The theater says in a statement it is running a deficit of Euro3.7 million ($4.87 million) following cutbacks in government subsidies and a drop in sponsorship.

The theater will cancel 27 performances of seven shows between March 20-April 10 and June 5-July 8.

A spokeswoman for the theater said Thursday the decision will mean temporary layoffs among many of the theater’s 395 workers. She spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with the theater’s regulations.

The theater says ticket-holders will be reimbursed.

The Liceu delayed the opening of its 2011-2012 season by a month for similar reasons.

Click here for original article featured in Huffington Post.

Cast and artistic staff information for each opera will be announced at a later date.

Season tickets for the 2012-2013 Utah Opera season will go on sale Tuesday, January 31 and can be purchased by calling 801-533-NOTE (6683) or by visiting www.utahopera.org.

FULL SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES:

Il Trovatore
By Giuseppe Verdi
October 13, 15, 17 and 19, 2012 | 7:30 p.m.
October 21, 2012 | 2 p.m.
Capitol Theatre
(Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage)

Love is never simple when a gypsy’s curse is involved. Il Trovatore (The Troubadour) is a lively story of romance, obsession, and revenge. The turmoil and rage that unfold after a gypsy’s unthinkable act climax into one of opera’s greatest finales – a final act filled with sword fights, death, revenge, and ultimately regret.

Florencia en el Amazonas
By Daniel Catán
January 119, 21, 23 and 25, 2013 | 7:30 p.m.
January 27, 2013 | 2 p.m.
Capitol Theatre
(Sung in Spanish with English translations projected above the stage)

Enter the lush Amazon with Florencia, an opera diva who returns to her homeland in hopes of finding her long-lost love, a butterfly collector who has disappeared in the jungle. On the voyage, mystical forces show her and her traveling companions just how powerful love can be. Reality, fantasy, and dreams intertwine with Catán’s thrilling music as Florencia transforms her regrets into inextinguishable hope.

The Magic Flute
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
March 16, 18, 20 and 22, 2013 | 7:30 p.m.
March 24, 2013 | 2 p.m.
Capitol Theatre
(Sung in German with English translations projected above the stage)

Love’s Secret Ingredient? A Pinch of Magic. Mozart’s The Magic Flute will take you on a fantastic journey of myth and enchantment. Armed with only a magic flute and joined by a flamboyant bird catcher, can a heroic prince travel to exotic lands to rescue a stolen princess and ensure everyone finds true love? Join us for an evening of magic and music to see if this adventure of a lifetime ends happily ever after.

The Barber of Seville
By Gioachino Rossini
May 11, 13, 15 and 17, 2013 | 7:30 p.m.
May 19, 2013 | 2 p.m.
Capitol Theatre
(Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage)

It’s the outrageous comedy familiar to all! The charming Rosina wants to marry the dashing Count Almaviva, but both must outwit her older benefactor Don Bartolo, who has his own designs on his young ward. Enter the clever barber Figaro, who not only sings the opera’s most famous tune but also helps to bring happy resolution to the hilarious confusion.

The award, for young singers who have appeared in featured solo roles at the Met, has been given annually since 2006, and with prize money of $50,000 it is the largest of its kind in the States. Previous winners include baritone Nathan Gunn and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.

“I am so deeply honored to be the recipient of the Beverly Sills Award,” Meade said, continuing.

“I would have loved to have met Ms. Sills. We share much of the same repertoire and her interpretations of Norma, Anna Bolena, Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux, Cleopatra, and Violetta have been an inspiration to me. I am greatly humbled and realize what an immense responsibility it will be to carry on the legacy Ms. Sills achieved. Her artistry has been something that young singers aspire to attain. I offer heartfelt thanks to the Metropolitan Opera and the Agnes Varis Trust, in memory of Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman.”

The rising young soprano returns to the Met as Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani on February 2, in the role with which she made her unscheduled “star is born” professional debut – at the Met – in 2008, when she substituted for an ailing colleague. Opera lovers worldwide can hear Meade in the role when Ernani is beamed to cinemas around the world on February 25 as part of the Met’s ever-popular Live in HD series. Her co-stars include Marcello Giordani, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Ferruccio Furlanetto, with Marco Armiliato leading the Met Opera Orchestra. It was Armiliato who conducted Meade at the Grand Finals Concert of the 2007 Met Opera National Council Auditions, as chronicled in the documentary film The Audition.

Additional information about Angela Meade is available at www.angelameade.com, and a list of her upcoming engagements follows.

