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Friday, August 2, 2019

Bethania Baray Next McCleave Fellow in Directing

PHOTO BY: Ziggy Mack Opera Memphis Announces Second McCleave Fellowship Recipient   Opera Memphis is proud to announce the second participant in The McCleave Fellowships - Bethania Baray. A first-of-its-kind program launched in 2018, The McCleave Fellowships are designed to identify and nurture emerging artists, directors, and conductors of color in opera and are the second phase of The McCleave Project established by Opera Memphis in 2017.   Bethania Baray, the new McCleave ... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Friday, August 2, 2019
2019-20 Season Bethania Baray McCleave Project

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

As One Brings Opera to Continuum Music Festival

Opera Memphis produces for Crosstown Arts As One, a new chamber opera following the journey of transgender protagonist Hannah.   This August, Opera Memphis will join Crosstown Arts for their annual Continuum Music Festival to produce As One, a new chamber opera for two voices--Hannah before (baritone) and Hannah after (mezzo-soprano). Performances will take place August 16 & 17 at Crosstown Arts Theater. Information and tickets can be found HERE. From the official As One website... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Continuum Music Festival New American Opera

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Opera Memphis Announces 2019-20 Season

Opera Memphis Announces 2019-20 Season: Putting the Memphis in Opera Opera Memphis is pleased to announce the lineup of events for its 2019-2020 Season, featuring a Puccini Double Bill of Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi and Mozart’s Così fan tutte as the anchoring performance of the Midtown Opera Festival 2020. The year kicks off with the eighth annual 30 Days of Opera, and continues with The Jessye Norman Concert presented with Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Following th... Read More
at Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

NEA Awards Opera Memphis

Opera Memphis to Receive $25,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Memphis, TN—National Endowment for the Arts Acting Chairman Mary Anne Carter has approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the Arts Endowment’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2019. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $25,000 to Opera Memphis for their 30 Days of Opera program and The McCleave Project, a multi-pronged effort to build a more equitab... Read More
at Wednesday, May 15, 2019
2019-20 Season 30 Days of Opera McCleave Project

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

2019-20 Handorf Company Artists

Opera Memphis Announces 2019-20 Handorf Company Artists: tahanee aluwihare & Jake Stamatis   After an amazing 2018-19 Season with Handorf Company Artists Stephanie Doche and Philip Himebook, Opera Memphis welcomes 2019-20 Handorf Company Artists: Mezzo-soprano Tahanee Aluwihare and Baritone Jake Stamatis to Memphis. Learn more about these emerging singers below. Tahanee Aluwihare A native of Sri Lanka, Tahanee Aluwihare (mezzo-soprano) made her debut with the Symphony Orchestra ... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, April 24, 2019
2019-20 Season Baritone Handorf Company Artists Jake Stamatis Mezzo Tahanee Aluwihare

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Connections & Vulnerability: A Note from Michael Sakir

From Michael Sakir | Music Director: I grew up without any emotional connection to the United States Armed Forces. I was born on the “Left Coast” to two Baby Boomer hippies. I attended a small liberal arts college in the 2000s where we protested the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I lived most of my life detached from and even slightly distrustful of the military. That is, until very recently when this perspective was challenged in a rather unexpected way.     ... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, March 20, 2019
2018-19 Season Michael Sakir music director The Falling and the Rising U.S. Military Veterans

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Opera Memphis Celebrates Our Troops

Opera Memphis to celebrate our troops with premiere of The Falling and the Rising at Midtown Opera Festival 2019. This April, Opera Memphis’ seventh annual Midtown Opera Festival will be anchored by premiere performances of The Falling and the Rising, a new American story written by Memphis playwright Jerre Dye and composed by Opera Memphis favorite Zach Redler. The Falling and the Rising takes the stage at Playhouse on the Square April 6, 12, & 13 at 7:30 PM. Free tickets... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, March 13, 2019
2018-19 Season Armed Forces Midtown Opera Festival New American Opera U.S. Military Veterans

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Midtown Opera Festival 2019

Opera Memphis Announces Full Line-up for Midtown Opera Festival 2019 The seventh annual Midtown Opera Festival is upon us, and this year Opera Memphis is celebrating more than just opera. From the anchoring opera The Falling and the Rising celebrating our nation's troops, to the Festival Fringe Events celebrating everything from aerialists to Bugs Bunny to improv theatre to Broadway showtunes, this year's festival has something for everyone. CLICK HERE to find o... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, March 6, 2019
2018-19 Season Family friendly! Free Midtown Opera Festival

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Charlie Schaffler 2019 National Opera Trustee

Opera Memphis Trustee Charlie Schaffler One of Five Recipients of OPERA America 2019 National Trustee Recognition Award.   From Nicholas Wise at OPERA America: February 6, 2019 (New York) — OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation's leading champion for American opera, is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2019 National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards. Now in their 12th year, t... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, February 20, 2019
2018-19 Season awards Charlie Schaffler national recognition OPERA America trustee

Monday, January 28, 2019

Dick Deadeye Related to Parks&Rec Jerry Gergich!

