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Wikipedia

New York City Opera

April 28, 2023

The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived.

New York City Opera
New York State Theater, home of New York City Opera 1965–2011
AddressNew York City, New York
US
Website
www.nycopera.com

The opera company, dubbed "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943. The company's stated purpose was to make opera accessible to a wide audience at a reasonable ticket price. It also sought to produce an innovative choice of repertory, and provide a home for American singers and composers. The company was originally housed at the New York City Center theater on West 55th Street in Manhattan. It later became part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts at the New York State Theater from 1966 to 2010. During this time it produced autumn and spring seasons of opera in repertory, and maintained extensive education and outreach programs, offering arts-in-education programs to 4,000 students in over 30 schools. In 2011, the company left Lincoln Center due to financial difficulties and moved its offices to 75 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan.[1][2] In the 2011−12 and 2012−13 seasons, NYCO performed four operas at various venues in New York City, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[3] On October 1, 2013, following an unsuccessful emergency fund-raising campaign, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[4][5]

In January 2016, a nonprofit group, NYCO Renaissance, revived the opera company under new management when its reorganization plans for the company to leave bankruptcy and re-launch performances were approved in bankruptcy court.[6][7] The group, led at the time by Roy Niederhoffer, a hedge fund manager and former board member of the NYCO, announced plans to present a season of opera in 2016−17.[6][7] The first opera was Puccini's Tosca, presented at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in January 2016.[8][9][10]

During its 70-year-plus history, the NYCO has helped launch the careers of many great opera singers including Beverly Sills, Sherrill Milnes, Plácido Domingo, Maralin Niska, Carol Vaness, José Carreras, Shirley Verrett, Tatiana Troyanos, Jerry Hadley, Catherine Malfitano, Samuel Ramey, and Gianna Rolandi. Sills later served as the company's director from 1979 until 1989.[11] More recent acclaimed American singers who have called NYCO home include David Daniels, Mark Delavan, Mary Dunleavy, Lauren Flanigan, Elizabeth Futral, Bejun Mehta, Robert Brubaker and Carl Tanner. NYCO has similarly championed the work of American composers; approximately one-third of its repertoire has traditionally been American opera. The company's American repertoire has ranged from established works (e.g., Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe, Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, and Leonard Bernstein's Candide) to new works (e.g., Thomas Pasatieri's Before Breakfast and Mark Adamo's Little Women). NYCO's commitment to the future of American opera was demonstrated in its annual series, Vox, Contemporary Opera Lab, in which operas-in-progress were showcased, giving composers a chance to hear their work performed by professional singers and orchestra. The company has also occasionally produced musicals and operettas, including works by Stephen Sondheim and Gilbert and Sullivan.

Early years: 1943–51

The NYCO was founded as the New York City Center Opera, and originally made its home at the New York City Center on West 55th Street, in Manhattan. City Center's chair of the finance committee, Morton Baum, mayor Fiorello La Guardia and council president Newbold Morris hired Laszlo Halasz hired the company's first director,[12] serving in that position from 1943 until 1951. Given the company's goal of making opera accessible to the masses, Halasz believed that tickets should be inexpensive and that productions should be staged convincingly with singers who were both physically and vocally suited to their roles. To this end, ticket prices during the company's first season were priced at just 75 cents to $2 ($31 in current dollar terms), and the company operated on a budget of $30,463 ($4,700,000 in current dollar terms) during its first season. At such prices the company was unable to afford the star billing enjoyed by the Metropolitan Opera. Halasz, however, was able to turn this fact into a virtue by making the company an important platform for young singers, particularly American opera singers.[13]

The company's first season opened on February 21, 1944, with Giacomo Puccini's Tosca,[12] and included productions of Friedrich von Flotow's Martha and Georges Bizet's Carmen, all of them conducted by Halasz. Several notable singers performed with the company in the first season, including Dusolina Giannini, Jennie Tourel and Martha Lipton, who was immediately poached by the Met after their NYCO debuts. Other notable singers Halasz brought to the NYCO included Frances Bible, Adelaide Bishop, Débria Brown, Mack Harrell, Thomas Hayward, Dorothy Kirsten, Brenda Lewis, Eva Likova, Leon Lishner, Regina Resnik, Norman Scott, Ramón Vinay, and Frances Yeend. In 1945, the company became the first major opera company to have an African American performer. This was in the production of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, with Todd Duncan's performance as Tonio.[13] Lawrence Winters and Robert McFerrin were other notable African American opera pioneers to sing with the company during this period. The first African American woman to sing with the company was soprano Camilla Williams, as the title heroine in Madama Butterfly in 1946.[14]

Halasz had a tumultuous relationship with the company's board of directors, given his strong opinions about what the NYCO should be. For one, he supported the idea of performing foreign language works in English to make opera more accessible to American audiences. He insisted on offering at least one production in English every season. The issue that created, the most tension between Halasz and the board was Halasz's commitment to staging new works by American composers and rarely heard operas at the opera house. The first New York City premiere presented by the company was Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos on October 10, 1946, with Ella Flesch in the title role, Virginia MacWatters as Zerbinetta, and James Pease as the music master. The production was described by the contemporary press as "record breaking",[15] and it put the company "on the map".[16] The NYCO subsequently toured Ariadne to His Majesty's Theatre, Montreal, giving the opera's Canadian premiere.[15]

The first world premiere at the house was William Grant Still's Troubled Island in 1949. It was notably the first grand opera composed by an African-American to be produced in a major opera house.[13] In the fall of 1949, the NYCO revived Prokofiev's comic opera The Love for Three Oranges, which had not been seen in America since its unsuccessful Chicago premiere in 1921. The new production, directed by Vladimir Rosing, turned into a smash hit and was brought back for two additional seasons.[17]

Also in 1949, Halasz scheduled the world premiere of David Tamkin's The Dybbuk to be performed by the NYCO in 1950. However, the NYCO board opposed the decision and ultimately the production was postponed for financial reasons. Halasz, however, rescheduled the work for inclusion in the 1951/52 season. Uneasy with Halasz's bold repertoire choices, the NYCO board insisted in 1951 that Halasz submit his repertory plans for their approval. As a result, he resigned, along with several members of his conducting staff, including Jean Morel, and two of his eventual successors, Joseph Rosenstock and Julius Rudel. Faced with the resignations of most of their creative staff, the board reluctantly backed down and The Dybbuk was given its world premiere at the NYCO on October 4, 1951. But tensions remained high between Halasz and the board, and they fired him in late 1951 when Halasz became involved in union disputes.[13]

