“The big people aren’t funding opera anymore,
but small communities are.”
Adam Hall, Tenor in Opera Company of Middlebury
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| Westminster College Photo |
I went to Phantom of the Opera a couple of weeks ago. It was a community theater production, and the actors and musicians did a great job of bringing the haunting story to life on stage. I’m not an objective reviewer, I’ll admit—my son played French horn in the pit orchestra—but good entertainment is good entertainment. I left the theater that night with a song in my heart and a spring in my step.
I’m not alone. Folks in small towns around the country are warming up to opera, and the baritone business is booming. Take Middlebury, Vermont (population 6,373), for example. Its Opera Company of Middlebury started eight years ago on a shoestring. With community support and appreciation, today the Opera Company operates on a six-figure budget and performs to consistently sold-out crowds. Compare that to big city operas. Big productions, big venues, and even bigger salaries have spelled an end to opera houses in Baltimore and Orlando, and even the grand dame of opera—the New York City Opera—announced it will soon be leaving Lincoln Center for more affordable digs. Small towns can learn a lesson from these big city operas: don’t get too big for your britches. The growing pains can kill you.
My son moves to Chicago this fall to study music at DePaul University. He says it would be a dream come true to play in the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Chicago sure is a big city. If my boy gets a chance to play there, would I go? You betcha. There’s not a “ghost” of a chance I’d miss it.
Cool Video: For a look at contemporary Russian opera, watch this video of “Vitas Opera #2.” It’s not your mama’s opera.
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