Media Release: May 5, 2011
Contact: Ashley Tongret, Communications Manager
(513) 768-5526 or atongret@cincinnatiopera.org
Cincinnati Opera Announces Three-Year Grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to Support the Development of New American Operas
A collaboration with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Opera Program, Opera Fusion: New Works will offer workshop and performance opportunities for U.S. composers
Now accepting applications through June 1
CINCINNATI—Cincinnati Opera, in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) Opera Program, is pleased to announce the creation of Opera Fusion: New Works, a program designed to support the development of new American operas. Opera Fusion: New Works is made possible by a three-year grant of $300,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
“Cincinnati Opera and CCM Opera have enjoyed a unique collaboration over the past several years with the support of The Corbett Foundation, and I am thrilled that the grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will allow our partnership to expand in a new and exciting direction,” said Patricia K. Beggs, General Director & CEO of Cincinnati Opera. “Cincinnati Opera has a longstanding commitment to presenting new works, both in our mainstage season and education programming, and I am delighted that we now have the opportunity to foster and encourage the development of new American operas.”
"This wonderful grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation presents extraordinary opportunities to CCM Opera and Cincinnati Opera,” said Frank Weinstock, Interim Dean of CCM. “It will allow us to explore the new frontiers of opera in ways that would not otherwise be possible, and to expand the scope of Opera Fusion. We are so fortunate to have Cincinnati Opera as our partner in this venture. Together we will make history with this program, as we discover a new generation of operatic masterpieces."
Opera Fusion: New Works will offer a composer or composer/librettist team the opportunity to workshop an opera during a 10-day residency. The program will be hosted by Cincinnati Opera and CCM Opera, making use of both organizations’ talent, personnel, and facilities. The composer or composer/librettist team, who will be selected through a national application process, will receive an honorarium, round-trip transportation, and accommodations for the duration of the workshop.
The goal of Opera Fusion: New Works is to provide an environment where the composer or composer/librettist team can focus on the development of their work. The residency environment is designed to be both inspiring and collaborative in order to encourage exploration, innovation, and artistic growth. At the conclusion of the workshop, the piece will be presented to an invited audience, including representatives from opera companies and potential co-producers, with the intent of shepherding the work through the next steps of its development. In some cases, a piece may be invited to return for a second developmental workshop the following year.
"The creation of new operatic works is central to the growth of the art form in this country," stated Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of OPERA America, the national service organization for opera. "Given the artistic complexity and high cost of producing new works, partnerships are essential to success. I am delighted that Cincinnati Opera and CCM Opera, with funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will combine their great strengths to contribute to the progress of American opera through this exciting program."
Opera Fusion: New Works builds on an established and successful four-year partnership between Cincinnati Opera and CCM Opera. In 2007, Cincinnati Opera and CCM Opera launched The Corbett Foundation Opera Fusion program, created to promote and enhance young artist training opportunities, collaborative academic programming, internships, and an ongoing artistic relationship between the organizations. Opera Fusion: New Works, which is funded entirely by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, allows this existing relationship to expand into new areas. Opera Fusion: New Works will be jointly administered by representatives from each of the collaborating organizations. Marcus Küchle, Director of Artistic Operations of Cincinnati Opera, and Robin Guarino, J. Ralph Corbett Chair of CCM Opera, will act as co-artistic directors for the program.
How To Apply
Application to the Opera Fusion: New Works program is open to composers or composer/librettist teams of proven artistic merit who are U.S. citizens or legal residents. There are no age restrictions. The program seeks applicants with operatic works which are either completed or already in progress, and which have not yet had a professional premiere. Works will be reviewed and selected by the program’s co-artistic directors, along with an advisory board made up of artists and professionals from the world of opera and theater. Applications for the 2011 workshop are due June 1, 2011. An announcement of the selected work will be made in August 2011, and the first Opera Fusion: New Works workshop will be held November 3-13, 2011.
For more information and application details, please visit www.cincinnatiopera.org/about-us/opera-fusion-new-works.
Opera Fusion: New Works is made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Cincinnati Opera’s 2011 Season Presenting Sponsor is PNC. The 2011 season is also made possible with support from ArtsWave, Ohio Arts Council, The Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, and many generous individuals, corporations, and foundations. Cincinnati Opera’s 2011 Summer Festival runs June 16 through July 31 and features Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, John Adams’s A Flowering Tree, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute. www.cincinnatiopera.org
The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Opera Theatre season will present a broad range of works from November 2011 through May 2012, including Opera Fusion: New Works, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Peter Brook’s The Tragedy of Carmen, Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, and Jonathan Dove’s Flight. For more information, visit www.ccm.uc.edu.