Rosenstock and Leinsdorf: 1952–57

After Halász was fired, the NYCO board appointed Joseph Rosenstock, who was already working as a conductor with the company, as the new director. He served in that post for four seasons, during which time he continued in Halász's steps of scheduling innovative programs with unusual repertoire mixed in with standard works. He notably staged the world premiere of Aaron Copland's The Tender Land, the New York premiere of William Walton's Troilus and Cressida, and the United States premieres of Gottfried von Einem's The Trial and Béla Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle.[18] Rosenstock was also the first NYCO director to include musical theatre in the company's repertoire, with a 1954 production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat; a production which starred Broadway musical veteran and operatic soprano Helena Bliss. This decision was ridiculed by the press, but Rosenstock felt justified as the musical played to a packed house. Meanwhile, the company's staging of Donizetti's then rarely heard opera Don Pasquale that season only sold 35 percent of the house seats.[19]

In January 1956 the NYCO board accepted Rosenstock's resignation. He stated that he left because he was faced with too much non-musical work such as bookings and business negotiations. The board appointed Erich Leinsdorf, who had worked as a conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Rochester Philharmonic, to take his place.[18] Leinsdorf stayed with the company for only one season. He was fired after his ambitious program of contemporary and unusual works for the 1956 season failed to soothe financial problems at the NYCO, and drew harsh criticism from the press. The press particularly did not care for his new productions of Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld and the American premiere of Carl Orff's Der Mond. However, Leinsdorf did have one major triumph with the first professional production of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah with Phyllis Curtin in the title role, and Norman Treigle as the Reverend Blitch. The production was a critical success with both audiences and critics, and the opera went on to become an American classic.[19][20]

Rudel: 1957–79

 
The New York State Theater auditorium as seen from the stage (now the David H. Koch Theater)

After Leinsdorf was fired, the NYCO board canceled its 1957 spring season and eventually appointed Julius Rudel as the new general director of the company. Rudel had been hired by the NYCO straight out of college in 1944, and had worked on the conducting staff there for 13 years. Under Rudel's leadership, the company reached new artistic heights, drawing critical praise for its performances of both standard and adventurous works. The company became known for its cutting-edge stage direction, largely due to Rudel's willingness to poach renowned directors from the theatre who had not necessarily been involved with opera before. By the mid-1960s the company was generally regarded as one of the leading opera companies in the United States.[21]

During his tenure at City Opera, Rudel displayed a strong commitment to American opera, commissioning 12 works and leading 19 world premieres. He also led a large number of United States premieres, including Alberto Ginastera's Don Rodrigo with tenor Plácido Domingo for the inauguration of the NYCO's new home at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center (now called the David H. Koch Theater) on February 22, 1966.[22] That same season the company presented the New York premiere of Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites.[21]

Like his predecessors, Rudel had an eye for young American talent and was responsible for helping to cultivate a couple of generations of American singers. Among the singers whose careers he furthered were bass-baritone Samuel Ramey and lirico-spinto soprano Carol Vaness. One of his most apt decisions was in forming an artistic partnership with Beverly Sills, making her the NYCO's leading soprano from 1956 until her retirement from the stage in 1979,[21] although Joseph Rosenstock deserves the credit for hiring her in 1955 for her first performances with the company. With the NYCO Sills had her first major critical success in the first Handel opera staged by the company, the role of Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare opposite Norman Treigle in 1966. At that time Handel operas were rarely produced and the production drew a lot of attention from the international press. Sills was soon making appearances with all the major opera houses around the world. While Sills was busy with her international career, she remained a regular performer with the NYCO until her retirement.[23] In 1970 John Simon White was appointed managing director of the NYCO, in order to free up Rudel's schedule for the more artistic side of his job. White remained in that position until 1980.[24]

Sills: 1979–88

 
Beverly Sills in 1956, photo by Carl Van Vechten

Upon Sills's retirement from the stage in 1979, she succeeded Rudel as General Director of the NYCO. Initially the plan was for Sills to share the post with Rudel, and slowly phase him out. However, Rudel decided to resign in 1979 in order to take a position as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, and Sills took the post over entirely.[23]

At the time Sills assumed her position, the NYCO was in financial difficulties, burdened with a three million dollar debt after a few seasons with less than favorable reviews. On the business side, Sills proved to be a godsend to the company, showing a prodigious gift for fund-raising. By the time she retired from her post in early 1989, she had grown the company's budget from $9 million ($34,000,000 in current dollar terms) to $26 million ($57,000,000 in current dollar terms), and left the company in the black with a $3 million ($7,000,000 in current dollar terms) surplus. She was able to achieve this while still reducing ticket prices by 20 percent, with the hope of attracting new and younger audiences.[23]

Keene: 1989–95

 
Promenade of the David H. Koch Theater

Sills retired as General Director in 1989, and was replaced by conductor Christopher Keene—largely on the basis of Sills' strong recommendation. Keene had previously worked as a conductor at the NYCO since 1970, and had served as the NYCO's Music Director from 1982 to 1986. Keene consistently presented innovative opera seasons that were successful with critics during his tenure. His last season with the company included the United States premieres of Toshiro Mayuzumi's Kinkakuji [The Golden Pavilion] and Jost Meier's Dreyfus Affair. A month before his death Peter G. Davis wrote in New York that "Keene is one of the few authentic cultural heroes New York has left, thanks to his many recent acts of courage, personal as well as artistic."[25]

Keene held the position until his death from lymphoma arising from AIDS at the age of 48. His last performance, at the City Opera, was of Hindemith's Mathis der Maler in September 1995.[25]

