Madison Opera is a regional

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 libr ...

company based in Madison,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. It was founded in 1961 as an extension of th
Madison Symphony Orchestra
and came to national prominence in 1993 with the commissioning and premiering of ''

Shining Brow ''Shining Brow'' is an English language opera by the American composer Daron Hagen, first performed by the Madison Opera in Madison, Wisconsin, April 21, 1993. The libretto is by Paul Muldoon, and is based on a treatment co-written with the compo ...

'', the opera about

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

by composer

Daron Hagen Daron Aric Hagen ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American composer, writer, and filmmaker. Biography Early life Daron Hagen was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in New Berlin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Hagen was the youngest of t ...

and librettist

Paul Muldoon Paul Muldoon (born 20 June 1951) is an Irish poet. He has published more than thirty collections and won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. At Princeton University he is currently both the Howard G. B. Clark '21 University P ...

. The general director is Kathryn Smith and the artistic director is John DeMain. The company performs two major operas a year at Madison's Overture Hall, one smaller production in the Overture's Playhouse, and a free summer concert, Opera in the Park. It also offers the Opera Up Close series of preview lectures, which are later made available on the City of Madison's website.

References

External links

Madison Opera websiteOpera Up Close
Companies based in Madison, Wisconsin Musical groups established in 1961 Musical groups from Wisconsin American opera companies Performing arts in Wisconsin 1961 establishments in Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-stub