The Hawaii Opera Theatre (HOT) is the islands' only major

opera company Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

established in 1960. The company performs three or more

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s in a season. Opera seasons start in October and end in the early summer of the following year. It performs mostly in the

Blaisdell Concert Hall The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Wa ...

, Honolulu. HOT performs most of its mainstage productions at the

and has also staged works at the historic Hawaii Theatre, warehouses, the Chinatown Artist Lofts, and other funky venues. Since 2004 HOT has added a summer production of a

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

or a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

, and in 2016 will stage a concert production of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

'' starring Hawaii's own baritone,

Quinn Kelsey Quinn Kelsey (born 7 March 1978) is an American baritone,

. Kelsey began his career as a chorus member in HOT's acclaimed volunteer chorus, and has gone on to shine on stages across the world.

History

The first opera ever presented by the organization was

Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

's ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'', which was performed in McKinley High School auditorium in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

in 1961. For the next two decades the company was part of the

Honolulu Symphony The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, formerly known as Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. It is the second oldest orchestra in the USA west of the Rocky Mountains. The orchestra now plays at Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall and the Hawaii Th ...

. In 1980 it became an independent tax-exempt corporation. The first independent season was in 1981 and consisted of three productions: ''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

'', ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel ''The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'', and ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

''. Supertitles were introduced in 1987 and 1989 was the first year in which all available seats were sold before opening night. By 1993 HOT membership had exceeded 2,000 individuals. The company is currently led by Interim General Director Karen Tiller.Program for ''Le nozze di Figaro'', January 2010. The year 2002 saw HOT's "Bad Girl Season" with productions of ''

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 ...

'', '' Salome'', and ''

''. Sets and costumes for ''Salome'' were designed by artist Thomas Woodruff. The 2007 production of ''Madama Butterfly'', a co-production with

Opera Omaha Opera Omaha is a major regional opera company in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1958, the professional company is widely known for the International Fall Festival events it held in the 1980s and 1990s, which garnered international attention and served ...

, featured set and costume designs by the visual artist

Jun Kaneko is a Japanese-born American ceramic artist known for creating large scale ceramic sculpture. Based out of a studio warehouse in Omaha, Nebraska, Kaneko primarily works in clay to explore the effects of repeated abstract surface motifs by using ...

. The Summer Season was launched in 2004 with Gilbert and Sullivan's ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', followed by ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

'' (2005), ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...

'' with

Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show ''Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shōg ...

(2006), '' South Pacific'' (2007), and ''

A Little Night Music ''A Little Night Music'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. ...

'' (2008). The summer production for 2009 was cancelled for budgetary reasons.

Charity Navigator Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit’s financial s ...

has awarded the company its top "4-star" rating for responsible fiscal management since 2007. In 2014, HOT staged a modern production of Gilbert and Sullivan's ''

'' in Honolulu and on Maui. Akina led his artistic team in creating a presentation that included anime, harajuku girls, and

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

-inspired characters. In 2015, HOT launched its Opera in a Warehouse initiative. A part of its #ImHOT campaign to take opera into the community and develop a new generation of opera goers, the company staged Jonathan Dove's chamber opera, '' Siren Song'', a story of a young sailor involved in a catfish scandal. The company took over an empty warehouse in the arts district of Kaka'ako and turned it into a production venue. ''Siren Song'', directed by Akina, received rave reviews and combined a modern, relevant story with the designs by video designer Adam Turner dancing on the white warehouse walls to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In 2016, HOT added two special one-night only concerts to its calendar including ''Rigoletto in Concert'' starring Hawaii's Quinn Kelsey and the Hawaii debut of the internationally acclaimed trio Sol3 Mio. A family of classically trained singers from New Zealand, Sol3 Mio presents a blend of opera and pop that have thrilled audiences around the world.

Educational programs

A classroom-based education program was begun in 1981 and was expanded to more elementary and

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

grade levels in 1984. A program called "Opera Highlights" became part of the curriculum of the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

's College of Continuing Education in 1983. HOT now has several educational programs, most notably its "Opera For Everyone" (OFE) program. OFE allows students to participate in all aspects of an opera production from technical crew to performing to simply watching an opera. The final dress rehearsal is opened up to students for a reduced price, usually on a Wednesday night. Other aspects of the show are assisted by OFE participants who can help in such aspects as set building, costuming and makeup, or performance. This is a rare opportunity offered to students who may pursue careers in opera in the future, and is one of the programs that makes HOT unique.HOT website
/ref> HOT's Education Team serves over 25,000 keiki and adult learners each year through its innovative programming. The OFE program stages over 75 performances at schools on multiple islands throughout the State of Hawaii.

References

External links

HOT's website
{{authority control Musical groups established in 1961 Culture of Honolulu American opera companies Tourist attractions in Honolulu 1961 establishments in Hawaii Performing arts centers in Hawaii

History

Educational programs

See also

References

External links