Kellogg: 1996–2007

Keene was succeeded in 1996 by Glimmerglass Opera's general and artistic director, Paul Kellogg. Under his leadership, the NYCO added 62 new productions to its repertoire, including several world premieres by American composers, and inaugurated the series: Vox: Showcasing American Composers. Kellogg was also instrumental in establishing the NYCO as an important producer of operas by baroque masters such as Handel, Gluck, and Rameau, sparking a renewal of interest in these long-neglected works. A particular triumph was a highly lauded production of Handel's Orlando in 2007 in a modern production by Chas Rader-Shieber that starred countertenor Bejun Mehta and the soprano Amy Burton.[26][27] In keeping with NYCO's "people's opera" tradition, Kellogg inaugurated NYCO's "Opera for All" event, with reduced priced tickets, in 2005.[28]

Kellogg announced his retirement in 2007. Anthony Tommasini, in The New York Times, commented that Kellogg had "a record of innovation and achievement to be proud of. Few leaders of performing-arts institutions have been as effective at defining and carrying out a company mission".[29] Tommasini called Kellogg's decision, at the urging of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, to open its season on September 15, 2001, directly after the 9/11 attacks, "the most meaningful day of music in 2001," and later used NYCO's opening day in 2001 and its 2009/10 season as symbolic bookends for New York's music scene in the first decade of the 21st century.[30][31]

Vox, Contemporary Opera Lab

Vox, Contemporary Opera Lab (also known as Vox: Showcasing American Composers) was an annual concert series dedicated to the development of contemporary American operas. Founded by New York City Opera in 1999, the festival offered composers and librettists the opportunity to hear excerpts of their works performed with professional singers and musicians. Up to twelve excerpts of previously un-produced operas were performed at each festival.[32] Many of the operas that were presented at Vox went on to be presented in full production by New York City Opera and various other opera companies, including Richard Danielpour's Margaret Garner.[33] From 2006, the Vox performances were presented at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.[34]

Interregnum: 2008–09

A note of uncertainty about the company's future emerged in November 2008, when Gerard Mortier, who was scheduled to begin his first official season as General and Artistic Director of the company in 2009, abruptly resigned. The company announced that "The economic climate in which we find ourselves today has caused us both to reconsider proceeding with our plans." Mortier had reportedly been promised a $60 million annual budget, which was cut to $36 million due to the economic climate. Michael Kaiser was appointed to advise the board on a turnaround strategy, including the recruitment of a new general director.[35]

The David H. Koch Theater (previously known as the New York State Theater) underwent major renovations during the 2008/09 season. During the construction the company did not stage opera in its home at Lincoln Center. Instead, New York City Opera presented a concert version of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra at Carnegie Hall in January 2009, as well as other concerts and programs around the city, and continued to make classroom presentations in New York City's public schools.[26] The company presented three concerts at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in 2009: I'm On My Way: Black History at City Opera, One Fine Day: A Tribute to Camilla Williams, and a 60th anniversary concert production of William Grant Still's Troubled Island.[36]

In June 2009 Bloomberg reported that the company had incurred a $11 million deficit for the year ending June 2008. Revenue fell 23 percent to $32.9 million, and expenses rose 11 percent to $44.2 million.[37]

Steel: 2009–13

In January 2009, the company announced the appointment of George Steel as general manager and artistic director, effective February 1, 2009.[38] The New York Times reported at the time that "many consider [the NYCO] the nation's second most important house."[38]

In January 2009, when Steel was asked to take the helm of the opera to try to turn the company around,[39] it had suffered a string of financial and managerial blows:[40] a decade of multimillion-dollar deficits,[41] a "dark" season in 2008/09 (i.e., a season without any staged opera performances), the depletion of Company's endowment to pay off a huge accumulated deficit,[42] the market collapse of 2008, the radical reduction by the board of the budget and of the size of the season, and the sudden withdrawal of Gerard Mortier,[43] who was to have become General Manager after a lengthy period without leadership (Paul Kellogg, the previous General Director had left in 2007).[44]

Under Steel during the 2009–2010 season, the company returned with an opening night program called American Voices consisting of excerpts from American opera. The season also included a revival of Hugo Weisgall's Esther, and a new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni directed by Christopher Alden. The spring season opened in March 2010 and included Emmanuel Chabrier's L'étoile directed by Mark Lamos, and Handel's Partenope directed by Andrew Chown; original production directed by Francisco Negrin. The company also continued to collaborate with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Opera Noire of New York to highlight the role of opera in African-American history, including the programs Opera at the Schomburg, A Tribute to Robert McFerrin, and X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X.[45] In April 2010, NYCO's VOX Contemporary Opera Lab featured new works of emerging and established composers at New York University.[46]

The company's 2010–2011 season included a new production of Leonard Bernstein's A Quiet Place directed by Christopher Alden; Richard Strauss's Intermezzo directed by Leon Major; and a new production titled Monodramas which consisted of three solo one-act works: John Zorn's La Machine de l'être, Arnold Schoenberg's Erwartung, and Morton Feldman's Neither. The company also staged the American premiere of Séance on a Wet Afternoon, the first opera by Stephen Schwartz, the veteran composer of Broadway musicals.[47]

In addition, the company presented several concert performances that included: An Evening With Christine Brewer; Lucky To Be Me: The Music of Leonard Bernstein; John Zorn & Friends (with Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Mike Patton, Marc Ribot, Dave Douglas, and Uri Caine); a family opera concert of Oliver Knussen's Where the Wild Things Are with a libretto by Maurice Sendak; and Defying Gravity: The Music of Stephen Schwartz with Kristin Chenoweth and Raúl Esparza.[48][49] In May 2011, the company announced that it would leave Lincoln Center to conserve costs, and present its upcoming season in different venues throughout the city.[50]

On the business side, the opera underwent tremendous change under Steel's tenure, which both balanced the budget and extended the life of the company. These changes led directly to the opera's first balanced budgets in an over a decade and a sold-out 2011–2012 season.[40] Some of the steps Steel took in his efforts to save the company aroused controversy, including a contentious, but ultimately successful, contract negotiation with the labor unions representing the orchestra and the singers,[51] and the departure of the opera from Lincoln Center out of financial necessity.[40] While the company had for more than a decade discussed publicly the idea of leaving Lincoln Center,[52] the company's ultimate departure, driven by the financial reality that the opera would otherwise have to close, was met alternately with praise and scepticism.[53] Notwithstanding artistic successes, record fundraising, and dramatic changes to the company's business model, the opera ultimately succumbed to bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy: 2013–15

