The Phoenix Opera is a professional opera company located in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, United States. It is an affiliate member of

OPERA America __NOTOC__ Opera America, styled OPERA America, is a New York-based service organization promoting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera in the United States. Almost all professional opera companies and some semi-professional companies i ...

.OPERA America – The National Service Organization for Opera
(broken link) The company was founded as the Phoenix Metropolitan Opera in 2006 by the artistic director

John Massaro John Massaro (born 1957) is an American conductor, opera director, composer, and pianist. Massaro is the co-founder and current Artistic Director of the Phoenix Metropolitan Opera. Career Massaro began his career in California working as an accom ...

and the creative director

Gail Dubinbaum Gail Dubinbaum (born 1957) is an American operatic coloratura mezzo-soprano and co-founder and Creative Director of the Phoenix Metropolitan Opera. Career A native of Long Island, New York, Dubinbaum first studied with her mother, Ruth Dubinbau ...

. Massaro and Dubinbaum are married and have both had highly successful musical careers, working with such prestigious companies as the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

.PlaybillArts: News: Former Met Star Founds Opera Company in Phoenix
/ref> The 2007 inaugural season included only one fully staged opera,

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 ''

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 Giusep ...

''. In 2008/09, the company presented two fully staged productions:

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 ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'' and

's ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...

''. In the 2009/10 season the company presented '' Carmen'' and '' Madama Butterfly'' conducted by Massaro. In the 2010/11 season the company presented ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

'' and '' La Traviata''. The company performs all of its productions at the Orpheum Theatre. Notable artists to have sung with the company include the soprano

Marie Te Hapuku Marie Te Hapuku (formerly Marie-Adele McArthur) is an operatic soprano from Gisborne, New Zealand, and is a direct descendant of the Māori chief, Te Hapuku., of the Ngāti Kahungunu tribe. Life and career She made her professional debut with Ut ...

Fabiana Bravo Fabiana Bravo (born in 1969), is an Argentina, Argentine operatic soprano. Life and work Fabiana Bravo was born in Guaymallén Department, outside Mendoza, Argentina, to a family of modest means. She moved to Buenos Aires at age 22, and sought p ...

, Mauro Augustini and

Donnie Ray Albert Donnie Ray Albert (born January 10, 1950) is an American 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 "oper ...

References

External links

Official web site of the Phoenix Opera
* {{authority control American opera companies Music of Phoenix, Arizona Musical groups established in 2006 Performing arts in Arizona