dell'Arte Opera Ensemble is an

opera company Opera is a form of Western 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 lib ...

in New York City devoted to nurturing emerging

singers Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

through rehearsal and performance opportunities, coaching, seminars, and master classes. It was founded in 2000 by opera coach and conductor Christopher Fecteau with the goal of training young opera artists and presenting them in professional productions. Through its Repertoire Development Program, the company features the work of emerging performers, designers, directors and conductors in both standard and rarely-heard masterworks. Several New York premieres have been presented, such as Salieris' "Falstaff," Titus' "Rosina" and (in 2018) Salieri's "La Cifra." In December 2010, the company presented the first performance in New York City of Engelbert Humperdinck's ''

Königskinder ' (German for ''King's Children'' or “Royal Children”) is a stage work by Engelbert Humperdinck that exists in two versions: as a melodrama and as an opera or more precisely a '' Märchenoper''. The libretto was written by Ernst Rosmer (pen n ...

'' since its premiere one hundred years earlier at the

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

Participants

Singers performing with dell'Arte range from those who have just finished

music school A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

to those pursuing regional careers and even covering major roles at the

. Among dell'Arte's noteworthy recent projects is a 2010 performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's little-known "other opera," ''

'', celebrating the centennial of its premiere at the Met. Each summer, the company engages up to 60 young artists in its Repertoire Development Project, preparing them to sing debut roles in frequently performed operas. Presentations have included ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', ''

Ariadne auf Naxos (''Ariadne on Naxos''), Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's ...

'', ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'', ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...

'', ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'', ''

Il trittico ''Il trittico'' (''The Triptych'') is the title of a collection of three one-act operas, '' Il tabarro'', '' Suor Angelica'', and '' Gianni Schicchi'', by Giacomo Puccini. The work received its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on 14 Decem ...

'', and ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

''. Performances during the past several seasons have taken place in the East Village at Theatre 80 St. Mark's and

The East 13th Street Theatre ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

and as a Summer Share at LaMama Theatre on East 4th Street. Participation in the Ensemble is completely free for the singers, who are selected in open auditions, and is supported by individual and institutional donors. Current and former singers have performed at the

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 its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...

Glimmerglass Opera The Glimmerglass Festival (formerly known as Glimmerglass Opera) is an American opera company. Founded in 1975 by Peter Macris, the Glimmerglass Festival presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake nort ...

Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera () is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Singspiel perfo ...

, and

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British 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 E ...

, among many others.

Founder

The founder of dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, Christopher Fecteau, has been an opera coach and conductor for over 20 years, working with companies such as

Bronx Opera Bronx Opera (BxO) is an opera company in the Bronx, New York. It was founded in 1967 by artistic director and music director, the conductor Michael Spierman. The company is a member of the New York Opera Alliance. The company performs two operas ...

DiCapo Opera Dicapo Opera Theatre was co-founded in 1981 by General Director Michael Capasso and Artistic Director Diane Martindale. It suspended operations in 2013. Programming and premieres Dicapo Opera Theatre’s presentations range from traditional rep ...

Opera Illinois Opera is a form of Western 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 lib ...

Harrisburg Opera Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

Opera Theatre of Philadelphia Opera is a form of Western 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 lib ...

Opera Company of Brooklyn The Opera Company of Brooklyn (OCB) is an opera company founded in 2000 which performs in a variety of venues in New York City. It is a non-profit organization operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. History Opera Company o ...

Brooklyn Repertory Opera Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Amore Opera Amore is the Italian word for ''"love"''. It may come from Amare which is ''"to love"'' in Latin. People * * Alexis Amore, pornographic actress * * Eugenio Amore, Italian beach volleyball player * Gianna Amore, Playboy centerfold * Gregg Amo ...

Amato Opera The Amato Opera was an opera company located in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The company was produced by the husband and wife team of Anthony and Sally Amato and presented opera on a small scale with a reduced or ...

Skylight Music Theatre Skylight Music Theatre, known until January 2012 as Skylight Opera Theatre, is a professional light opera and musical theatre company located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1959, Skylight performs in the 358-seat Cabot Theatre at the Broadway ...

, and Opera in the Heights. He counts over 50 operas in his repertoire, including several world and regional premieres. In 2000 he founded dell'Arte Opera Ensemble and remains its Artistic Director. Under his leadership dell'Arte has produced over 45 workshop and mainstage presentations of mainly standard repertoire, including full New York City productions of ''

'', ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from Louvet de Couvrai's novel ''Les amours du cheva ...

'', ''

I Capuleti e i Montecchi ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' (''The Capulets and the Montagues'') is an Italian opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for an opera by Nicol ...

'', ''

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. Mozart completed the work in the midst of composing ''Die Zauberfl ...

'', ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...

'', ''

Anna Bolena ''Anna Bolena'' is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's ''Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena'' and Alessandro Pepoli's ''Anna Bolena'', ...

'', ''

'', and ''

''. Fecteau's special interest is re-examining orchestral and operatic works for their possibilities in chamber settings. He was commissioned by Skylight Opera Theatre in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

to create a new version of

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

Roméo et Juliette ''Roméo et Juliette'' (, ''Romeo and Juliet'') is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on ''Romeo and Juliet'' by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Ly ...

, adapting the original music and Shakespeare's text and story line into one another in a two-act format which the ''Milwaukee Sentinel'' called "a miracle." Other arranging projects have included

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

reductions of ''Ariadne auf Naxos'', ''La clemenza di Tito'', and ''Anna Bolena'' for dell'Arte and ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' for Corleone Opera’s tour of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Two new arrangements, for ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' and ''Die Zauberflöte'' have been featured in Berkeley/West Edge Opera productions, and his ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' reduction has also been featured at Winter Opera St. Louis. Fecteau has created arrangements for "Fünf Lieder" by

Alma Mahler Alma Mahler-Werfel (born Alma Margaretha Maria Schindler; 31 August 1879 – 11 December 1964) was an Austrian composer, author, editor, and socialite. Musically active from her early years, she was the composer of nearly fifty songs for voice ...

as well as for the album ''Sleep is Behind the Door'' by

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Courtenay Budd. Notable recital appearances at the piano include a salon-style program with

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 ...

for

Orlando Opera The Orlando Opera was a professional American regional opera company located in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 1958, the company ceased operations in 2009 because of financial problems. The opera performed multiple times a year in the Bob Carr P ...

, and the world premiere of Valerie Saalbach's song cycle ''Catarina to Camoens'' at the 2003 International Festival of Women Composers in Florida.dell'Arte Opera Ensemble
Christopher Fecteau, Artistic Director

References

External links

dell'Arte Opera Ensemble official websiteOpera Today review of ''Ariadne auf Naxos''
(2011) {{authority control New York City opera companies Musical groups established in 2000