On October 1, 2013, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, citing an inability to raise sufficient funding to continue the 2013/14 season.[54][55][56][57] The company's last production was the U.S. premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Anna Nicole. The case was before Judge Sean Lane.[58]

In an article in the New York Times, music critic Anthony Tommasini noted one of the reasons for the company's 2013 bankruptcy (as well as relating it to other failed arts organizations):

In short, artistic excellence is not enough. Any institution, big or small, old or new, must have a clear artistic vision, a purpose that connects with audiences and the community. But the performing arts have never been profit-making endeavors. It is more important than ever that all institutions, from a fledgling string quartet to the lofty Metropolitan Opera, have an effective business model.[59]

Revival: 2016–present

A not-for-profit company named NYCO Renaissance Ltd. proposed a Chapter 11 plan for the reorganization of New York City Opera in 2015, and the reorganization of the existing company took place in 2016.[58][6] An additional incentive was made to those who had purchased tickets and not received a refund.[60]

The group announced plans to relaunch New York City Opera in January 2016, with a mix of opera staples and niche works.[6][61] The proposed new home for a revived NYCO is the modern 1,100-seat Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center.[61][62] Both the City Opera board and – unanimously – the creditors' committee (those owed money in the bankruptcy) preferred the bid of NYCO Renaissance, which was backed financially and chaired by Roy Niederhoffer, a hedge fund manager and accomplished amateur musician who had earlier served on the New York City Opera board, and who pledged more than $1 million of his own money to the effort, and raised at least $2.5 million.[7][8][57][58][61][63][64]

The bankruptcy court approved the reorganization plan of New York City Opera Renaissance, allowing it to leave bankruptcy and re-launch performances, in January 2016.[6][7] Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane said he was pleased to approve the plan of "a beloved and important cultural institution," and that "It's been the participation of people who care greatly about the opera that's led to what I think is a very good result here today."[7] Under the reorganization plan, the opera will put on annual seasons, and its general director will be Michael Capasso.[6] Gail Kruvand, the chairwoman of the City Opera orchestra committee, said: "We're thrilled ... and we're looking forward to a long future with New York City Opera."[6]

NYCO Renaissance presented Puccini's Tosca – using Adolfo Hohenstein's stage and costume design from the opera's premiere in 1900 in Rome – in January 2016 at the 1,100-seat Rose Theater.[65] It had two separate casts, including tenor James Valenti and soprano Latonia Moore, and the least expensive balcony seats were $25.[10][65][66][67] Tosca had been, in 1944, the first opera performed by the NYCO.[8][61][65]

The NYCO announced that it would round out the 2015–16 season with the performance of three contemporary works, all new to the company. On March 16, 2016, a new concert series at the Appel Room in Jazz at Lincoln Center was inaugurated with the premiere of David Hertzberg's "Sunday Morning". A work for soprano and small ensemble, it featured soprano Sarah Shafer and mezzo-soprano Kirstin Chávez.[68] That was followed by the East Coast premiere of composer Stewart Wallace's and librettist Michael Korie's Hopper's Wife – a surreal, erotically-charged 90-minute 1997 chamber opera fantasy about an imagined marriage between the painter Edward Hopper and the gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. It was directed by Andreas Mitisek at Harlem Stage from April 28 through May 1, 2016, in his New York City directorial debut.[69] Third, the NYCO staged Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas June 22–26, 2016 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater. Based on the writing of Gabriel García Márquez, the opera was part of a new Spanish-language opera series named Ópera en Español.[70][71][72][73][74] Reviewing the performance, James Jorden of The New York Observer wrote: "[in] the current offering of the resurrected New York City Opera ... every page of the score sails orgasmically over the top, as sinfully rich as molten caramel sauce ... The reconstituted New York City Opera should be bursting with pride at the high level of quality extending across every aspect of this presentation ... Among as strong a cast of vocalists as I've heard at NYCO in 20 years or more, the standout appropriately was Elizabeth Caballero as Florencia. ... this production makes it clear that the company is at the very top of its game."[75] The Wall Street Journal opined that "Ms. Caballero is a find."[76] New York Classical Review, while noting some staging flaws, wrote: "If this is to be the standard of the company's work going forward, the future may be very bright indeed."[77]

The NYCO's Opening Night for the 2016–17 season, on September 8, 2016, was a new production double bill of two operas that both premiered in May 1892, Aleko (a New York premier; composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff, an adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's poem The Gypsies) and Pagliacci (by Ruggero Leoncavallo). They were directed by Lev Pugliese, with conductor James Meena leading the NYCO Orchestra, at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall.[78] Bass Stefan Szkafarowsky made his NYCO debut in the title role of Aleko, and Pagliacci featured tenor Francesco Anile in his NYCO debut as Canio.[78] Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times wrote that "the performance offered animated, if sometimes scrappy, playing by the New York City Opera Orchestra ... and vibrant singing from the company's chorus. ... "Pagliacci" offers strong, if not exceptional, vocal performances in the leading roles. The tenor Francesco Anile brings a sizable, somewhat nasal voice to Canio, the betrayed husband. As Nedda, his straying wife, the soprano Jessica Rose Cambio sings with agile coloratura and mostly shimmering sound. ... An enthusiastic audience showed up for the opening event in what should be a revealing, even defining, season for the rebooted City Opera."[79] New York Classical Review wrote: "On this occasion, Pagliacci emerged considerably more moving than the recent Met production by David McVicar, mostly due to the Rose's increased intimacy. It also didn't hurt that, for the role of Canio, the company snagged Francesco Anile ... [who] has the voice: a clear, expressive instrument that pleasantly "pings" above the orchestra, and equally, what appears to be a fountain of acting chops. In the famous scene in which Canio realizes that Nedda has been unfaithful, the soft sobbing into his costume was undeniably affecting. And when he leaped onstage to open the traveling show, his drunkenness was believable, not overdone. ... After a rocky few years, this musically and emotionally satisfying double bill is the best evidence yet that this storied company may at last be staggering to its feet."[80] The Huffington Post opined: "NYCO is on the right track to re-establishing itself as a force in the opera world."[81]

In January 2022,[82] NYCO produced the world premiere of Michael Korie and Ricky Ian Gordon's The Garden of the Finzi-Continis in co-production with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.

