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To develop and expand opera appreciation and involvement through innovative, engaging education and outreach programs. |
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Mission
To present opera productions in the El Paso Region of the highest quality; to serve the Southwest United States and New Mexico.
To develop and expand opera appreciation and involvement through innovative, engaging education and outreach programs.
History
In 1992, the present organization began as Opera a la Carte, Inc., whose purpose was to perform opera excerpts. It soon became apparent that the audiences desired fully staged, complete operatic performances. In the fall of 1993, the name was changed to The Opera Company, Inc. with the mission: to bring professional opera productions that are understandable, accessible, and enjoyable to all the residents of El Paso, Texas and the surrounding communities; and to sponsor educational programs that will introduce both youth and adult populations to the world of great vocal music.
In January, 1994 The Opera Company, Inc. initiated a series of well attended luncheons, with a lecture and performance format, in order that people would learn about, and thus come to enjoy opera. In September of that year, the first complete opera, Puccini’s Tosca, was presented. The production received critical acclaim. Encouraged by this response, in May 1995, the company presented The Magic Flute by Mozart. This production received wide recognition and a positive critical review in Opera News, the Metropolitan Opera’s international magazine.
The 1995-96 season saw the beginning of the first subscription series with presentations of Bizet’s Carmen and The Barber of Seville by Rossini. Again, both productions were enthusiastically received by the audience and won critical praise. This resulted in more than five hundred subscription seats were sold for the 1996-97 season of Madama Butterfly by Puccini and Rigoletto by Verdi. This season, English supertitles were projected above the stage and the “Friends of the Opera”, a support auxiliary group, was organized.
El Paso Opera’s fourth season, 1997-98, included Mozart’s Don Giovanni and La Boheme by Puccini. Both productions were immensely successful, with near sell-outs for both presentations of La Bohème. To accommodate our large Hispanic audience, Spanish language supertitles were also implemented during this season.
The 1998-99 season began with a spectacular production of Verdi’s Aida. The Saturday night performance was a sell-out and the excitement of its success has brought this young company to the forefront in the arts community. The Elixir of Love by Donizetti was presented at the end of April and transported the audience to the 1800’s border town of the southwest.
The 1999-2000 season was a first in both arenas of the company’s mission. The community demonstrated its immense support with Verdi’s La Traviata in the fall and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci in the spring as El Paso Opera’s first sell-out season. The subscriber base increased from 700 season subscribers to over 1000. The education committee launched its first artist in residence program. Young artists that are recruited from national auditions, spend four months performing outreach programs for area schools. Approximately 25,000 children were impacted by the company’s programs. The outreach programs were also extended to include retirement villages.
The next seasons maintained the El Paso Opera’s sell-out reputation with Roméo and Juliette and Turandot. Projections of the performances of Faust, and Lucia di Lammermoor as sell-outs led the EPO to add a matinee to better accommodate families and seniors. Most recently the EPO has had all sell-out performances of Madama Butterfly and Carmen (2003-2004). The upcoming 12th season will include: La Bohème, Fall 2005, and The Tales of Hoffmann, Spring 2006. Outreach programs have also expanded into our sister city of Juárez, Mexico, as well as in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Opera on Wheels visits children at Sierra Providence through the auspices of Candlelighters and at the Junior Women’s Club of El Paso’s Spooktacular. The Artist in Residence also performed annually at venues such as Music Forum El Paso, the El Paso Women’s Club, Rotary Club meetings, and the Music Café at the University of Texas El Paso.
