2018 Year in Review

Carmen Giannattasio as Tosca and Scott Hendricks as Scarpia in San Francisco Opera’s Tosca the YEAR in REVIEW 2018 The HERITAGE INNOVATION, PLUS A HEALTHY RESPECT FOR LIVES ON TRADITION, KEEPS THE REPERTOIRE BUOYANT. or all the vitality of from most companies, large and small, contemporary opera, consisted of the works, written between the standard repertory the late 1700s and the early 1900s, that remains the backbone of have maintained a foothold in the By Fred Cohn the industry. This year’s repertory across the centuries. F premieres of works like “You can’t give up on the standard Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s repertory,” says Heidi Waleson, opera Proving Up, Lembit Beecher and Hannah critic for The Wall Street Journal. “It’s the Moscovitch’s Sky on Swings and the full- base of the industry.” length version of Huang Ruo and David A look at OPERA America’s tally of Henry Hwang’s An American Soldier the most-produced operas of 2017–2018 all garnered well-deserved attention, confirms the point (see “The Top 25,” as did mountings of recent operas by pages 24–25). Although it includes composers like Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Kaminsky’s 2014 As One, Astor Heggie, Laura Kaminsky and Kevin Puts. Piazzolla’s 1968 María de Buenos Aires Cory Weaver But as always, the bulk of the offerings and Leonard Bernstein’s 1956 Candide, WINTER 2019 21 Derrell Acon as Roc, Malorie Casimir as Marcy in Heartbeat Opera’s reimagined Fidelio ) La bohème Giaquinto as Musetta, Brenda Rae in Alex DeSocio as Marcello, of Lucia di Lucia di Lammermoor Colline, Daria Somers Lammermoor as Mimì, Dane Suarez at Opera as Rodolfo and E. Scott Kelly & Massa ( ), the bulk of the list consists of works and audiences on the foundation of “The opera is changed just enough to like The Barber of Seville, La traviata, “heritage” operas, and they still offer a make it a little different, but not so La bohème La bohème and Carmen, most of them steady stream of canonical works as a much that you don’t recognize it,” she standard fare in past eras, and some of dominant part of the mix. explains. She offers as an example them mainstays virtually throughout But even though the works are Laurent Pelly’s production of Lucia di the history of opera in America. In familiar, their interpretations Lammermoor at Opera Philadelphia fact, seven of the titles were performed may offer surprises. Waleson notes this fall, the black-and-white design at the Metropolitan Opera in 1883– that straightforwardly traditional stripping away the work’s romanticism Fidelio 1884, its first season. To be sure, our mountings of standard pieces (“the and suggesting a feminist subtext. companies’ forays into contemporary bohemians are in the garret, or outside “I like it when the director has an opera are revitalizing the field. But they in the snowstorm”) have by and large individual take that’s still of a piece have largely built their reputations given way to “tweaked” interpretations. with the opera,” she says. “People seeing Russ Rowland ( 22 OPERA AMERICA The TOP THE MOST!PRODUCED 25 OPERAS IN THE U.S. AND CANADA, "#$%&"#$' 1 Il barbiere di Siviglia Saave Opera 2 6 10 La traviata Tosca Don Giovanni 3 5 7 13 La Carmen Le nozze 11 Candide bohème di As One Figaro 4 12 Rigoletto 8 Die Madama Zauberflöte Butterfly 9 Turandot Denyce Graves (at National Opera 24 OPERA AMERICA the YEAR in REVIEW 2018 17 18 19 Così fan La Norma tutte Cenerentola 20 Aida Saave Knoxville Opera 14 21 Orfeo ed Lucia di Euridice 16 Lammermoor 15 María de Buenos Aires 22 L’elisir The Merry d’amore Widow 23 Fidelio 24 Roméo et Juliette Evelyn Saavedra as 25 María, Pensacola Opera Don Pasquale WINTER 2019 25 the YEAR in REVIEW 2018 REPERTOIRE 2 1 3 4 1. Adams in Gregory Spears and en el Amazonas at Madison Opera Breiwick and Rebecca Ringle Kim in Huang Ruo and David Greg Pierce’s Fellow Travelers at 4. Henry Hwang’s An American Marnie 5.Musa Ngqungwana and Sean Soldier Norman) 3. Panikkar (at center) in Moby-Dick, (center) in Daniel Catán and 2. Marcela Fuentes-Berain’s Florencia 26 OPERA AMERICA PREMIERES AND REVIVALS OF CONTEMPORARY WORKS BRING RENEWED FRESH ENERGY TO THE ART FORM. 5 7 8 6 8 9 10 Almond) 7. Ryan McKinny in 6. Roderick Williams and Kate Doctor Atomic Pisano) 10. Stewart Copeland Miller-Heidke (on-screen) in The 9. Marietta Simpson in Opera Invention of Morel Sunken Garden 8. Sky on Swings, Soldier Songs at Polakoff) WINTER 2019 27 the YEAR in REVIEW 2018 trustees in the membership, it created a The community chorus of web page of trustee resources and began On Site Opera’s Amahl and the Night Visitors publishing Across the Board, a semiannual newsletter highlighting best practices in governance. And for Professional Company Members, it launched Civic Practice Grants, which fund opera companies’ efforts to identify civic priorities in their communities and form partnerships with