World premieres

References

Notes

  1. ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (May 23, 2011). "City Opera Departure Brings Questions". The New York Times. from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  2. ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (December 6, 2011). "City Opera Leaving Lincoln Center". The New York Times. from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  3. ^ . New York City Opera. Archived from the original on November 11, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  4. ^ Cooper, Michael (September 29, 2013). "Veterans of City Opera, Proudly Wistful, Reflect as the Curtain Falls". The New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  5. ^ Cooper, Michael (October 7, 2013). "New York City Opera Announces It Will Close". The New York Times. from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Michael Cooper (January 12, 2016). "New York City Opera Will Return, and Soon, Under Reorganization Plan". The New York Times. from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e Stephanie Gleason (January 12, 2016). "Judge OKs City Opera's Revival Plan". The Wall Street Journal. from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c Michael Cooper (November 11, 2015). "Effort to Revive City Opera Includes a Tosca Staging". The New York Times. from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  9. ^ Michael Cooper (December 2, 2015). "A Group Cedes Its Bid to Revive City Opera to a Rival". The New York Times. from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Review: Tosca, From NYCO Renaissance, Puts a Grand Ambition to the Test January 2, 2017, at the Wayback Machine by Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, January 21, 2016
  11. ^ Tommasini, Anthony. "Beverly Sills, All-American Diva With Brooklyn Roots, Is Dead at 78" May 5, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, July 4, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
  12. ^ a b Holland, Bernard (July 1, 1984). "City Opera at 40 – Young as Ever". Section 2. The New York Times. p. 1. from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d Allan Kozinn (October 31, 2001). "Laszlo Halasz, First Director Of City Opera, Is Dead at 96". The New York Times. from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  14. ^ Southern, Eileen (1997). The Music of Black Americans – A History. W. W. Norton. p. 417. ISBN 978-0-393-97141-5.
  15. ^ a b "Strauss Created New Orchestra in Writing His Operad Ariadne". Montreal Gazette. November 26, 1946.
  16. ^ Rebecca Paller (October 12, 2006). "Homecoming". Playbill. from the original on September 9, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  17. ^ "The Love for Three Oranges: A Slaphappy Fairy Tale Makes a Smash-Hit Opera", Life Magazine, November 1949.
  18. ^ a b . TIME. January 9, 1956. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  19. ^ a b Allan Kozinn (July 25, 1993). "Classical Music; City Opera Turns 50, But Who's Counting?". The New York Times. from the original on September 17, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  20. ^ Howard Taubman (November 4, 1956). "Cliff Hanger; Peril and Heroics Mark Story of City Center". The New York Times. from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  21. ^ a b c Anne Midgette (October 19, 2006). "City Opera's Great Innovator Returns, Baton at the Ready". The New York Times. from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
  22. ^ Robin, William (March 2, 2016). "Protecting Alberto Ginastera From Oblivion". The New York Times. from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  23. ^ a b c Anthony Tommasini (July 2, 2007). "Beverly Sills, Acclaimed Soprano, Dies at 78". The New York Times. from the original on June 5, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
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Further reading

  • McKenna, Harold J. (1981). New York City Opera Sings – Stories and Productions of the New York City Opera, 1944–79. New York: Richards Rosen Press. ISBN 978-0-8239-0544-7.
  • Sokol, Martin L. (1981). The New York City Opera – An American Adventure. MacMillan. ISBN 0-02-612280-4.
  • Waleson, Heidi (2018). Mad scenes and exit arias : the death of the New York City Opera and the future of opera in America. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9781627794978.

External links

  • Official website
  • New York City Opera's channel on YouTube
  • New York City Opera collected news and commentary at The New York Times
  • Biography of Laszlo Halasz
  • Finding aid to the New York City Opera records at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
  • Interview with Laszlo Halasz, November 28, 1987

