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 in Boston, Massachusetts. It specialized in less-frequently heard repertoire as well as modern works or opera premieres, along with opera education and outreach programs designed to bring opera education to children both in schools and after-school programs throughout the Boston area.
After eight years, it was announced on 23 December 2011 that Opera Boston would cease operations on 1 January 2012. Board chairman Winifred Gray and president Gregory Bulger cited "an insurmountable budget deficit" as the reason.
Its home base was the
Cutler Majestic Theatre
The Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College, in Boston, Massachusetts, is a 1903 Beaux Arts style theater, designed by the architect John Galen Howard. Originally built for theatre, it was one of three theaters commissioned in Boston by Ebe ...
, a 1903 Beaux-Arts opera house designed by architect
John Galen Howard
John Galen Howard (May 8, 1864 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts – July 18, 1931 in San Francisco, California) was an American architect and educator who began his career in New York before moving to California. He was the principal architect at in ...
.
In addition to its regular season the company mounted an "Opera Unlimited Festival" which presented 20th and 21st century chamber opera in an outdoor setting, free of charge. The Festival also commissioned new works.
Productions
Dates in parenthesis are the dates of the Opera Boston production. The list is limited to only those works which are not part of the standard repertory.
*June 2003 Opera Unlimited
**'' Powder Her Face'' by Thomas Adès
**''Full Moon in March'' by
John Harbison
John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938) is an American composer, known for his symphonies, operas, and large choral works.
Life
John Harris Harbison was born on December 20, 1938, in Orange, New Jersey, to the historian Elmore Harris Harbi ...
**''Touissaint Before the Spirits'' by
Elena Ruehr
Elena Ruehr (born 1963, Ann Arbor) is an American musician, music educator and composer.
Life and career
Elena Ruehr's parents were a mathematician and an English professor. She grew up in Houghton, Michigan and began piano lessons at age four. Sh ...
**''The Cask of Amontillado''Stage works by Daniel Pinkham Retrieved 26 February 2014. by Daniel Pinkham
**''Garden Party'' by Daniel Pinkham
*2003–2004 Season
**'' Candide'' by Leonard Bernstein (November 2003)
**''
Nixon in China
''Nixon in China'' is an opera in three acts by John Adams with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams's first opera, it was inspired by U.S. president Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China. The work premiered at the Houston ...
'' by John Adams (March 2004)
**''
Luisa Miller
''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller.
Verdi's initial idea for ...
'' by Giuseppe Verdi (April–May 2004)
*2004–2005 Season
**'' La Vie parisienne'' by Jacques Offenbach (October 2004)
**'' Alceste'' by Christoph Wilibald Gluck (January 2005)
**''
The Crucible
''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...
'' by Robert Ward (April 2005)
*2005–2006 Season
**'' The Consul by Gian Carlo Menotti (October 2005)
**'' L'étoile'' by Emmanuel Chabrier (March 2006)
**'' Lucrezia Borgia'' by Gaetano Donizetti (April–May 2006)
*June 2006 Opera Unlimited
**''Angels in America'' by Péter Eötvös (North American premiere)
*2006–2007 Season
**''
La clemenza di Tito
' (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an ''opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. It was started after most of ' (''The Magic Flute''), the last o ...
The Pearl Fishers
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' by Georges Bizet (May 2007)
*2007–2008 Season
**''
Ainadamar
''Ainadamar'' (Arabic for 'Fountain of Tears') is the first opera by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov. The libretto was written by American playwright David Henry Hwang and translated from English into Spanish by the composer. It premiered in ...
'' by Osvaldo Golijov (October 2007)
**''
Semele
Semele (; Ancient Greek: Σεμέλη ), in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths.
Certain elements of the cult of Dionysus and Semele came from ...
'' by George Frideric Handel (February 2008)
**'' Ernani'' by Giuseppe Verdi (May 2008)
*2008–2009 Season
**''
Der Freischütz
' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 18 ...
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'' (''The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein'') is an opéra bouffe (a form of operetta), in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The s ...
'' by Jacques Offenbach (April–May 2010)
See also
*
Boston Lyric Opera
Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) is an American opera company based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1976. BLO is the largest and longest-lived opera company in New England. BLO employs nearly 350 artists and creative professionals annually—vocalist ...
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived.
The opera company, du ...