BREAKING NEWS: Dick Deadeye of H.M.S. Pinafore and Gary/Jerry/Larry/Terry Gergich/Gengurch of Parks and Rec actually related! Local researchers and art enthusiasts find "undeniable proof" that Jerry Gergich is great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of Dick Deadeye.  After weeks of late-night Netflix binges and scouring the internet for any scrap of information to support their claims, these researchers say the truth is undeniabl... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Monday, January 28, 2019
2018-19 Season Dick Deadeye HMS Pinafore

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Robert Orth Returns to Opera Memphis

World-renowned baritone Robert Orth returns to Opera Memphis after nearly two decades. The year was 1980. The hair was big, the shoulder pads bigger, and Opera Memphis was celebrating its 25th anniversary with an exceptional season including performances of Lucia Di Lammermoor, La Périchole, Madame Butterfly, and La Traviata. That November a young man with an indomitable moustache took the stage as Don Pedro in Jacques Offenbach's La Périchole and wowed audiences with his... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, January 16, 2019
2018-19 Season Baritone Gilbert & Sullivan HMS Pinafore Opera Memphis Celebs Robert Orth

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

A Victorian Holiday with Opera Memphis

Opera Memphis celebrates the holiday season with a new interactive operatic experience, A Victorian Holiday with Opera Memphis. This one-of-a-kind experience puts guests in the center of an 1890's holiday party with interactive characters and games, opera singers, caroling, Victorian Conjurer Jeffrey Day performing illusions on stage and amongst party-goers, and festive libations being served. The evening is tied together by an ongoing story of love lost and found that plays out ... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, December 5, 2018
2018-19 Season Family friendly! Holiday Victorian

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

What to Wear: A Victorian Holiday

A guide to your perfect Victorian-inspired outfit! A Victorian Holiday with Opera Memphis is right around the corner! This immersive, interactive theatrical experience will send you back in time to the Victorian Era where you will join socialites, singers, performers, conjurers, and more characters at a festive holiday party! Our Costume Designer, Sona Amroyan-Peric has put together a list of items you probably have in your closet that you can use to dress like our performers to have the mo... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Monday, November 12, 2018

Which Opera is Your Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is almost here! Which opera matches your family gathering? It's that time of year again for turkey and mashed potatoes, travel plans and airline tickets. Here at Opera Memphis we've compiled a short list of Thanksgiving gatherings along with the perfect opera for each of these dynamics. Read through and find your opera for Turkey Day! 1. The Friendsgiving For this reason or that, family just can't/won't be in the picture this year. So you end ... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Monday, November 12, 2018
Famous Operas Holiday

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

In the News: Jonathan Ealy

Jonathan Ealy named one of MBJ's 40 Under 40 Opera Memphis Venue Director Jonathan Ealy named one of Memphis Business Journal's 40 Under 40 for his work with OUTMemphis: The LGBTQIA Center for the Mid-South. Ealy joined the staff of Opera Memphis in November of 2009. He was first introduced to opera by his late high school choral teacher, Charlotte Polk. "My first Opera ever was an Opera Memphis production of Buoso's Ghost written by then General Director/Cond... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, October 24, 2018
40 Under 40 In the News Jonathan Ealy Opera Memphis Celebs

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Yunah Lee Headlines in Madama Butterfly

"With her strong, forthright soprano, Yunah Lee brought unflagging stage presence and confidence to Butterfly, demonstrating the geisha's spine, not her victimhood," - The Wall Street Journal Opera Memphis opens its 2018-19 Season with Puccini's classic Madama Butterfly on Oct. 26 & 27 with internationally-acclaimed soprano Yunah Lee performing the title role of Cio-Cio-San, Madama Butterfly. Since her first performance of Madama Butterfly i... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, October 17, 2018
2018-19 Season Madama Butterfly Opera Memphis Celebs Puccini Soprano Yunah Lee

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

In the News: Shirley Hill

Opera Memphis' Shirley Hill named "Women to Watch" Shirley Hill, Community Relations Associate for Opera Memphis, featured in Memphis Magazine's "Women to Watch" spread in their October 2018 issue. From the article: "Shirley Hill first joined Opera Memphis in 2009 as a chorus member. This year she will be the Project Manager for the McCleave Project. The McCleave Project seeks to deepen Opera Memphis' engagement with issues of equity and diversi... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, October 3, 2018
In the News McCleave Project Opera Memphis Celebs Shirley Hill Women to Watch

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

2018 Company Artist: Philip Himebook

"I'm a singer first, actor second, dancer never." - Philip Himebook Say, "Hello!" to Opera Memphis Company Artist Philip Himebook. A tenor who grew up in Huntsville, AL and Atlanta, GA, and a self-proclaimed rookie in the professional opera realm, Himebook grew up surrounded by music. His parents both have degrees in Music Education, his mother's parents were symphony musicians (violin and cello), his father's father was a member of the United... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, September 19, 2018
2018-19 Season HMS Pinafore Madama Butterfly Opera Memphis Celebs Philip Himebook Resident Artist Tenor

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

2018 Company Artist: Stephanie Doche

Say, "Hello!" to Stephanie Doche, one of our 2018 company artists. Stephanie Doche (rhymes with posh), was born in France and moved to the United States with her parents when she was 4 years old. Her love for music and opera began around this time between listening to Luciano Pavarotti and Friends on the stereo and encouragement she received from her grandmother to play piano and pursue music. Doche received her first solo during a kindergarten performance, and in high scho... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, September 5, 2018
2018-19 Season French-American Singer Mezzo Resident Artist Soprano Stephanie Doche

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

In Pictures: RedBirds Non-Profit Game 2018

Opera Memphis joined the Memphis Redbird's as the Lipscomb & Pitts' featured Non-profit of the game last Friday, August 17. The Redbirds faced off against the Nashville Sounds for an exciting evening of baseball! And although the Redbirds put up a good fight, the Sounds won the game 11-8. Opera Memphis favorite, Chelsea Miller, took the field to sing "God Bless America," while McCleave Fellowship winner Dennis Whitehead Darling threw the opening pitch at the top of t... Read More
Posted by Jillian Barron at Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Chelsea Miller Dennis Whitehead Darling Opera Memphis Celebs Outdoors RedBirds