Opera Omaha is a major regional opera company inOmaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1958, the professional company is widely known for the International Fall Festival events it held in the 1980s and 1990s, which garnered international attention and served as the U.S. and world premieres for a number of notable works. One of these performances, the 1990 U.S. premiere of the 1841 workMaria Padilla, was among the primary debuts for noted sopranoRenee Fleming.[1] "I’ve been calling all my singer friends and saying, 'You’ve got to sing for this company.'" Fleming said at the time. It has "a lot of vision."[1] In 2007, the Toronto Star said "Opera Omaha has grown into one of the continent's most enterprising regional opera companies."[2]
After attending the 1992 Fall Festival, Denver Post critic Jeff Bradley wrote that "this quiet prairie city on the Missouri River is becoming one of the most exciting operatic meccas in the country." The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram in 1992 said Omaha had become "operatically speaking, one of the most exciting cities in America." Similarly, in 1988, theChristian Science Monitor said of Opera Omaha: The company "demonstrated that 'regional opera' is no longer a pejorative term, that companies such as Opera Omaha offer a real service to their communities as well as the opera world."[3]
The company's beginnings were decidedly more humble, with its 1958 bill as the Omaha Civic Opera Company composed of four performances: Madama Butterfly, Hansel and Gretel, Oklahoma! and Tosca. Since its founding, singers such asBeverly Sills,Tatiana Troyanos,Samuel Ramey,Frederica von Stade,Catherine Malfitano andRichard Tucker have performed in this company's productions. Sills in 1975 performed the title role in Opera Omaha's production ofLucia di Lammermoor, which was the first production to grace the stage of the then-newly renovatedCreighton Orpheum Theater, still the home of the company's main-stage productions.
In September 1989, the company presented a concert at theAk-Sar-Ben (arena) byPlacido Domingo, drawing 6,231 people, according to a local press account.
TheOmaha Symphony Orchestra is the opera company's resident orchestra. Opera productions are sometimes under the direction of the company's music director, the baton of a guest conductor or the baton of the orchestra's own music director.
Opera Omaha is also home to the Opera Omaha Craftsman's Guild, the nation's only volunteer organized guild that is integral to Opera Omaha's success since 1962. The Craftsman's Guild members donate stagecraft skills in the areas of wardrobe, makeup/wigs, concessions, and parties.
Opera Omaha is known for commissioning a number of modern American works:
Eric Hermannson's Soul, based on a short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning authorWilla Cather. The work was performed in 1998 under the direction of then-Music DirectorHal France. The opera was composed byLibby Larsen with a libretto by Chas Rader-Shieber.[4]
Wakonda's Dream in 2003, a work that had its premiere in 2007 and was inspired by events that took place in Nebraska in the late 19th century, including the trial ofPonca ChiefStanding Bear.Anthony Davis (composer) composed the opera, with the libretto written by Pulitzer Prize-winning poetYusef Komunyakaa.Rhoda Levine served as director.[5]
Blizzard Voices in 2008, based on a work by Pulitzer Prize-winning poetTed Kooser, who also served as the work's librettist. Pulitzer Prize–winning musicianPaul Moravec composed the work, which was performed under the direction of then-Opera Omaha Music DirectorStewart Robertson.[6]
The company, along with theNew Jersey State Opera, theRochester Opera and theCelebrity Series of Boston commissioned the 1997 workMany Moons, which is based on the children's book of the same name.[7]
Opera Omaha is internationally known for its productions of world and U.S. premieres of a number of classical and modern works:
1988: The company staged the U.S. premiere of the 1730George Frideric Handel opera seriaPartenope under music directorJohn DeMain and stage director Stephen Wadsworth.[8]
1988: The company staged the U.S. premiere of the 1967Udo Zimmermann pieceWeiße Rose under music directorJohn DeMain and stage director Stephen Wadsworth.[8]
1990: The company staged the U.S. premiere of the 1924Nicolae Bretan operaGolem under stage director and the opera's associate artistic directorKeith Warner. The production was designed by John Pascoe.[1]
1990: The company staged the U.S. premiere of the 1841Gaetano Donizetti melodramaMaria Padilla. The production was considered a breakout performance of then-young sopranoRenee Fleming. John Pascoe was director and designer of the U.S. premiere in Omaha.[1]