Angela Meade: selected upcoming engagements

Feb 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, & *25 ((*Live in HD)

New York, NY

Metropolitan Opera

Verdi: Ernani (Elvira)

March 10

Boca Raton, FL

Festival of the Arts

Concert: Opera at the Movies

March 18

Montreal, Canada

Orchestre Métropolitain / Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Zemlinsky: Lyric Symphony

May 9 & 11

Berlin, Germany

Deutsche Oper Berlin

I due Foscari (Lucrezia Contarini)

June 6 & 23

Kiel, Germany

Oper Kiel

Gala concert

www.angelameade.com

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Are you tired of entering classical singing competitions and not winning or having any fun? So are we! That’s why we’re launching our own WAY cooler contest where you can let loose, be yourself, be funny, act silly, educate in a fun way, and win a chance at Operagasm fame!

All you have to do is make a video summarizing in your own words any opera plot of your choice — although we recommend not choosing the most obscure opera in the universe. Feel free to use animation, choreography, music, costumes, animals (as long as they are not harmed!) and whatever else it takes to bring your masterpiece to life.

If you need an example, don’t forget to check out our very first Hot Opera Plot, which aired this past summer thanks to the talents of Christine Killian and Georges Bizet:

Please email all submissions to melissa@operagasm.com by the **deadline of 12:00 midnight Eastern Standard Time on February 29th**. Your video must be in .m4v  format (or at least something I can open on my Mac), no more than 10 minutes in length, and must not include any genitals — real or fake. Also, swearing is okay, but no excessive “S-words”, no “F-words”,  and DEFINITELY no “C-words”. I personally enjoy swearing, but we have to keep it clean for the kids. We don’t want moms banning Operagasm from their children’s bookmarks! Think of future audiences, K?

At least four winners will be selected and will have their Hot Opera Plot featured on Operagasm! Winners will also receive slammin’ Operagasm gear and other classical music gems.

We can’t wait to see your craftiness! Happy plotting!

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music says Williams died Sunday. The cause of her death was not immediately released.

The school says the soprano became the first African-American female to appear with a major U.S. opera company when she debuted on May 15, 1946, with New York City Opera in the title role of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.”

She became the first African-American professor of voice at IU in 1977 and retired in 1997.

Williams was born in Danville, Va., on Oct. 18, 1919, the daughter of a chauffeur. Her grandfather was a singer and choir leader, and by age 8 she was singing in Danville’s Calvary Baptist Church.

Houston Grand Opera, with Music Director Patrick Summers and Managing Director Perryn Leech, announces its 2012-13 season, headlined by four new productions. The first of these is Puccini’s La bohème, which launches the new season with a new staging by award-winning British director John Caird. To honor 2013’s joint bicentennials of Wagner and Verdi, the coming season juxtaposes Tristan und Isolde – starring Ben Heppner and Nina Stemme in a new contemporary staging by Christof Loy – with a revival of Steven Lawless’s unforgettable take on Il trovatore. British conductor Trevor Pinnock leads a strong international cast in Mozart’s ensemble masterpiece Don Giovanni, while Francesca Zambello’s new production of Kern and Hammerstein’s Show Boat brings together stars of Broadway and the opera house in a celebration of America’s own contribution to the art. For a more intimate experience, Daniela Barcellona and Lawrence Brownlee star in Rossini’s dramma giocoso, The Italian Girl in Algiers.

As HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers reveals, “Planning a season is like planning a great six-course meal, and [the company has] a lot of main courses but the one dessert – and it’s a great one, a real soufflé.” This “soufflé” is Rossini’s comic masterpiece The Italian Girl in Algiers, which opens on October 26. Making her HGO debut in the title role is Italian soprano Daniela Barcellona, a bel canto specialist whom Opera News found “perfect” in the title role of Rossini’s Tancredi. She’ll be singing opposite tenor Lawrence Brownlee, winner of both the Marian Anderson and the Richard Tucker Awards, who returns to Houston after wowing audiences in The Barber of Seville. The production comes courtesy of Spanish director-designer team Joan Font and Joan Guillén – who were last seen in Houston with witty stagings of Rossini’s La Cenerentola and The Barber of Seville – and features Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi on the podium. Winner of the first Toscanini Conductors competition, Rizzi made his HGO debut in 2007 with Aida.

(Associated Press) – Ruthlide Boesch, whose more than three-decade singing career took her to the world’s top opera stages, has died.  She was 94.

Boesch’s death was announced Tuesday by the Vienna State Opera. A statement said she died Friday.

