'sL'incoronazione di Poppea,and a company premiere of Laura Kaminsky'sAs One,a coming-of-age opera about a transgender woman.[8]In 2019, the company presented the world premiere of Scott Davenport Richards andDavid Cote'sBlind Injustice,based onthe book of the same nameby Ohio Innocence Project director Mark A. Godsey chronicling the true stories of six people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes and eventually exonerated. That season also includedThe Marriage of Figaro,Romeo and Juliet,a new production ofAriadne auf Naxos,andThe Gershwins' Porgy and Bess.
After Patricia Beggs announced her retirement, Christopher Milligan was appointed general director and CEO in March 2020. Shortly thereafter, the company canceled its 100th-anniversary season due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.In its stead, Cincinnati Opera launched several creative endeavors to bring opera to the community, including performances online and outdoors; "Cincinnati Opera at 100," a public television documentary; andCincinnati Opera: A Centennial Celebration,a book chronicling the company's history.
Cincinnati Opera presented an all-outdoor 2021 season at Summit Park inBlue Ash, Ohio,known as “Summer at Summit,” where world-class artists performed on a specially built stage before an audience seated in socially distanced pods. That summer, the company was also inducted into theAmerican Classical Music Hall of Fame.
The company was able to return to indoor performances in 2022, and that season featured two world premieres:Fierce,with music by William Menefield and libretto by Sheila Williams, andCastor and Patience,with music byGregory Spearsand libretto by former U.S. poet laureateTracy K. Smith.Recent programmatic highlights include the world stage premiere ofThe Knock(2022) byAleksandra VrebalovandDeborah Brevoort,a new production ofMadame Butterfly(2023) created by an all-Asian and Asian American creative team led by stage director Matthew Ozawa, and the world stage premiere ofPaul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio(2024).
Opera Fusion: New Works
editOpera Fusion: New Works(OF:NW) was developed in 2011 as a collaborative partnership between Cincinnati Opera and theUniversity of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music(CCM). The organization is dedicated to fostering the development of new American operas, and has developed nine pieces to date through a rigorous residency and workshop process. This collaboration is jointly led byEvans Mirageas,The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, andRobin Guarino,Professor of Opera at CCM.
References
editNotes
- ^Salzman (2 July 1961)
- ^Hipsher (1927) p. 306
- ^Winternitz & Bellman, p. 190
- ^"History".Cincinnati Opera.RetrievedJun 6,2019.
- ^Gelfand (1 October 2004)
- ^Matthew Westphal,Oh, those lists... We love them, we love to hate them, we love to pass them around and argue with them...,Playbill,14 July 2006. Accessed 10 February 2021.
- ^"Opera's 2017 festival mixes old favorites, new wave".Cincinnati.6 October 2016.RetrievedJun 6,2019.
- ^"Ambitious fare planned for Cincinnati Opera's move back to Music Hall".Cincinnati.14 July 2017.RetrievedJun 6,2019.
Sources
- Gelfand, Janelle,Opera losing influential artistic directoratarchive.today(archived 22 January 2013),The Cincinnati Enquirer,October 1, 2004. Accessed 10 February 2021
- Hipsher, Edward Ellsworth,American Opera and Its Composers, Ralph Lynford,Theodore Presser Company, 1927, p. 304–308
- Pierre Ruhe,Atlanta Symphony news: Artistic planning guru Evans Mirageas upgrades his role, finally moves to Atlanta,ArtsATL,13 October 2011. Accessed 10 February 2021.
- Salzman, Eric,A Zoo Story: Cincinnati Opera Revitalized,The New York Times,July 2, 1961, p. X7 (online,subscription necessary, accessed 10 February 2021).
- Thea Dispeker Artists Management,James de Blasis: Stage director.Accessed 28 September 2009.
- Winternitz, Felix and Sacha DeVroomen Bellman (2009).Insiders' Guide to Cincinnati, Cincinnati Opera.Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN9780762748655.Retrieved10 February2021.
External links
edit- Official web site of Cincinnati Opera
- The Cincinnati Opera Archivesat the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County