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SummerArts: Opera

SummerArts: Opera

Summer Opera Festivals appeals to all tastes – including seasoned aficionados looking for a innovative take on an old favorite, fans of new works (especially by American composers) or non-devotees who do enjoy a popular Broadway musical extremely well preformed. Opera lovers can also take part in other festival activities including classes, tours, lectures and behind-the-scenes discussions. Divertitevi!

Mountain

Central City Opera (Central City, CO)

(June 30 – August 12, 2012) Founded in 1859 at the onset of the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, Central City at one point was termed “the richest square mile on earth.” With money to burn, the citizens erected the Central City Opera House and boasted it was the most luxurious venue between Chicago and San Francisco. As the gold declined, so did the condition of the opera house. ...more...

Santa Fe Opera (Santa Fe, NM)

(June 29 – August 25, 2012) No one in the world of opera better illustrates the adage that “If you build it, they will come” than John Crosby, when in 1957, at age 31, he built a tiny (480-seat) open air opera house on a ranch he had just bought on the outskirts of Santa Fe, and began his first season. What is known as the Miracle in the Desert was underway – that an opera festival hundreds of miles from major population centers could survive and thrive. When he retired in 2000, Crosby’s 43-year tenure as general director was the longest in American history. ...more...

Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre (Logan, UT)

(July 12 – August 11, 2012) Utah Festival Opera is a summer festival known in part for its historic venue, the restored Ellen Eccles Theatre, but it is also notable for the abundance of special concerts and events offered in addition to its four annual opera and musical theatre productions. Since 1993, the Festival’s repertoire has featured such canonical operas as Madama Butterfly, La Traviata, and The Magic Flute, operetta classics Die Fledermaus and The Pirates of Penzance, and musical theatre favorites South Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun, and The Music Man. ...more...

Central

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (St. Louis, MO)

(May 19 – June 24, 2012) Founded in 1976 by a group of people who wanted to bring high-quality opera to the St. Louis community, the Opera Theater of St. Louis provides just that. Bringing opera to the city of St. Louis, the Company has been long known for hiring the best rising, young stars. One of the primary goals of the Company is to ensure that all rising opera stars get a chance to perform and gain valuable experience ...more...

Eastern

Castleton Festival (Castleton, VA)

(June 22 – July 22, 2012) A project of the Châteauville Foundation, which was founded by Lorin and Dietlinde Maazel, the Castleton Festival was initiated in 2009 to foster the development of and collaboration amongst young artists. This June/July opera festival features productions of such famous works as Puccini’s Il trittico conducted by Maestro Maazel himself. ...more...

Glimmerglass Festival (Cooperstown, NY)

(July 7 – August 25, 2012) Formerly known as Glimmerglass Opera, the Festival is a summer opera company in upstate New York dedicated to consistently producing operas familiar (Bizet’s Carmen) and obscure (Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot) alike, as well as one American musical theater production per season. Founded in 1975, Glimmerglass is arguably the best off-season option in America for opera, with works by a staggering variety of composers, from Handel to Britten, from Mozart to Carlisle Floyd. ...more...

Mountain

Central City Opera (Central City, CO)

(June 30 – August 12, 2012) Founded in 1859 at the onset of the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, Central City at one point was termed “the richest square mile on earth.” With money to burn, the citizens erected the Central City Opera House and boasted it was the most luxurious venue between Chicago and San Francisco. As the gold declined, so did the condition of the opera house. ...more...

Santa Fe Opera (Santa Fe, NM)

(June 29 – August 25, 2012) No one in the world of opera better illustrates the adage that “If you build it, they will come” than John Crosby, when in 1957, at age 31, he built a tiny (480-seat) open air opera house on a ranch he had just bought on the outskirts of Santa Fe, and began his first season. What is known as the Miracle in the Desert was underway – that an opera festival hundreds of miles from major population centers could survive and thrive. When he retired in 2000, Crosby’s 43-year tenure as general director was the longest in American history. ...more...

Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre (Logan, UT)

(July 12 – August 11, 2012) Utah Festival Opera is a summer festival known in part for its historic venue, the restored Ellen Eccles Theatre, but it is also notable for the abundance of special concerts and events offered in addition to its four annual opera and musical theatre productions. Since 1993, the Festival’s repertoire has featured such canonical operas as Madama Butterfly, La Traviata, and The Magic Flute, operetta classics Die Fledermaus and The Pirates of Penzance, and musical theatre favorites South Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun, and The Music Man. ...more...

Central

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (St. Louis, MO)

(May 19 – June 24, 2012) Founded in 1976 by a group of people who wanted to bring high-quality opera to the St. Louis community, the Opera Theater of St. Louis provides just that. Bringing opera to the city of St. Louis, the Company has been long known for hiring the best rising, young stars. One of the primary goals of the Company is to ensure that all rising opera stars get a chance to perform and gain valuable experience ...more...

Eastern

Castleton Festival (Castleton, VA)

(June 22 – July 22, 2012) A project of the Châteauville Foundation, which was founded by Lorin and Dietlinde Maazel, the Castleton Festival was initiated in 2009 to foster the development of and collaboration amongst young artists. This June/July opera festival features productions of such famous works as Puccini’s Il trittico conducted by Maestro Maazel himself. ...more...

Glimmerglass Festival (Cooperstown, NY)

(July 7 – August 25, 2012) Formerly known as Glimmerglass Opera, the Festival is a summer opera company in upstate New York dedicated to consistently producing operas familiar (Bizet’s Carmen) and obscure (Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot) alike, as well as one American musical theater production per season. Founded in 1975, Glimmerglass is arguably the best off-season option in America for opera, with works by a staggering variety of composers, from Handel to Britten, from Mozart to Carlisle Floyd. ...more...