Born Jan. 9, 1918, Boesch debuted in 1945 as Susanna in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” — “Marriage of Figaro.” She was active on the opera stage until the mid 1970s, in Vienna, London, Sydney, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin and Barcelona as well as various North American venues.

In Vienna, she appeared in 38 roles and 387 performances. Her roles included Papagena (”Die Zauberfloete/Magic Flute,”) Olympia (”Les Contes de’Hoffman/Hoffman’s Tales,”) Despina (”Cosi fan tutte,”) and Blondchen (”Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail/The Abduction from the Seraglio.”)

Boesch, who lived in Vienna, was also a celebrated Lied performer and voice teacher.

Inspired by real events, Slaying the Dragon is the tale of Jerry Krieg, a white supremacist whose life of hatred is turned around due to the compassion and kindness of a rabbi and his wife. The true story, as depicted in the novel Not by the Sword by Kathryn Watterson, is about atonement, forgiveness, and redemption. Through their unlikely relationship, Kreig and Rabbi Goodman are each forced to face their dark past and break away from its incarceration.

According to the opera’s librettist, Ellen Frankel, these workshops will focus more on the first act of the opera, which builds the dramatic tension that leads to Jerry Krieg’s break-through from hate into love. The previous workshops for Dragon, held in September and January by Center City Opera Theater, focused more on the lyrical sections of the opera.

“Splitting these two aspects into different workshops reveals the emotional engine underneath the opera, a fascinating window into this opera’s inner workings,” Frankel said.

Center City Opera Theater is an opera company based in Philadelphia whose primary mission is the development and production of new works. Slaying the Dragon is the latest work to emerge from Center City Opera Theater’s Creative Development Projects, an ongoing series of workshops that nurtures new opera works from inceptions to fully-staged premieres. The Winter Workshops for Slaying the Dragon are at 7pm Saturday, February 18 at Opera Delaware in Wilmington and Sunday, February 19 at 2pm at the Ethical Society in Philadelphia.

General admission is $15; for more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.operatheater.org.

New York, NY—OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012 National Opera Trustee Recognition Award. In its fifth year, this award honors outstanding trustees of U.S. opera companies for exemplary leadership, generosity and audience-building efforts on behalf of their respective opera companies.

The recipients of the 2012 National Opera Trustee Recognition Award are Joseph and Judy Liff-Barker of Nashville Opera, Elizabeth Eveillard of The Glimmerglass Festival (Cooperstown, NY), Susan F. Morris of The Santa Fe Opera, William C. Morris of The Metropolitan Opera and Dr. George R. White of Opera Theater of Pittsburgh. Dr. White, who passed away on January 14, 2012, is being honored posthumously.

“We are delighted to be joined by Bank of America in celebrating the significant and enduring contributions of these devoted trustees,” stated Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of OPERA America. “The National Opera Trustee Recognition Award affords the entire opera community with the opportunity to salute and learn from those who have been so generous in their passion for the art form, vision and support of their opera companies.”

Each year, OPERA America member companies are invited to nominate one of their trustees for this award. Honorees from each of the four OPERA America budget levels are chosen by an adjudication committee through a competitive selection process. Recognizing the combined monumental contributions to two of the country’s largest opera companies, both Susan F. and William C. Morris, husband and wife, are being honored in the level 1 budget category.

The National Opera Trustee Recognition program is led by OPERA America Vice Chairman and Chairman-Elect Frayda B. Lindemann (New York, NY); committee members include Betty Eveillard* (New York, NY), Fred Good (Cincinnati, OH), Ruth Orth (Pensacola, FL) and Fillmore Wood (Corona del Mar, CA).

These honorees represent a significant range of accomplishments, generosity and a deep commitment to promoting opera in their communities. The following profiles illustrate just a few examples of their dedication.

