Chautauqua Institution has been awarded a $15,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the Chautauqua Opera Company’s 2020 Opera Festival, entitled “The Women’s Suffrage Centennial: Claiming a Voice, Claiming a Vote.” As part of Chautauqua Institution’s nine-week summer assembly season, Chautauqua Opera Company produces more than 30 operatic events, including three mainstage operas. The company’s 2020 season celebrates the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment with a trio of operas, each of which revolves around a powerful female figure who is fighting to forge her own path and have her voice heard....
Chautauqua Opera Announces 2019 Season, Celebrating the Company’s 90th Anniversary Season to feature a ‘Beaumarchais Trilogy’, presented on three consecutive nights July 25-27, 2019 Chautauqua Opera Company has announced their 2019 mainstage season, which will include Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, directed by Kathleen Smith-Belcher, Vid Guerrerio’s ¡Figaro! (90210) – a contemporary adaptation of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro—directed by Eric Einhorn, and John Corigliano and William Hoffman’s The Ghosts of Versailles, directed by Peter Kazaras. Founded in 1929, Chautauqua Opera’s 2019 season celebrates the company’s 90th Anniversary. For the first time, audiences will be able to experience these three operas on...
Chautauqua Opera announces the appointment of Daniel Grambow as Managing Director.Daniel will reside in Chautauqua and will join the full-time staff in the Performing and Visual Arts office at Chautauqua Institution. “I am thrilled that Daniel Grambow will be joining us as Managing Director, and that he will be a year-round resident in Chautauqua County,” says General and Artistic Director Steven Osgood. “Daniel’s wide ranging experience as a performer and producer will be a tremendous addition to our company. His passion and devotion to civic engagement will help Chautauqua Opera build its connection to the entire community in and around...
Internationally renowned Guest Artists round out the Chautauqua Opera Company’s 2016 season The Chautauqua Opera Company’s 2016 season will include mainstage productions of Giuseppe Verdi’s beloved opera La Traviata in the Amphitheater (July 9), directed by Keturah Stickann; Gilbert and Sullivan’s comedic gem The Mikado in Norton Hall (July 29 & Aug. 1), directed by Ned Canty; and a concert performance of Missy Mazzoli’s Song From the Uproar, in Chautauqua Opera’s first ever collaboration with the Logan Chamber Music Series (Aug. 8). “I am delighted that 2016 shows such a balance between debut artists, former Young Artists, featured roles for...
2017 Season to feature three mainstage productions, including the U.S. Stage Premiere of Respighi’s realization of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo Gity Razaz joins the company as the 2017 Composer-in-Residence, writing three commissions that will receive world premieres during the summer season The Chautauqua Opera Company’s 2017 season will include the U.S. Stage Premiere of Respighi’s sumptuous realization of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, in the new Chautauqua Amphitheater (July 8), directed by Keturah Stickann; Donizetti’s boisterous Don Pasquale (July 28 and 31), directed by David Schweizer, in Norton Hall; and Philip Glass’ and Allen Ginsberg’s chamber opera Hydrogen Jukebox (July 27 and August 1), directed...
Chautauqua Institution is pleased to announce the appointment of Steven R. Osgood as the general and artistic director of the Chautauqua Opera Company. In this capacity, Osgood will also serve as an advocate for the company and the classical arts within and beyond the Chautauqua community. Osgood, who has served as guest conductor at CHQ many times, succeeds Jay Lesenger, who announced in April that he will step down at the end of the calendar year. “The Chautauqua Opera Company has played an important part in my professional life since my debut in 2009, and the Institution has become a...
The Chautauqua Opera Company’s 2016 season, the first under Steven Osgood as general/artistic director, mixes traditional repertoire with new multi-year initiatives. The Chautauqua Opera Company’s 2016 season will include mainstage productions of Giuseppe Verdi’s beloved opera La Traviata in the Amphitheater (July 9), directed by Keturah Stickann, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s comedic gem The Mikado in Norton Hall (July 29 and August 1), directed by Ned Canty. In addition, Chautauqua Opera will introduce two new initiatives this season: a Composer in Residence Program and a series of outdoor mini-operatic events titled “Pocket Parks Opera Invasion.” The 2016 season will conclude...
Chautauqua Institution is pleased to announce Eric Einhorn and Steven Osgood as the final candidates for the position of artistic and general director of Chautauqua Opera. The new artistic and general director will take over following the conclusion of the 2015 season. Jay Lesenger, who has held the post since 1994, will step down at the end of the calendar year. Deborah Sunya Moore, incoming vice president for the performing and visual arts at CHQ, conducted a nationwide search with the assistance of a search committee consisting of eight members from the CHQ community and board of trustees. After a...
Dear Colleagues, Friends and Family, After 21 years as General and Artistic Director, I have decided to make the 2015 season my last one with the Chautauqua Opera Company. This decision comes with mixed emotions. The CHQ community has been my second home and the opera company has been the focus of my creative and personal life for more than half my professional career so far. But the timing is right for me to turn my attention from administration to devoting more of my time to directing and teaching and to spending more time with my partner, family and friends....
Chautauqua Institution today announced that Jay Lesenger, general/artistic director of Chautauqua Opera Company, will step down from his post at the end of 2015. Lesenger has led Chautauqua Institution’s resident opera company, the nation’s oldest continuously producing summer company — and fourth oldest American opera company overall — since October 1994. “When Jay arrived here, he faced the daunting task of reinvigorating the passion in and for opera at CHQ,” said Marty Merkley, vice president and director of programming. “Jay’s artistry, passion and personal charisma helped to bring about a renaissance with vibrant productions, exciting artists, diverse repertoire and quality production values. His dedication...