other organizations to achieve shared goals. Another resource, available to members in every category and in fact to the public at large, is OA’s new anti-harassment web page, launched in response to the field’s heightened awareness of sexual harassment and assault. The resources on the page, culled from social service organizations, as well as our own member companies, can help opera companies prevent harassment and develop their own policies. They can also assist individuals who have been victims of harassment. One of OA’s most profound areas of member support is its grantmaking. OA injected more than $1.5 million into the opera field last year, supporting new repertoire, innovative business strategies, GROWTH and DISCOVERY he year 2018 represented a high-water mark for OPERA Peggy Kriha By Nicholas Wise Dye, general America’s membership: For and artistic the first time, its individual director of Opera members topped out at Columbus, T over 1,600. Meanwhile, speaks the number of organizational members at Opera Conference — comprising opera companies, schools 2018 and businesses — grew to 457: a level of participation that hasn’t been seen in more than a decade. Included in community partnerships and more. The Michael Fabiano and this latter membership category are returns on these investments were seen Marc A. Scorca at a Conversations event 140 Professional Company Members, throughout the year — from the much- presenting performances in 44 states and anticipated premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s the District of Columbia. Proving Up, for which Washington National These figures are not only a testament Opera received a Commissioning Grant to the health of the field; they speak to the for Female Composers, to On Site Opera’s value members have found in the services presentation of Amahl and the Night Visitors OA provides. In the past year, that value at a New York City soup kitchen, supported has increased through an expansion of by an Innovation Grant. our portfolio of services. For individual OA continued to support the members, OA launched a new online professional development of industry directory where they can list their contact personnel. For artists, it offered information and professional specialty, discounted recording opportunities at the with an aim of enabling collaboration National Opera Center, OA’s headquarters; field-wide. For the 300 opera-company the Feedback Auditions program, in Pavel Antonov (OnSite), Maurice Meredith(Kriha), Patricia K. JohnsonReeder (Fabiano (Pérez and and Kaminsky), Domingo), Teatro Real Jeff (Little), Anne-Michèle Mallory (Robinson) 28 OPERA AMERICA Other young administrators found Back home in New York, OA’s National opportunities for reflection and personal Opera Center welcomed more than 80,000 growth at the Leadership Intensive, the people through its doors for auditions, OA program that identifies emerging performances and rehearsals, as well as opera leaders and provides them with for its own Onstage at the Opera Center specialized training. The 2018 Leadership series of conversation and recitals, which Laura Kaminsky at a Intensive class gathered in August at featured leading figures like composer Creators in Concert event the National Opera Center for a week of Laura Kaminsky, soprano Ailyn Pérez discussions and seminars that addressed and tenor Michael Fabiano. On April 7, which industry experts assess a singer’s strategic issues, built essential skills and the Opera Center’s recital hall was named mock audition; and Career Blueprints, a fostered professional ties. Many alumni after Plácido Domingo, marked by a three-day boot camp designed to provide of the program moved into top leadership ceremony hosted by Stephanie Blythe and valuable tools for launching a career, from roles this year, among them Barbara Joyce DiDonato. The naming was made headshots to branding to financial advice. Lynne Jamison, appointed general possible by 45 supporters who contributed A new OA initiative offered a unique director of Kentucky Opera in June, and a total of $900,000, their donations service to female administrators. The Lee Anne Myslewski, named head of Wolf inspired by a gift from Domingo himself: a Women’s Opera Network Mentorship Trap Opera in October. concert grand Steinway piano that is now Program, supported by the annual In 2018, OA continued its role as a the centerpiece of Plácido Domingo Hall. Backstage Brunch fundraiser, paired convener of opera professionals: a role In the year ahead, we will be begin three promising young professionals that has been part of its institutional celebrating our 50th anniversary, with with mentors who helped them identify DNA since its beginnings. We hosted nine celebrations scheduled to kick off this advancement barriers and create plans discipline-specific forums — for marketing, for professional growth.

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