The Atlanta Opera is an opera company located in the

Atlanta metropolitan area Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

. Founded in 1979, it produces mainstage opera productions and arts education programs for Metropolitan Atlanta and the Southeast. In 2007, The Atlanta Opera moved into its new performance home at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre where it produces four mainstage productions each season.

History

In the late 1970s, the Metropolitan Opera stopped touring to Atlanta, leaving a void in the region. Volunteers and civic leaders joined forces to continue opera in Atlanta. In 1979, the Atlanta Civic Opera was formed, a result of a merger between two competing entities, Atlanta Lyric Opera and Georgia Opera. The first artistic director was noted composer

Thomas Pasatieri Thomas Pasatieri (born October 20, 1945) is an American opera composer. Life and career Pasatieri was born in New York City, United States. He began composing at age 10 and, as a teenager, studied with Nadia Boulanger. He entered the Juilliard S ...

. In 1985, the company was renamed to The Atlanta Opera. The company's first production was

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

on March 28, 1980, at the Fox Theatre. The following December, a festive gala was held in Symphony Hall with such noted young artists as

Catherine Malfitano Catherine Malfitano (born April 18, 1948) is an American operatic soprano and opera director. Malfitano was born in New York City, the daughter of a ballet dancer mother, Maria Maslova, and a violinist father, Joseph Malfitano. She attended the ...

Jerry Hadley Jerry Hadley (June 16, 1952 – July 18, 2007) was an American operatic tenor. He received three Grammy awards for his vocal performances in the recordings of ''Jenůfa'' (2004 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording), ''Susannah'' (1995 Grammy Awar ...

and Samuel Ramey. Atlanta Opera has a number of home venues: in 1990 it moved to the

Atlanta Symphony Hall Atlanta Symphony Hall is the home venue of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It is located within the Woodruff Arts Center at 1280 Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The venue has a total capacity of 1,762 seats on three levels: 1,074 in t ...

, in 1995 to the Fox Theatre, in 1998 to its own building, the Atlanta Opera Center at 728 West Peachtree St., in 2003 to the

Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center The Atlanta Civic Center was a theater located in Atlanta, Georgia. It closed in 2014. The theater, which seats 4,600, regularly hosted touring productions of Broadway musicals, concerts, seminars, comedy acts, and high school graduations and ...

, and finally in 2007, The Atlanta Opera moved into its new performance home at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, just outside the city and county limits. The company celebrated its 30-year anniversary during the 09/10 Season. The current Music Director and Conductor is Arthur Fagen, Professor of Music (Orchestral Conducting) at Indiana University. In 2013 the company hired the internationally recognized stage director,

Tomer Zvulun Tomer Zvulun (born in 1976 in Israel) is an Israeli stage director. Since 2013 he is the General and Artistic Director of Atlanta Opera. Life and career Zvulun was born in Israel. He was a medic during his military service in the Israeli army. ...

to be its General and Artistic director. Zvulun directed over 15 new productions in Atlanta, including Dead Man Walking, The Flying Dutchman, Soldier Songs, Silent Night, Maria de Buenos Aires, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Lucia di Lammermoor, Magic Flute, Eugene Onegin. The company's innovation initiatives garnered national attention and resulted in a Harvard Business School case study, an International Opera Awards nomination and an ArtsATL luminary award. The company celebrates its 40th anniversary in the 19/20 season and is performing six productions per season.

Gallery

References

External links

*
Atlanta Opera articles on ''Encore Atlanta''
the official show program of Atlanta Opera {{authority control Musical groups from Atlanta American opera companies Musical groups established in 1979 Performing arts in Georgia (U.S. state)

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links