April 28, 2023
york, city, opera, nyco, american, opera, company, located, manhattan, york, city, company, been, active, from, 1943, through, 2013, when, filed, bankruptcy, again, since, 2016, when, revived, york, state, theater, home, 1965, 2011addressnew, york, city, yorku. The New York City Opera NYCO is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 when it filed for bankruptcy and again since 2016 when it was revived New York City OperaNew York State Theater home of New York City Opera 1965 2011AddressNew York City New YorkUSWebsitewww wbr nycopera wbr comThe opera company dubbed the people s opera by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia was founded in 1943 The company s stated purpose was to make opera accessible to a wide audience at a reasonable ticket price It also sought to produce an innovative choice of repertory and provide a home for American singers and composers The company was originally housed at the New York City Center theater on West 55th Street in Manhattan It later became part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts at the New York State Theater from 1966 to 2010 During this time it produced autumn and spring seasons of opera in repertory and maintained extensive education and outreach programs offering arts in education programs to 4 000 students in over 30 schools In 2011 the company left Lincoln Center due to financial difficulties and moved its offices to 75 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan 1 2 In the 2011 12 and 2012 13 seasons NYCO performed four operas at various venues in New York City including the Brooklyn Academy of Music 3 On October 1 2013 following an unsuccessful emergency fund raising campaign the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 4 5 In January 2016 a nonprofit group NYCO Renaissance revived the opera company under new management when its reorganization plans for the company to leave bankruptcy and re launch performances were approved in bankruptcy court 6 7 The group led at the time by Roy Niederhoffer a hedge fund manager and former board member of the NYCO announced plans to present a season of opera in 2016 17 6 7 The first opera was Puccini s Tosca presented at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in January 2016 8 9 10 During its 70 year plus history the NYCO has helped launch the careers of many great opera singers including Beverly Sills Sherrill Milnes Placido Domingo Maralin Niska Carol Vaness Jose Carreras Shirley Verrett Tatiana Troyanos Jerry Hadley Catherine Malfitano Samuel Ramey and Gianna Rolandi Sills later served as the company s director from 1979 until 1989 11 More recent acclaimed American singers who have called NYCO home include David Daniels Mark Delavan Mary Dunleavy Lauren Flanigan Elizabeth Futral Bejun Mehta Robert Brubaker and Carl Tanner NYCO has similarly championed the work of American composers approximately one third of its repertoire has traditionally been American opera The company s American repertoire has ranged from established works e g Douglas Moore s The Ballad of Baby Doe Carlisle Floyd s Susannah and Leonard Bernstein s Candide to new works e g Thomas Pasatieri s Before Breakfast and Mark Adamo s Little Women NYCO s commitment to the future of American opera was demonstrated in its annual series Vox Contemporary Opera Lab in which operas in progress were showcased giving composers a chance to hear their work performed by professional singers and orchestra The company has also occasionally produced musicals and operettas including works by Stephen Sondheim and Gilbert and Sullivan Contents 1 Early years 1943 51 2 Rosenstock and Leinsdorf 1952 57 3 Rudel 1957 79 4 Sills 1979 88 5 Keene 1989 95 6 Kellogg 1996 2007 6 1 Vox Contemporary Opera Lab 7 Interregnum 2008 09 8 Steel 2009 13 9 Bankruptcy 2013 15 10 Revival 2016 present 11 World premieres 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External linksEarly years 1943 51 EditThe NYCO was founded as the New York City Center Opera and originally made its home at the New York City Center on West 55th Street in Manhattan City Center s chair of the finance committee Morton Baum mayor Fiorello La Guardia and council president Newbold Morris hired Laszlo Halasz hired the company s first director 12 serving in that position from 1943 until 1951 Given the company s goal of making opera accessible to the masses Halasz believed that tickets should be inexpensive and that productions should be staged convincingly with singers who were both physically and vocally suited to their roles To this end ticket prices during the company s first season were priced at just 75 cents to 2 31 in current dollar terms and the company operated on a budget of 30 463 4 700 000 in current dollar terms during its first season At such prices the company was unable to afford the star billing enjoyed by the Metropolitan Opera Halasz however was able to turn this fact into a virtue by making the company an important platform for young singers particularly American opera singers 13 The company s first season opened on February 21 1944 with Giacomo Puccini s Tosca 12 and included productions of Friedrich von Flotow s Martha and Georges Bizet s Carmen all of them conducted by Halasz Several notable singers performed with the company in the first season including Dusolina Giannini Jennie Tourel and Martha Lipton who was immediately poached by the Met after their NYCO debuts Other notable singers Halasz brought to the NYCO included Frances Bible Adelaide Bishop Debria Brown Mack Harrell Thomas Hayward Dorothy Kirsten Brenda Lewis Eva Likova Leon Lishner Regina Resnik Norman Scott Ramon Vinay and Frances Yeend In 1945 the company became the first major opera company to have an African American performer This was in the production of Leoncavallo s Pagliacci with Todd Duncan s performance as Tonio 13 Lawrence Winters and Robert McFerrin were other notable African American opera pioneers to sing with the company during this period The first African American woman to sing with the company was soprano Camilla Williams as the title heroine in Madama Butterfly in 1946 14 Halasz had a tumultuous relationship with the company s board of directors given his strong opinions about what the NYCO should be For one he supported the idea of performing foreign language works in English to make opera more accessible to American audiences He insisted on offering at least one production in English every season The issue that created the most tension between Halasz and the board was Halasz s commitment to staging new works by American composers and rarely heard operas at the opera house The first New York City premiere presented by the company was Richard Strauss s Ariadne auf Naxos on October 10 1946 with Ella Flesch in the title role Virginia MacWatters as Zerbinetta and James Pease as the music master The production was described by the contemporary press as record breaking 15 and it put the company on the map 16 The NYCO subsequently toured Ariadne to His Majesty s Theatre Montreal giving the opera s Canadian premiere 15 The first world premiere at the house was William Grant Still s Troubled Island in 1949 It was notably the first grand opera composed by an African American to be produced in a major opera house 13 In the fall of 1949 the NYCO revived Prokofiev s comic opera The Love for Three Oranges which had not been seen in America since its unsuccessful Chicago premiere in 1921 The new production directed by Vladimir Rosing turned into a smash hit and was brought back for two additional seasons 17 Also in 1949 Halasz scheduled the world premiere of David Tamkin s The Dybbuk to be performed by the NYCO in 1950 However the NYCO board opposed the decision and ultimately the production was postponed for financial reasons Halasz however rescheduled the work for inclusion in the 1951 52 season Uneasy with Halasz s bold repertoire choices the NYCO board insisted in 1951 that Halasz submit his repertory plans for their approval As a result he resigned along with several members of his conducting staff including Jean Morel and two of his eventual successors Joseph Rosenstock and Julius Rudel Faced with the resignations of most of their creative staff the board reluctantly backed down and The Dybbuk was given its world premiere at the NYCO on October 4 1951 But tensions remained high between Halasz and the board and they fired him in late 1951 when Halasz became involved in union disputes 13 Rosenstock and Leinsdorf 1952 57 EditAfter Halasz was fired the NYCO board appointed Joseph Rosenstock who was already working as a conductor with