1992: The company staged the U.S. premiere of the 1819Gioachino Rossiniazione tragicaErmione with stage directorJonathan Miller.[9]
1992: The company staged the world premiere of "Autumn Valentine: Dorothy Parker's General Review of the Sex Situation."[10] The New York Times called it "an unclassifiable collaboration by Angelina Reaux and Michael Sokol, singers;Ricky Ian Gordon, composer and pianist; andKeith Warner as director."[11]
1992: The company presented the world premiere of the 1959Hugo Weisgall workThe Gardens of Adonis, based on the eponymous poem by William Shakespeare.[12] It was staged by Opera Omaha's associate artistic director at the time,Keith Warner. Soprano Melanie Helton originated the "fiendishly difficult role of Venus."[13]
1994: The company staged the world premiere ofAndrew Lloyd Webber'sRequiem Variations under the baton of Lionel Friend, who for 13 years was chief conductor of theEnglish National Opera. Lloyd Webber attended the final performance; the production ran for 10 performances at theCreighton Orpheum Theater and drew a total of 21,546 people, according to an August 1994 Omaha World-Herald article. "It certainly seems that I'd like to come to Omaha and have another show again if they like me," Weber told The World-Herald.[14]
2004: The company staged the world premiere of the locally written "Bloodlines," a work whose music and libretto were composed by Deborah Fischer Teason. Teason collaborated with students from majority-LatinoOmaha South High School on the work.[15]
2004: The company staged the world premiere of the "Dream of the Pacific," with music by Stephen Mager and a libretto byElkhanah Pulitzer.[16]
Noted Japanese ceramic artistJun Kaneko has collaborated with Opera Omaha on two productions, a 2006 production ofMadama Butterfly and a 2013 co-production with theSan Francisco Opera and theWashington National Opera ofThe Magic Flute. Kaneko, born in 1942 in Nagoya, Japan, came to the United States in 1963 and has lived inOmaha, Nebraska since 1990, where he established his studio. In 2008, Kaneko designed a production ofFidelio for theOpera Company of Philadelphia. Kaneko was a founder of Omaha'sBemis Center for Contemporary Arts, a residency program that has been called the "largest urban artists' colony in the world."[17][18]
1958–60: Richard Valente, Director
1960–69: Joseph Levine, Music and Artistic Director
1969–74: Leo Kopp, Music Director
1970–76: James de Blasis, Resident Director
1974–77: Jonathan Dudley, General Director
1977–78: Peter Mark, Artistic Adviser
1978–80Richard Gaddes, Artistic Adviser
1980–81: Paulette Haupt-Nolen, Artistic Adviser
1981–1995: Mary Robert, General Director
1982–83:George Manahan, Music Director
1983–92:John DeMain, Music Director
1992–93:Keith Warner, Artistic Director
1995–2003: Jane Hill, Executive Director
1995–2005:Hal France, Artistic Director
2003–2007: Joan Desens, General Director
2005–2008:Stewart Robertson, Artistic Director
2007–2010: John Wehrle, General Director
2011–2023: Roger Weitz, General Director
2023-current: Allison Swenson, General Director
The company's main productions are staged at the near-3,000-seatCreighton Orpheum Theater in downtown Omaha. Other venues include the 1,000-seat Witherspoon Concert Hall at theJoslyn Art Museum, the 2,500-seat Music Hall at theOmaha Civic Auditorium, the 1,000-seat Rose Theater at the Omaha Theater Company for Young People and the 500-seat performance hall in the Scottish Rite Center. Its administrative offices are in downtown Omaha.
The company says its goal is to "make opera accessible to everyone in the community."[19]
In November 2011, its 10 student performances of Hansel & Gretel delivered kid-friendly opera to nearly 8,000 students from elementary schools across the region.[19]
In the 2012–13 season, more than 1,800 middle and high school students attended Opera Omaha performances, many for the first time.[19]
Opera Omaha is the home to the Holland Community Opera Fellowship. Begun in 2017, The Holland Community Opera Fellowship works collaboratively with community partners to co-create programming that helps individuals, organizations, and communities reach their goals, serving as a creative and artistic resource to the community.
The Fellowship brings community-minded, entrepreneurial artists to live and work in Omaha. Fellows serve as ambassadors of the company, developing relationships with community leaders to co-design and implement unique projects that combine artistry and musicianship, leadership, advocacy, and citizenship.