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 located in
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
, where it is resident
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...
Opera Tampa debuted in 1996 with its first production, ''
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 Lu ...
''. Since then, the company has produced one or more full-scale operas annually, featuring international performers, the Opera Tampa Orchestra and the 50-60 member Opera Tampa Chorus. Helping to establish the company was composer-conductor
Anton Coppola
Antonio Francesco Coppola (March 21, 1917 – March 9, 2020) was an American opera conductor and composer. He was the uncle of film director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire, as well as the great-uncle of Nicolas Cage, Christopher ...
, Opera Tampa's founding artistic director from 1996 until he retired in 2012.Carrie Seidman, (April 23, 2012 "Daniel Lipton succeeds Anton Coppola at Opera Tampa" . ''Herald-Tribune''. Retrieved February 18, 2013. A high point for the company under his direction was the world-premier of his opera ''
Sacco and Vanzetti
Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, ...
'' on March 17, 2001.
Today
Coppola's successor as artistic director is Daniel Lipton, born 1941.9.23 in Paris, who formerly headed Canada's Opera Hamilton in Ontario, Canada in 1986. For Lipton's first season with Opera Tampa, the company launched the "Florida Opera Festival", a month-long series of opera and opera-related concerts and events, including performances from guests such as classical-crossover vocalist
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.A Masked Ball (Un Ballo in Maschera)'' and closed with ''
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 ...
'', the company's major opera productions for 2013.Kathy L. Greenberg, (February 1, 2013 "Inaugural Florida Opera Festival comes to Tampa" ''The Tampa Tribune'' & Tampa Bay Online/TBO.com '. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
Opera Tampa is managed by its general director, Judith Lisi, who also serves as president of the "Straz" (David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts). The Straz's 2,600-seat Carol Morsani Hall is the primary venue for the company's major productions. Its current musical director is Robin Stamper, an alum of Juilliard School.
Award
In 2008, Opera Tampa announced it would honor its founding director by establishing The Anton Coppola Excellence in the Arts Award. The annual award is given to recognize an artist for significant contributions to Opera Tampa and the music world at large, and specifically for extraordinary work in the cultivation and care of the operatic art form.“A Night of Stars” . ''Studio10.tv''. Retrieved February 28, 2013. Coppola himself was recipient of the award in 2012, the year of his retirement.Oussama Zahr. (May 2012 ''Opera News'', Vol 76, No. 11. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...