Opera Theatre of Saint Louis facts for kids

The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) is a cool summer opera festival that happens every year in St. Louis, Missouri. Imagine four amazing operas, all sung in English, presented from late May to late June. The music is played by the fantastic St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, which is on the campus of Webster University.

How Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Started

In 1976, three people named Leigh Gerdine, Laurance L. Browning Jr., and James Van Sant teamed up to create OTSL. They hired Richard Gaddes to be the first artistic director. He later became the full-time general director. Gaddes shared that the idea for OTSL came from The Santa Fe Opera, saying it was "modeled on Santa Fe."

Early Performances and Successes

The very first season in 1976 featured eleven performances. These included Britten's Albert Herring, Mozart's The Impresario, Menotti's The Medium, and Donizetti's Don Pasquale. OTSL always tried to mix well-known operas with new and different ones. This first season cost about $135,000. Young singers like Sheri Greenawald and Vinson Cole performed.

Major Achievements and Milestones

In its early years, OTSL achieved many important things. For example, it had the first joint TV broadcast by BBC and WNET of Albert Herring. In 1983, it was the first U.S. opera company to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival. OTSL was also the first American company to produce a Japanese opera in Japan. Later, in 2001, they returned to Tokyo to present the Japanese premiere of The Tale of Genji, an opera based on a classic Japanese story.

Many famous directors, such as Graham Vick, Jonathan Miller, and Mark Lamos, made their U.S. opera debuts with OTSL. Important conductors like Leonard Slatkin and Christopher Hogwood also debuted there. Colin Graham was OTSL's director of productions from 1978 to 1985. John Nelson was the music director from 1985 to 1988.

Famous Singers and New Operas

Many well-known U.S. singers have performed in St. Louis. These include Christine Brewer, Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Dwayne Croft, Thomas Hampson, Jerry Hadley, Patricia Racette, Sylvia McNair, and Stephanie Blythe.

As of 2022, OTSL has presented 33 world premieres. A "world premiere" means it's the very first time an opera is performed anywhere! Some of these new operas include:

• Stephen Paulus: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1982)
• Terence Blanchard: Champion (2013)
• Ricky Ian Gordon: Twenty-Seven (2014)
• Terence Blanchard: Fire Shut Up in My Bones (2019)
• Tobias Picker: Awakenings (2022)

OTSL also presented at least 14 American premieres. An "American premiere" means it's the first time an opera is performed in the United States. These include Michael Berkeley's Jane Eyre and Benjamin Britten's Paul Bunyan.

Training Young Artists

OTSL has a special program called the Gerdine Young Artists program. It's named after Leigh Gerdine, who helped start Opera Theatre. Young artists in this program form the annual chorus for the company. They get great training and experience.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Leadership

After Richard Gaddes, Charles MacKay became the general director from 1985 to 2008. MacKay helped build the Sally S. Levy Opera Center. This is a new, permanent home for the company's offices and rehearsals. In 2005, OTSL also started using projected English-language supertitles in the theater. These are like subtitles that help the audience understand what the singers are saying.

Colin Graham was the artistic director from 1985 until he passed away in 2007. Stephen Lord was the music director from 1991 to 2017. In 2017, Roberto Kalb was named the resident conductor.

In 2007, James Robinson became the artistic director, and Timothy O'Leary became the executive director. O'Leary then became the general director in 2008 and served until 2018.

In 2018, Andrew Jorgensen was appointed as the new general director. In 2022, OTSL announced that James Robinson would continue as artistic director until 2026. They also named Daniela Candillari as the new principal conductor. She is the first female conductor to hold this important role at the company! Both Jorgensen's and Candillari's contracts were extended through June 2028.

General Directors

• Richard Gaddes (1976–1985)
• Charles MacKay (1985–2008)
• Timothy O'Leary (2008–2018)
• Andrew Jorgensen (2018–present)

Music Directors

• John Nelson (1985–1988; principal conductor, 1988–1991)
• Stephen Lord (1991–2017)
• Daniela Candillari (2022–present, principal conductor)

Artistic Directors

• Colin Graham (1985–2007)
• James Robinson (2008–present)

See also

In Spanish: Ópera Teatro de San Luis para niños

• List of opera festivals