Opera has long been part of the musical culture of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

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 ...

s have regularly been performed in the city since the 1790s, and since the early 19th century, New Orleans has had a resident company regularly performing opera in addition to theaters hosting traveling performers and companies.

Earlier opera houses

Operas were staged at a variety of theaters in the city, the first documented was André Grétry's ''Sylvain'' at the

Theatre de la Rue Saint Pierre Theatre de la Rue Saint Pierre or Le Spectacle de la Rue Saint Pierre, was the first (French-speaking) theatre in New Orleans in Louisiana, active in 1792-1810. It opened in 1792 and was known to the Spanish-speaking citizens as El Coliseo and to th ...

on 22 May 1796. On 30 January 1808, the Théâtre St. Philippe was opened with the U.S. premiere of

Étienne Méhul Étienne Nicolas Méhul (; 16 November 1765 ~ 24 December 1817) was a French composer of the classical period. He was known as "the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution". He was also the first composer to be called a ...

's ''Une folie''. The U.S. premiere of Luigi Cherubini's ''

Les deux journées ''Les deux journées, ou Le porteur d'eau'' (''The Two Days, or The Water Carrier'') is an opera in three acts by Luigi Cherubini with a libretto by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. It takes the form of an opéra comique, meaning not that the subject matter ...

'' took place at this theater on 12 March 1811. The city's most famous opera venue between 1819 and 1859 was the Théâtre d'Orléans. That theater was succeeded in 1859 by the French Opera House, located on

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (french: Rue Bourbon, es, Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars an ...

in the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Sq ...

. Living in a cosmopolitan city, New Orleans' inhabitants, whether high in status or low, imported or indigenous, constituted a highly receptive audience. The French Opera House burned down in 1919, causing severe disruption to opera in the city. When attempts to arrange financing for rebuilding failed, the company disbanded. For a generation, most opera in New Orleans was presented by touring companies at various local theaters.

The modern era

In 1943, the New Orleans Opera Association was formed, and succeeded in securing a resident company in the city. Over the years, many noted singers have appeared with the company (see List of opera singers). Since World War II, various companies have toured to New Orleans. In 1947, 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 opera ...

visited with their productions of ''Le nozze di Figaro'' (with

Ezio Pinza Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 ...

and

Eleanor Steber Eleanor Steber (July 17, 1914October 3, 1990) was an American operatic soprano. Steber is noted as one of the first major opera stars to have achieved the highest success with training and a career based in the United States. Biography Eleanor ...

), ''La traviata'' (with

Bidu Sayão Balduína "Bidú" de Oliveira Sayão (11 May 1902 – 12 March 1999) was a Brazilian opera soprano. One of Brazil's most famous musicians, Sayão was a leading artist of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1937 to 1952. Life and career ...

) and ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (with Patrice Munsel). They returned in 1972, with ''Otello'' (with James McCracken and

Sherrill Milnes Sherrill Milnes (born January 10, 1935) is an American dramatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera. His voice is a high dramatic baritone, combining good legato with an in ...

), ''Faust'' (with

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

and Ruggero Raimondi), ''La traviata'' (with

Anna Moffo Anna Moffo (June 27, 1932 – March 9, 2006) was an American opera singer, television personality, and actress. One of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agili ...

) and ''La fille du régiment'' (with Dame

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possesse ...

and

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numero ...

). The Opera Association has presented two world premieres:

Carlisle Floyd Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American South, particularly the Post ...

's ''

Markheim "Markheim" is a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, originally prepared for the ''Pall Mall Gazette'' in 1884, but published in 1885 in ''The Broken Shaft: Tales of Mid-Ocean'' as part of ''Unwin's Christmas Annual''. The story was later publi ...

'' (with Norman Treigle and Audrey Schuh, 1966) and

Thea Musgrave Thea Musgrave CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music. She has lived in the United States since 1972. Biography Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Musgrave was educated at Moreton Hall School, a boarding independ ...

's ''Pontalba'' (conducted by Robert Lyall, 2003). In November 1967, the

American National Opera Company American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

presented two operas in New Orleans: ''Lulu'' and ''Tosca'' (the latter with

Marie Collier Marie Elizabeth Collier (16 April 19278 December 1971) was an Australian operatic soprano. Marie Collier was born in Ballarat, Victoria, to Thomas Robinson Collier (1894–1962), a railway employee, and his wife Annie Marie (née Bechaz). She ...

