The New York City Opera (NYCO) is based in Philip Johnson's New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. The New York State Theater (to be renamed in 2008 the David H The New York State Theater (to be renamed in 2008 the David H The New York State Theater (to be renamed in 2008 the David H Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8 1906&ndash January 25 2005 was an influential American Architect. The New York State Theater (to be renamed in 2008 the David H
The company was founded in 1944 with the aim of an opera company that would be financially accessible to a wide audience, innovative in its choice of repertory, and a home for American singers and composers. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
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The early years
In its early years, the NYCO's home base was the City Center on West 55th Street. New York City Center, historically known as City Center of Music and Drama, and also known as New York City Center 55th Street Theater, is a 2750-seat Moorish 55th Street is a two-mile-long one-way Street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan. In 1945, the company became the first major opera company to have an African American performer. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa This was in the production of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci with Todd Duncan's performance as Tonio. Ruggero (Ruggiero Leoncavallo (23 April 1857- 9 August 1919 was an Italian Opera Composer. Pagliacci ( Players, or Clowns) is an Opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Robert Todd Duncan ( February 12, 1903, Danville Kentucky &ndash February 28, 1998, Washington D Lawrence Winters was another notable African American opera pioneer to sing with the company during this period. Lawrence Winters (1915&ndash1965 Baritone, was an African American Opera singer during the 1940s 1950s and early 1960s The first African American woman to sing with the company was Camilla Williams, soprano as Madama Butterfly in 1946. Camilla Ella Williams (born October 18, 1919) is an American Operatic Soprano and the first African American to receive This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. (Southern, 417) Winters and Williams later went on to sing the title roles in the most complete recording made up to that time of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, for Columbia Masterworks Records in 1951. George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. Porgy and Bess is an Opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, Libretto by DuBose Heyward, and Columbia Masterworks Records was a Record label started in 1927 by Columbia Records. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January
The present day theater
On February 22, 1966, it inaugurated its new home at Lincoln Center with a production of Alberto Ginastera's Don Rodrigo with tenor Plácido Domingo. Alberto Evaristo Ginastera ( Buenos Aires, April 11 1916 &ndash June 25 1983 Geneva) was an Argentine Composer of classical music Don Rodrigo is an Opera in three acts by Alberto Ginastera, the composer's first opera to an original Spanish Libretto by Alejandro The tenor is the highest male voice within the Modal register, just above the Baritone voice WikipediaWikiProject Opera#Infoboxes --> José Plácido Domingo Embil KBE (born January 21, 1941) better In 1966, the American soprano Beverly Sills made her major breakthrough as Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare (opposite Norman Treigle in the title role). This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. WikipediaWikiProject Opera#Infoboxes --> Beverly Sills ( May 25, 1929 – July 2, 2007) was an Giulio Cesare in Egitto ( Julius Caesar in Egypt) (HWV 17 is an Italian Opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. Norman Treigle (né Adanelle Wilfred Treigle 6 March, 1927 - 16 February 1975) was born in New Orleans Louisiana, the fifth and While Sills went on to sing at opera houses throughout the world, she remained affiliated with City Opera. Upon her retirement from the stage in 1979, she joined the company as its General Director, replacing conductor Julius Rudel, who had led the company since 1957. Julius Rudel ( 6 March, 1921, Vienna - is a major American Orchestra conductor who emigrated to the US from Austria Sills retired as General Director in 1989 and was replaced by conductor Christopher Keene. Christopher Keene ( December 21 1946 - October 8, 1995) was a highly-acclaimed American conductor. Keene was succeeded in 1996 by Glimmerglass Opera's artistic director, Paul Kellogg. Glimmerglass Opera is an Opera company which was founded in 1975 and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on the lake In 2009 Gerard Mortier will begin his first official season as General and Artistic Director of the company.