Elizabeth Eveillard, The Glimmerglass Festival (Cooperstown, NY)
Betty Eveillard has devoted herself over the past decade to the successful governance of The Glimmerglass Festival. Mrs. Eveillard brought to Glimmerglass extensive experience as a member of corporate and college boards, as well as the background of her 30-year professional career in investment banking. Throughout her tenure, she has been a voice of balance and sensitivity as she assisted the board in making decisions which enabled Glimmerglass to remain true to its artistic mission, while considering fresh ideas in response to the financial climate, changes in audience behavior and initiatives and opportunities brought forth by new artistic and general directors. Mrs. Eveillard and her husband, Jean-Marie, understand the important philanthropic role of a board officer, contributing to the annual sponsorship of a production. As production sponsors, they provide generous personal encouragement to the talented artists involved in these productions. Mrs. Eveillard has also consistently served on committees for Glimmerglass’ annual fundraising galas in New York City. Her warmth and personal enjoyment at these events — and her hard work at making them successful — are exemplary of her overarching generosity, spirit and love for Glimmerglass. Glimmerglass Vice Chair Patricia Kavanagh credits Mrs. Eveillard with inspiring model stewardship of the organization: “Everything Betty has done for Glimmerglass flows from her love of opera and specifically this organization. It has formed her leadership of the board and widened our circle of enthusiastic supporters. It’s catching.” Mrs. Eveillard is a graduate of Smith College and Harvard Business School.

Joseph and Judy Liff-Barker, Nashville Opera
The Judy Liff and Joe Barker Family have been involved with Nashville Opera for more than 20 years as donors, subscribers and also serving in volunteer leadership roles. Their transformational lead gift not only gave Nashville Opera a permanent home, but also a new revenue stream and community asset in the form of the Noah Liff Opera Center which includes theater-scale rehearsal space, costume shop and warm up rooms — all in one location. Their behind-the-scenes roles have been pivotal for the organization. The Liff-Barker family have worked tirelessly to raise five, six and seven-figure support for Nashville Opera. Most recently, the Liff-Barker family made a second generous gift to help the Capital Campaign come closer to its goal and receive a challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation. This donation and grant award is enabling Nashville Opera to make the final loan payment for the Noah Liff Opera Center in February 2012 and puts the Opera within $1 million of its $12 million endowment goal. In 2009, when the recession caused other donors to delay their pledge payments, the Liff-Barker family accelerated their gift payments to ensure Nashville Opera could make term loan payments. Zachary Liff, Judy’s son, was instrumental in the development of the Young Lovers of Opera group and currently serves on the Nashville Opera board. Nashville Opera would not be where it is today without the Judy Liff and Joseph Barker family for their vision, generosity and commitment.

Susan F. Morris, The Santa Fe Opera
Susan F. Morris attended her first Santa Fe Opera performance as part of the Gala Opening Celebration for the company’s 40th season in 1996. As a token of her admiration for the company’s founder and general director, Mrs. Morris and her husband established the John Crosby Production Endowment Fund, which each season helps to underwrite one production. She became a member of the board of directors of The Santa Fe Opera in 1999 and was later elected vice president in 2001 and president in 2003, serving until 2011. During that time, she chaired the Building a Sound Future Campaign, providing the single largest gift to the $30 million multi-year campaign to improve rehearsal and patron facilities. Mrs. Morris was a hands-on president, bringing to the opera her extensive experience from the board of trustees of her alma mater, the Masters School and providing advice and support to Richard Gaddes, the company’s second general director. She spearheaded the search for the company’s third general director, identifying and then recruiting Charles MacKay for the position. In her leadership capacity, she participated in the strategic planning process undertaken by the board of directors in concert with Mr. MacKay. Mrs. Morris has advocated for the company with the Mayor and City Council, and also walked the halls of the state capitol to campaign on behalf of The Santa Fe Opera with state legislators. “The Morris’s contributions to both institutions are immeasurable, and a lasting legacy to their passion and commitment to the operatic art form,” observed Charles MacKay, general director, The Santa Fe Opera.

William C. Morris, The Metropolitan Opera
William C. Morris, the current chairman of the Metropolitan Opera’s Executive Committee, recently completed eight years of exemplary service as the company’s president and chief executive officer, a period of extraordinary artistic achievement and unparalleled fundraising success. Mr. Morris’s association with the Met began in 1995, and since that time, his board roles have included advisory director, managing director and president and CEO. He has made remarkably generous unrestricted operating gifts each fiscal year, in addition to participating at the highest possible level in Met galas and special events. On top of his unrestricted gifts, Mr. Morris also underwrote a number of new productions and other special projects. Perhaps most importantly, he oversaw the long-range planning process that resulted in a $470 million Campaign for the Met, of which $320 million has been raised to date and to which he contributed generously. As a strong advocate for audience development, he has been a particularly keen supporter of General Manager Peter Gelb’s Live in HD program of movie theater performance transmissions. Mr. Morris has also demonstrated his commitment to engaging new audiences through his support of the Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Rush Tickets program. He also contributed extra gifts to expand the Rush Tickets program to include weekend performances. Today, the Met’s board is stronger, better informed, and more engaged than ever before, thanks to Mr. Morris’ stewardship. He has helped the Met assume a leadership role in the larger cultural community with his financial acumen and bold support of the art form of opera.