El Paso Opera's 11th Season opened with an energy-filled and provocative production of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca. The audience was mesmerized by the strong performances given by our wonderful cast and the inspired vision of Carroll Freeman, Stage Director. This spring brought Mozart's masterpiece, Così fan Tutte to an enthusiastic and appreciative audience. All of the opera productions are of a high, professional quality, with principal roles sung by national and international professionals. The supporting and chorus roles are sung by local professional performers. The orchestral and technical support is also provided by local artists. Funding has been achieved through generous grants from national, state, and local foundations as well as through annual solicitation drives. Businesses and private support is growing, enabling El Paso Opera to continue offering professional opera to the community and outreach to the area’s children, who will be the company’s future audiences and patrons
Seven years ago, El Paso Opera launched its Educational Outreach component in an effort to provide much-needed creative arts programming to local schools. The three-pronged Educational Outreach program includes; classroom workshops, mini-operas and accessibility to main stage productions for approximately 25,000 Kindergarten through College students. The “Opera on Wheels”, component in the 2003 - 2004 season presented a mini-opera rendition of Mozart’s Magic Flute to 3rd and 4th graders in El Paso and West Texas. This production included four “Artists in Residence”, who competed for these positions in auditions in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles. Additionally, each season, high school and college students participate in “Youth Night at the Opera” by attending the final dress rehearsal of the El Paso Opera’s main stage productions. In 2003-2004, the operas presented were Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Bizet’s Carmen. In 2004, two of the Artists in Residence were featured in our production of Tosca. Lastly, the “Artists in the Schools” spring program provides one of the artists in residence the chance to present workshops, concerts, career counseling for middle, high and college students who are interested in pursuing a musical career.
Opera Etiquette
The world of Opera! So many wonderful emotions, so many breathtaking experiences! In this section you will find information that may be useful to you.
General Information:
Cameras and recording devices are strictly prohibited. We ask that you turn off all pagers and cellular phones or any other electronic devices before the performance. Latecomers will be seated at intermission.
How should I dress?
So now comes the hard part, how should I dress to attend the opera? No dress requirements or dress codes are required when attending the opera. Usually you will encounter people dressed in cocktail attire, others in business attire and others dressed formally.
A fter you decide what to wear, arriving at The Abraham Chavez Theatre might be confusing, especially if it's your first time. So we suggest arriving 45 minutes before curtain at the theater. This way you will avoid traffic and have enough time to find your seat.
In order to enjoy the opera you may want to take a little bit of time preparing for this wonderful experience. You can start by listening to a recording of the opera you're about to hear, and while you are listening, follow along with the libretto. You may also rent and view a video tape of the production. By preparing for the opera we hope you will get the most out of it.
Are children allowed?
We welcome children age 7 and over accompanied by an adult. Silence is expected as proper performance behavior.
How early should I arrive?
Arriving at The Abraham Chavez Theatre might be confusing, especially if it's your first time. So we suggest arriving 45 minutes before curtain at the theater. This way you will avoid traffic and have enough time to find your seat.
Is dinner available before the opera?
A location for the Dinners Before The Opera will be announced at a later date!
Where can I park?
Parking for The Abraham Chavez Theatre will be available for a $4 fee. The entrance to this parking lot is on Santa Fe Street.
Synopsis:
IL TABARRO Michele's barge on the Seine in Paris. Giorgetta is busy with her chores, while her husband, Michele, stands on deck. He asks her to kiss him, which she does, but without affection. She offers wine to Luigi, one of the stevedores, and they are joined by two other deckhands, Tinca and Talpa. They begin a dance, only to be interrupted by Michele's return. With a song seller peddling his songs in the background, Giorgetta asks Michele why he seems so troubled, but he does not answer. Talpa's wife, Frugola, arrives to take him home and displays the wares she has collected on her daily rounds. Tinca plans to drown his troubles in drink; Luigi agrees that is the only way to cope with their bleak existence. Frugola dreams of a little house in the country, and Giorgetta wishes she could leave the barge. She and Luigi consider the beauty of the city and its quiet suburbs. After Frugola and Talpa leave, Giorgetta and Luigi express their love for each other. Suddenly, Michele appears from the cabin, and Luigi, finding it unbearable to share his beloved Giorgetta with another, asks to be put off the barge when they reach Rouen. Michele convinces him not to leave his job, assuring him there's no work in Rouen, and returns to the hold. Giorgetta and Luigi arrange to meet later that evening. She will leave the gangplank in place and light a match when Michele has gone to sleep. Luigi goes off, and Michele again comes on deck. Sensing Giorgetta's restlessness, he tries unsuccessfully to evoke her past love for him by recalling happier days before the death of their child. When she goes inside, Michele expresses his suspicions that Giorgetta is in love with another man. He settles down on the deck and lights his pipe. Mistaking the light for Giorgetta's signal, Luigi rushes on board. Michele grabs him, forces him to admit his love for Giorgetta and strangles him, then conceals the body in his cloak. Giorgetta reappears on deck to apologize to Michele, who throws open his cloak to reveal Luigi's dead body.
