Sarasota Opera facts for kids
Sarasota Opera is a professional opera company located in Sarasota, Florida, USA. It started as the Asolo Opera Guild. For a while, it brought in other opera groups to perform. But in 1974, it began putting on its own shows. In 1979, the company bought the Edwards Theatre, which later became the Sarasota Opera House in 1984. The opera house was updated again in 2008. It now has 1,119 seats.
Each season, Sarasota Opera usually presents two or three well-known operas. They also include one opera as part of their long-running "Verdi Cycle." This project aims to perform every opera by the famous composer Giuseppe Verdi. Another series they have is the "Masterworks Revival" series.
Company History
The company first brought the Turnau Opera from New York to perform small operas. These shows took place at the historic Asolo Theater. This theater is on the grounds of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. In 1974, the guild started putting on its own shows there.
In 1979, the company bought the old Edwards Theatre. This theater used to show vaudeville acts and movies. They worked to fix up the theater. It officially opened as their own venue in 1984.
Since 1982, Victor DeRenzi has been the artistic director. Richard Russell is the executive director. The company holds its Winter Opera Festival in February and March. They usually put on four full operas with the Sarasota Opera Orchestra. They perform both popular and less famous operas.
In March 2008, the Sarasota Opera House reopened after a $20 million renovation. The first opera performed there was Verdi's Rigoletto. That same year, the company added its first full fall production. It was Rossini's The Barber of Seville. This brought the total number of operas in a season to five. Most fall operas have been popular ones. But in 2012, they presented the world premiere of Daron Hagen's opera, Little Nemo in Slumberland.
What Makes the Company Special
- Verdi Cycle
One of the company's oldest projects is the Verdi Cycle. It started in 1989. The goal is to perform all of Giuseppe Verdi's works. This includes all his operas and different versions of them. It also includes his orchestral and chamber music. Even his famous Requiem is part of it.
Some recent Verdi Cycle operas include I due Foscari and Otello. In 2009, the company performed Verdi's Don Carlo. They used the four-act version from 1884. It was sung in French. At the time, this was the biggest opera the company had ever staged.
In 2014, they performed Jérusalem in French. This was Verdi's first grand opera for Paris. It was a new version of his 1843 opera I Lombardi. In 2013, his first comedy, Un giorno di regno, was performed. The original five-act Paris version of Don Carlos was performed in French in 2015.
The 2016 Winter Festival Season finished the 28-year Verdi Cycle. This happened on March 20, 2016. Sarasota Opera became the only company in the world to perform every available work by Giuseppe Verdi. Maestro Victor DeRenzi became the only conductor to lead every available work by Verdi.
The season ended with a Verdi Festival Week. It ran from March 15–20. It included the last two Verdi operas for the cycle: La battaglia di Legnano and Aida. There were also two concerts of Verdi's music. A two-day conference about Verdi was held. There was also an exhibit about the 28-year Verdi Cycle.
In June 2016, Maestro DeRenzi received a special honor. The Italian government knighted him. He received the title of Cavaliere dell’ordine della Stella d’Italia. This means Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy.
- Sarasota Firsts Initiative
Sarasota Opera started a new project called "Sarasota Firsts" in the fall of 2016. Through this, the company performs operas that have never been seen on the Sarasota Opera House stage before. For the 2016/2017 season, they presented three operas in this series. These were Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti, L'italiana in Algeri by Gioachino Rossini, and Dialogues of the Carmelites by Francis Poulenc. The season also included Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini and L'amore dei tre re by Italo Montemezzi.
- The Masterworks Revival Series
This series presents good operas that people had forgotten about. Some operas performed in this series include Alfredo Catalani's La Wally. Others are Carl Nielsen's Maskarade and Engelbert Humperdinck's Königskinder. They also performed Stanisław Moniuszko's Halka and Mascagni's L'amico Fritz.
The company also has an Apprentice Program and a Studio Artists Program. These programs help young singers. They get more training and chances to perform. They sing in the chorus or in small roles in the company's shows.
- American Classics Series
The 2010-2011 opera season began Sarasota Opera's American Classics Series. Through this, Sarasota Opera promised to produce one opera by an American composer each season. Robert Ward's opera, The Crucible, was the first show in this series. It was based on the play by Arthur Miller. This production received great reviews.
The 2012 Festival Season featured Samuel Barber's Vanessa. In 2013, the American Classic opera was Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men. In 2013, the company announced they would no longer continue this series. This was because some audience members preferred older, more traditional operas.
- Youth Opera
The Sarasota Youth Opera program started in 1984. It is a very complete training program for young people. It is for ages 8 to 18. The program accepts everyone who applies, no matter their skill level. It teaches them about the music and acting parts of opera.
In recent years, the Sarasota Youth Opera has performed world premieres. The best known is The Language of Birds. They also gave the United States premiere of Canadian composer Dean Burry's opera The Hobbit in 2008. In 2010, the Sarasota Youth Opera presented The Black Spider by Judith Weir.
Sarasota Opera presented the world premiere of Little Nemo in Slumberland. This opera was specially ordered by the company. It had music by Daron Hagen and words by J.D. McClatchy. It was performed in November 2012. On November 12, 2016, the Sarasota Youth Opera performed The Secret World of Og. This opera is also by the Canadian composer Dean Burry. It is based on the popular children's book by Pierre Berton.
- The Da Capo Society
The Da Capo Society started in 2016. It is a group for younger opera fans, usually ages 21 to 40. This group helps promote and enjoy opera. Members get discounted ticket prices. They also meet to socialize before and after shows. They can also talk with visiting artists behind the scenes. Members are encouraged to bring guests. A main goal of the group is to attract a younger audience to the opera.
Sarasota Opera House
For more details about the opera house, see Sarasota Opera House
The opera guild needed a bigger theater with a place for an orchestra. So, they bought the A. B. Edwards Theatre, which was closed at the time. This theater had been renamed the Florida Theatre in December 1936. Arthur Britton Edwards, an important early resident of Sarasota, built the theater in 1926. It was made to be a flexible place for vaudeville shows or movies.
The guild members started fixing up the building in 1982. The next year, the A. B. Edwards Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It reopened as the Sarasota Theatre of the Arts in 1984. Its name was changed to the Sarasota Opera House a few years later.
From 2007 until March 1, 2008, the opera house was greatly remodeled. The inside and outside were updated. The $20 million renovations included completely changing the auditorium. This created a new seating plan. Public areas and the Opera Club on the second floor were expanded. The atrium was opened up to show a new skylight system. This system had been in the original 1926 building. The seating was expanded to 1,119 seats.
Images for kids
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Sarasota Opera House, late March 2008.