the company as the new director He served in that post for four seasons during which time he continued in Halasz s steps of scheduling innovative programs with unusual repertoire mixed in with standard works He notably staged the world premiere of Aaron Copland s The Tender Land the New York premiere of William Walton s Troilus and Cressida and the United States premieres of Gottfried von Einem s The Trial and Bela Bartok s Bluebeard s Castle 18 Rosenstock was also the first NYCO director to include musical theatre in the company s repertoire with a 1954 production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II s Show Boat a production which starred Broadway musical veteran and operatic soprano Helena Bliss This decision was ridiculed by the press but Rosenstock felt justified as the musical played to a packed house Meanwhile the company s staging of Donizetti s then rarely heard opera Don Pasquale that season only sold 35 percent of the house seats 19 In January 1956 the NYCO board accepted Rosenstock s resignation He stated that he left because he was faced with too much non musical work such as bookings and business negotiations The board appointed Erich Leinsdorf who had worked as a conductor at the Metropolitan Opera the Cleveland Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic to take his place 18 Leinsdorf stayed with the company for only one season He was fired after his ambitious program of contemporary and unusual works for the 1956 season failed to soothe financial problems at the NYCO and drew harsh criticism from the press The press particularly did not care for his new productions of Jacques Offenbach s Orpheus in the Underworld and the American premiere of Carl Orff s Der Mond However Leinsdorf did have one major triumph with the first professional production of Carlisle Floyd s Susannah with Phyllis Curtin in the title role and Norman Treigle as the Reverend Blitch The production was a critical success with both audiences and critics and the opera went on to become an American classic 19 20 Rudel 1957 79 Edit The New York State Theater auditorium as seen from the stage now the David H Koch Theater After Leinsdorf was fired the NYCO board canceled its 1957 spring season and eventually appointed Julius Rudel as the new general director of the company Rudel had been hired by the NYCO straight out of college in 1944 and had worked on the conducting staff there for 13 years Under Rudel s leadership the company reached new artistic heights drawing critical praise for its performances of both standard and adventurous works The company became known for its cutting edge stage direction largely due to Rudel s willingness to poach renowned directors from the theatre who had not necessarily been involved with opera before By the mid 1960s the company was generally regarded as one of the leading opera companies in the United States 21 During his tenure at City Opera Rudel displayed a strong commitment to American opera commissioning 12 works and leading 19 world premieres He also led a large number of United States premieres including Alberto Ginastera s Don Rodrigo with tenor Placido Domingo for the inauguration of the NYCO s new home at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center now called the David H Koch Theater on February 22 1966 22 That same season the company presented the New York premiere of Poulenc s Dialogues of the Carmelites 21 Like his predecessors Rudel had an eye for young American talent and was responsible for helping to cultivate a couple of generations of American singers Among the singers whose careers he furthered were bass baritone Samuel Ramey and lirico spinto soprano Carol Vaness One of his most apt decisions was in forming an artistic partnership with Beverly Sills making her the NYCO s leading soprano from 1956 until her retirement from the stage in 1979 21 although Joseph Rosenstock deserves the credit for hiring her in 1955 for her first performances with the company With the NYCO Sills had her first major critical success in the first Handel opera staged by the company the role of Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare opposite Norman Treigle in 1966 At that time Handel operas were rarely produced and the production drew a lot of attention from the international press Sills was soon making appearances with all the major opera houses around the world While Sills was busy with her international career she remained a regular performer with the NYCO until her retirement 23 In 1970 John Simon White was appointed managing director of the NYCO in order to free up Rudel s schedule for the more artistic side of his job White remained in that position until 1980 24 Sills 1979 88 Edit Beverly Sills in 1956 photo by Carl Van Vechten Upon Sills s retirement from the stage in 1979 she succeeded Rudel as General Director of the NYCO Initially the plan was for Sills to share the post with Rudel and slowly phase him out However Rudel decided to resign in 1979 in order to take a position as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic and Sills took the post over entirely 23 At the time Sills assumed her position the NYCO was in financial difficulties burdened with a three million dollar debt after a few seasons with less than favorable reviews On the business side Sills proved to be a godsend to the company showing a prodigious gift for fund raising By the time she retired from her post in early 1989 she had grown the company s budget from 9 million 34 000 000 in current dollar terms to 26 million 57 000 000 in current dollar terms and left the company in the black with a 3 million 7 000 000 in current dollar terms surplus She was able to achieve this while still reducing ticket prices by 20 percent with the hope of attracting new and younger audiences 23 Keene 1989 95 Edit Promenade of the David H Koch Theater Sills retired as General Director in 1989 and was replaced by conductor Christopher Keene largely on the basis of Sills strong recommendation Keene had previously worked as a conductor at the NYCO since 1970 and had served as the NYCO s Music Director from 1982 to 1986 Keene consistently presented innovative opera seasons that were successful with critics during his tenure His last season with the company included the United States premieres of Toshiro Mayuzumi s Kinkakuji The Golden Pavilion and Jost Meier s Dreyfus Affair A month before his death Peter G Davis wrote in New York that Keene is one of the few authentic cultural heroes New York has left thanks to his many recent acts of courage personal as well as artistic 25 Keene held the position until his death from lymphoma arising from AIDS at the age of 48 His last performance at the City Opera was of Hindemith s Mathis der Maler in September 1995 25 Kellogg 1996 2007 EditKeene was succeeded in 1996 by Glimmerglass Opera s general and artistic director Paul Kellogg Under his leadership the NYCO added 62 new productions to its repertoire including several world premieres by American composers and inaugurated the series Vox Showcasing American Composers Kellogg was also instrumental in establishing the NYCO as an important producer of operas by baroque masters such as Handel Gluck and Rameau sparking a renewal of interest in these long neglected works A particular triumph was a highly lauded production of Handel s Orlando in 2007 in a modern production by Chas Rader Shieber that starred countertenor Bejun Mehta and the soprano Amy Burton 26 27 In keeping with NYCO s people s opera tradition Kellogg inaugurated NYCO s Opera for All event with reduced priced tickets in 2005 28 Kellogg announced his retirement in 2007 Anthony Tommasini in The New York Times commented that Kellogg had a record of innovation and achievement to be proud of Few leaders of performing arts institutions have been as effective at defining and carrying out a company mission 29 Tommasini called Kellogg s decision at the urging of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to open its season on September 15 2001 directly after the 9 11 attacks the most meaningful day of music in 2001 and later used NYCO s opening day in 2001 and its 2009 10 season as symbolic bookends for New York s music scene in the first decade of the 21st century 30 31 Vox Contemporary Opera Lab Edit Vox Contemporary Opera Lab also known as Vox Showcasing American Composers was an annual concert series dedicated to the development of contemporary American operas Founded by New York City Opera in 1999 the festival offered composers and librettists the opportunity to hear excerpts of their works performed with professional