), both in productions staged by Sarah Caldwell. In 1975, the New Orleans Opera Association staged the epic ''Les Huguenots'' with Marisa Galvany,

Rita Shane Rita Shane (August 15, 1936 – October 9, 2014) was an American coloratura soprano. Biography Born in the Bronx to Julius J. Shane and Rebekah (née Milner) Shane, Rita Shane studied at Barnard College and privately with voice teachers Beverly P ...

, Susanne Marsee,

Enrico di Giuseppe Enrico Di Giuseppe (October 14, 1932 – December 31, 2005) was a celebrated American operatic tenor who had an active performance career from the late 1950s through the 1990s. He spent most of his career performing in New York City, juggling ...

, Dominic Cossa, and Paul Plishka heading the cast. As part of the

1984 Louisiana World Exposition The 1984 Louisiana World Exposition was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It was held 100 years after the city's earlier World's Fair, the World Cotton Centennial in 1884. It opened on Saturday, May 12, 1984, and ende ...

, the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

gave performances of ''Rigoletto'' (in Sir

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 1 ...

's well-known production), ''Patience'' and ''Gloriana''. Also based in New Orleans, though short-lived,

The New Opera Theatre The New Opera Theatre was a New Orleans-based opera company founded in 1986, with conductor Louise LaBruyère as Music Director and stage director Brian Morgan serving as Artistic Director. It specialized in experimental productions of both ancie ...

(1986–1990) presented two world premieres as well as experimental productions of standard repertory. Their staging of ''Dido and Æneas'' toured to New York (

Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (also called Pe ...

), where it was acclaimed. Featured singers with this ensemble included

Cyril and Libbye Hellier Cyril and Libbye Hellier (born January 21, 1952) are identical twins and American operatic sopranos. Natives of Houma, Louisiana, they are the great-grandchildren of the Confederate Colonel John Henry Hellier. The sopranos are graduates of Ni ...

, Tracey Mitchell,

Natalia Rom Natalia Rom, soprano, was born in Kazan, in the Soviet Union (also the city of Feodor Chaliapin's birth), on May 14, 1950, and graduated (as a conductor) from the Leningrad Conservatory. In late 1976, she emigrated to New Orleans, where she at ...

Thaïs St Julien Thaïs St. Julien (June 11, 1945 – January 3, 2019) was a soprano from New Orleans. She studied under Charles Paddock, Virginia MacWatters and Norma Newton, and was Co-Director (with Milton G. Scheuermann, Jr) of the New Orleans Musica da C ...

, Phyllis Treigle, and

Susannah Waters Susannah Waters is a British writer and director. Born in Kent, England, she attended both Bennington College in America and the Guildhall School of Music, in London, as well as the National Opera Studio. Actor Mark Rylance is one of her br ...

. In 1992, New York-based

Opera Quotannis Opera Quotannis (OQ) was a New York-based opera company which was founded in 1990, with conductor Bart Folse as music director and stage director Brian Morgan (formerly of The New Opera Theatre) serving as artistic director. It specialized in exper ...

brought their production of New Orleans-born composer Louise LaBruyère's ''Everyman'' to the Crescent City, with Mitchell in the title role.

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, in 2005, flooded the Theatre for the Performing Arts and the season was cancelled, but the New Orleans Opera has since returned. On 17 January 2009 the New Orleans Opera, directed by Robert Lyall, performed with Plácido Domingo in a gala reopening of New Orleans' Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts. The master of ceremonies was New Orleans native

Patricia Clarkson Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades in ...

.Theodore P. Mahne
"Star Emcee Patricia Clarkson Shares in the Excitement over Tonight's Opera Gala"
in ''The Times-Picayune'' (New Orleans), 17 January 2009, pp. C1, C3.

Seasons

List of opera singers

Over the years many celebrated opera singers have appeared with the Association, including:

References

External links

* ''The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia'', edited by David Hamilton, Simon and Schuster, 1987. {{ISBN, 0-671-61732-X
New Orleans Opera
* Finding aid to th
New Orleans Opera Association Archives
at

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit founder, Saint Igna ...

* Digitized selections from th
New Orleans Opera Association Archives
at

New Orleans Opera Association Timeline
at

French Quarter American opera companies Music of New Orleans Performing arts in Louisiana