Ongoing missions
Beverly Sills' success at NYCO is emblematic of NYCO's tradition of championing American singers. NYCO launched the careers of, among others, Sherrill Milnes, Carol Vaness, John Sandor, and Samuel Ramey. Sherrill Milnes (born January 10, 1935) is an American operatic Baritone most famous for his Verdi roles Carol Vaness (born July 27, 1952) is an American lyric soprano The American Opera singer Samuel Edward Ramey (born March 28, 1942 in Colby Kansas) is Internationally acclaimed American singers who still call NYCO home include Carl Tanner, David Daniels, Mark Delavan, Mary Dunleavy, Lauren Flanigan, Elizabeth Futral, and Amy Burton. WikipediaWikiProject Opera#Infoboxes and WikipediaWikiProject Musicians/Infobox --> Carl Tanner (born David Daniels (born 12 March 1966) is an American Countertenor. Mary Dunleavy is an American soprano who has performed with major opera companies and orchestras around the world Elizabeth Futral is an American Coloratura Soprano who has won acclaim throughout the United States as well as in Europe South America and Japan
NYCO similarly champions the work of American composers; approximately one-third of its repertoire has traditionally been American Opera. NYCO's American repertoire ranges from established works (e. g. , Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe, Carlisle Floyd's Susannah and Leonard Bernstein's Candide) to new works (e. Douglas Stuart Moore ( August 10 1893 - July 25 1969) was an American Composer, educator and author Carlisle Floyd (born June 11, 1926, in Latta South Carolina) is an American Opera Composer. Susannah is an Opera in two acts composed (music and text by American opera Composer Carlisle Floyd while he was on the piano WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes Candide (1956 is an Operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the Novella of the same name by Voltaire g. , Rachel Portman's The Little Prince, Charles Wuorinen's Haroun and the Sea of Stories, and Mark Adamo's Little Women). Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman (born December 11, 1960) Scores Infamous (2006 The Lake House The Little Prince, subtitled A Magical Opera, is an Opera in two acts by Rachel Portman to an English Charles Wuorinen (b June 9, 1938 in New York City is an American Composer. Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a 1990 Children's book by Salman Rushdie. Mark Adamo (born 1962 is an Italian American composer and librettist born in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Little Women (1998 is the first opera composed by American composer Mark Adamo to his own Libretto after Louisa May Alcott 's tale NYCO's commitment to the future of American opera is demonstrated in its annual series, VOX: "Showcasing American Composers," in which operas-in-progress are showcased, giving composers a chance to hear their work performed by professional singers and orchestra. NYCO also produces non-traditional operatic repertoire such as works by Stephen Sondheim and Gilbert & Sullivan. Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22 1930 is an American musical and film composer and lyricist winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards (seven Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W
In 1983, the NYCO became the first American company to use supertitles. Surtitles, also known as supertitles, are translated or transcribed Lyrics projected above a stage or displayed on a screen commonly used in Opera or other In recent years, the works of baroque masters such as Handel, Gluck, and Rameau have gained special prominence in its repertoire, sparking a renewal of interest in these long-neglected works. Jean-Philippe Rameau (ʒɑ̃filip ʀaˈmo in French (September 25 1683 – September 12 1764 was one of the most important French Composers and music theorists
The NYCO has extensive education and outreach programs, offering arts-in-education programs to 12,000 students in over seventy-five schools.
References
The Music of Black Americans: A History. Eileen Southern. Eileen Jackson Southern (1920 in Minneapolis – October 13 2002 in Port Charlotte Florida) was an African American Musicologist, researcher W. W. Norton & Company; 3rd edition. ISBN 0-393-97141-4
Bibliography
- The New York City Opera, by Martin L Sokol, Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc, 1981. ISBN 0-02-612280-4
- New York City Opera Sings, by New York City Opera Guild, Richard Rosen Press, Inc, 1981. ISBN 0-8239-0544-6
External links
- New York City Opera website
- History of New York City Opera
- Laszlo Halasz, the man who founded the NYC Opera Co.
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