Dr. George R. White, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh
Dr. George R. White, former Opera Theater of Pittsburgh board president and generous friend, had a deep and abiding love for opera and boundless energy in sharing his enthusiasm for the discipline with others. Thanks to his unyielding efforts and philanthropy, Pittsburgh was able to build up a great capacity for producing opera at much higher quality levels than would have been possible. His visionary leadership had been a primary force in Opera Theater’s recent transformation into a summer festival. Dr. White viewed his greatest achievement as pursuing the vision and securing the funding for “The Pittsburgh Ring,” Opera Theater’s production of Wagner’s complete Ring Cycle in the Jonathan Dove orchestration. Five years ago, Dr. White placed his reputation and financial support on the line to encourage Opera Theater and Pittsburgh Opera to establish an innovative collaboration. This resulted in a marketing and co-production partnership with Pittsburgh Opera to bring new and inventive productions to the Pittsburgh area. Dr. White encouraged Opera Theater to think more expansively about diversity, beyond casting, to include repertoire selection. As a result, Opera Theater produced an extraordinary series of operas that addressed the African-American experience in the U.S. and appealed to the African-American community. In the last several years, Dr. White encouraged Opera Theater to assemble cost-effective productions of both new and canonical works to encourage the company to ensure that opera will be relevant and economically viable in the 21st century. Dr. White had been a champion for opera in Pittsburgh and raised the artistic quality of the art form, and provided more opportunities for music lovers in Pittsburgh to enjoy opera. Dr. White died on January 14, 2012, at the age of 82.

OPERA America will pay tribute to these 2011 honorees and celebrate their remarkable achievements at a February dinner and reception in New York City.

OPERA America’s commitment to recognizing excellence in governance is shared by its sister organization Opera.ca, the Canadian national association for opera. Opera.ca honors Peter George of Manitoba Opera as the 2011-2012 recipient of its National Opera Directors Recognition Program.

The National Opera Trustee Recognition Program is made possible by the generous support of Bank of America.

* Note: Reflecting that she was both a committee member and a nominee, Betty Eveillard did not participate in the discussion and selection of the recipient of the National Opera Trustee Recognition Award in her budget level.

Previous National Opera Trustee Recognition Program recipients:

2008
Jane A. Robinson, Florida Grand Opera
Sally S. Levy, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
G. Whitney Smith, Fort Worth Opera
Betty W. Healey, Opera Birmingham

2009
James T. Cody, Jr., The Dallas Opera
Beth Ingram, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Richard Holland, Opera Omaha
C. Guy Rudisill, III, Piedmont Opera

2010
Marc I. Stern, Los Angeles Opera
Jeffrey A. Evershed, Portland Opera
Fred and Eve Simon, Opera Omaha
Benjamin Keaton, Long Leaf Opera Company

2011
Lynn Wyatt, Houston Grand Opera
Eleanor “Ellie” Caulkins, Opera Colorado
Jackie Lockwood, Dayton Opera
John I. (Jack) Riddle, PORTopera

Milwaukee, WI

Over fifty years ago, Skylight began as Skylight Theatre and evolved through the years to Skylight Comic Opera, The Skylight and the current Skylight Opera Theatre. In recent years, the name has been an ongoing topic of discussion for board members and staff as they strive to ensure it truly reflects the mission, repertoire, and education programs.

Throughout its history, Skylight has prided itself in presenting the full spectrum of music theatre – from opera to Broadway musicals and everything in between. Skylight has evolved into one of the most unique performing arts organizations in the country. No other company achieves the range of repertoire that Skylight produces every season and the organization remains committed to continuing that truly special and unique tradition.

Skylight firmly believes that opera is a critical part of the music theatre canon and its dedication to performing at least one opera a year will not change. But because it produces the full spectrum of music theatre, the name “Skylight Opera Theatre” doesn’t accurately reflect the full breadth of productions. Skylight’s goal in the name change is to accurately capture the range of experiences patrons may have throughout each season.

Skylight’s strength lies in the magical combination of music and song to tell a story in a way that words or music alone can’t reach. Whether in a beautiful operatic aria, a thrilling song and dance number from a Broadway musical, a Gilbert & Sullivan patter song or the work of contemporary composers who are blurring the lines between musical theatre and opera, Skylight Music Theatre will continue to seek out productions that have a moving story to tell and compelling music through which to tell it.