SUOR ANGELICA A convent. Sister Angelica and two lay sisters are late for chapel. The Monitor chides them for not doing penance, as Sister Angelica has done. Some of the sisters confess they still long for worldly pleasures — Sister Genovieffa for the lambs she used to tend and Sister Dolcina for sweet things to eat. Sister Angelica denies she has any such desires, but the others know she desperately longs for some word from her family. For seven years she has heard nothing from them, and the sisters speculate that she was a princess, banished to the convent for reasons they have been unable to discover. Soon alms collectors arrive, distributing the food they have gathered. One of them mentions that a magnificent coach bearing a visitor stands outside the convent gate. Angelica is startled and, with increasing anxiety, asks her to describe the coach in detail. A bell rings announcing the visitor. The Abbess enters and tells Angelica that her aunt, the Princess, has come to see her. Approaching, the Princess rejects Angelica's gestures of affection. The Princess explains that when Angelica's parents died, she was made guardian of both Angelica and her sister, Anna Viola, and was given control over their inheritance. Anna Viola is to be married, and the Princess demands that Angelica sign her share over to her sister. Having brought disgrace on the family name, the Princess declares, Angelica is no longer entitled to any part of the inheritance. Crushed by her aunt's cruelty, Angelica swears she has repented. She cannot, however, erase the memory of her little son, who, she learns, died two years ago. Her will now broken, Angelica sobs and signs the document. The Princess withdraws, and Angelica grieves that her son died without his mother by his side. Resolving to join her child in heaven, she drinks poison. She is then struck by the reality of what she has done and prays for salvation. A celestial choir is heard, and Angelica sees a vision of the Blessed Virgin with her child.
GIANNI SCHICCHI The Palazzo of Buoso Donati in Florence. The greedy relatives of the wealthy Buoso Donati gather at his deathbed to mourn his passing and investigate the details of his will. There are rumors that the old man has left nearly everything to a monastery. If his will has not been filed with a notary, however, there is still hope for the relatives, who begin a frantic search for the document. Young Rinuccio finds it and makes his Aunt Zita promise to let him marry his beloved Lauretta if there is enough money. They read the will, which proves the rumors were true; the relatives finally shed genuine tears. Rinuccio suggests that Lauretta's father, Gianni Schicchi, a shrewd self-made man, can help them: this new breed of peasant-turned-businessman will invigorate Florence, which the young man compares to a tree in full flower. Schicchi appears with Lauretta. Disgusted by the hypocrisy and avarice of the aristocratic family, Schicchi is about to leave but decides to stay when Lauretta proclaims her intention to marry Rinuccio. Reading the will, Schicchi devises a plan to impersonate the dead man. He sends Lauretta home and orders the body removed from the bed. The doctor arrives to check on Buoso, but Schicchi's voice convinces the addled doctor that the patient is improving. Schicchi tells the relatives to send for the notary and, putting on Buoso's nightshirt and cap, promises to dictate a new will. The relatives each try to get a promise from Schicchi that he will leave the best parts of the estate to them. Schicchi agrees with every secret request and warns each that they must keep the secret forever or face punishment as accessories to a fraud — a hand cut off and eternal banishment from Florence. The notary arrives with witnesses, and Schicchi dictates that the great part of the estate, including the house they are all in, is to be left to his good friend Gianni Schicchi! The relatives are furious but can say nothing; when the notary leaves, they fall on Schicchi and steal what they can from the house. Schicchi orders them out of his house and points to the young lovers, standing out on the terrace, gazing at the blossoming city. Turning to the audience, he points out how happy his fraud has made the young lovers and pleads for a verdict of not guilty. |
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