singers and musicians Up to twelve excerpts of previously un produced operas were performed at each festival 32 Many of the operas that were presented at Vox went on to be presented in full production by New York City Opera and various other opera companies including Richard Danielpour s Margaret Garner 33 From 2006 the Vox performances were presented at New York University s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts 34 Interregnum 2008 09 EditA note of uncertainty about the company s future emerged in November 2008 when Gerard Mortier who was scheduled to begin his first official season as General and Artistic Director of the company in 2009 abruptly resigned The company announced that The economic climate in which we find ourselves today has caused us both to reconsider proceeding with our plans Mortier had reportedly been promised a 60 million annual budget which was cut to 36 million due to the economic climate Michael Kaiser was appointed to advise the board on a turnaround strategy including the recruitment of a new general director 35 The David H Koch Theater previously known as the New York State Theater underwent major renovations during the 2008 09 season During the construction the company did not stage opera in its home at Lincoln Center Instead New York City Opera presented a concert version of Samuel Barber s Antony and Cleopatra at Carnegie Hall in January 2009 as well as other concerts and programs around the city and continued to make classroom presentations in New York City s public schools 26 The company presented three concerts at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in 2009 I m On My Way Black History at City Opera One Fine Day A Tribute to Camilla Williams and a 60th anniversary concert production of William Grant Still s Troubled Island 36 In June 2009 Bloomberg reported that the company had incurred a 11 million deficit for the year ending June 2008 Revenue fell 23 percent to 32 9 million and expenses rose 11 percent to 44 2 million 37 Steel 2009 13 EditIn January 2009 the company announced the appointment of George Steel as general manager and artistic director effective February 1 2009 38 The New York Times reported at the time that many consider the NYCO the nation s second most important house 38 In January 2009 when Steel was asked to take the helm of the opera to try to turn the company around 39 it had suffered a string of financial and managerial blows 40 a decade of multimillion dollar deficits 41 a dark season in 2008 09 i e a season without any staged opera performances the depletion of Company s endowment to pay off a huge accumulated deficit 42 the market collapse of 2008 the radical reduction by the board of the budget and of the size of the season and the sudden withdrawal of Gerard Mortier 43 who was to have become General Manager after a lengthy period without leadership Paul Kellogg the previous General Director had left in 2007 44 Under Steel during the 2009 2010 season the company returned with an opening night program called American Voices consisting of excerpts from American opera The season also included a revival of Hugo Weisgall s Esther and a new production of Mozart s Don Giovanni directed by Christopher Alden The spring season opened in March 2010 and included Emmanuel Chabrier s L etoile directed by Mark Lamos and Handel s Partenope directed by Andrew Chown original production directed by Francisco Negrin The company also continued to collaborate with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Opera Noire of New York to highlight the role of opera in African American history including the programs Opera at the Schomburg A Tribute to Robert McFerrin and X The Life and Times of Malcolm X 45 In April 2010 NYCO s VOX Contemporary Opera Lab featured new works of emerging and established composers at New York University 46 The company s 2010 2011 season included a new production of Leonard Bernstein s A Quiet Place directed by Christopher Alden Richard Strauss s Intermezzo directed by Leon Major and a new production titled Monodramas which consisted of three solo one act works John Zorn s La Machine de l etre Arnold Schoenberg s Erwartung and Morton Feldman s Neither The company also staged the American premiere of Seance on a Wet Afternoon the first opera by Stephen Schwartz the veteran composer of Broadway musicals 47 In addition the company presented several concert performances that included An Evening With Christine Brewer Lucky To Be Me The Music of Leonard Bernstein John Zorn amp Friends with Laurie Anderson Lou Reed Mike Patton Marc Ribot Dave Douglas and Uri Caine a family opera concert of Oliver Knussen s Where the Wild Things Are with a libretto by Maurice Sendak and Defying Gravity The Music of Stephen Schwartz with Kristin Chenoweth and Raul Esparza 48 49 In May 2011 the company announced that it would leave Lincoln Center to conserve costs and present its upcoming season in different venues throughout the city 50 On the business side the opera underwent tremendous change under Steel s tenure which both balanced the budget and extended the life of the company These changes led directly to the opera s first balanced budgets in an over a decade and a sold out 2011 2012 season 40 Some of the steps Steel took in his efforts to save the company aroused controversy including a contentious but ultimately successful contract negotiation with the labor unions representing the orchestra and the singers 51 and the departure of the opera from Lincoln Center out of financial necessity 40 While the company had for more than a decade discussed publicly the idea of leaving Lincoln Center 52 the company s ultimate departure driven by the financial reality that the opera would otherwise have to close was met alternately with praise and scepticism 53 Notwithstanding artistic successes record fundraising and dramatic changes to the company s business model the opera ultimately succumbed to bankruptcy Bankruptcy 2013 15 EditOn October 1 2013 the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York citing an inability to raise sufficient funding to continue the 2013 14 season 54 55 56 57 The company s last production was the U S premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage s Anna Nicole The case was before Judge Sean Lane 58 In an article in the New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini noted one of the reasons for the company s 2013 bankruptcy as well as relating it to other failed arts organizations In short artistic excellence is not enough Any institution big or small old or new must have a clear artistic vision a purpose that connects with audiences and the community But the performing arts have never been profit making endeavors It is more important than ever that all institutions from a fledgling string quartet to the lofty Metropolitan Opera have an effective business model 59 Revival 2016 present EditA not for profit company named NYCO Renaissance Ltd proposed a Chapter 11 plan for the reorganization of New York City Opera in 2015 and the reorganization of the existing company took place in 2016 58 6 An additional incentive was made to those who had purchased tickets and not received a refund 60 The group announced plans to relaunch New York City Opera in January 2016 with a mix of opera staples and niche works 6 61 The proposed new home for a revived NYCO is the modern 1 100 seat Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center 61 62 Both the City Opera board and unanimously the creditors committee those owed money in the bankruptcy preferred the bid of NYCO Renaissance which was backed financially and chaired by Roy Niederhoffer a hedge fund manager and accomplished amateur musician who had earlier served on the New York City Opera board and who pledged more than 1 million of his own money to the effort and raised at least 2 5 million 7 8 57 58 61 63 64 The bankruptcy court approved the reorganization plan of New York City Opera Renaissance allowing it to leave bankruptcy and re launch performances in January 2016 6 7 Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane said he was pleased to approve the plan of a beloved and important cultural institution and that It s been the participation of people who care greatly about the opera that s led to what I think is a very good result here today 7 Under the reorganization plan the opera will put on annual seasons and its general director will be Michael Capasso 6 Gail Kruvand the chairwoman of the City Opera orchestra committee said We re thrilled and we re looking forward to a long future with New York City Opera 6 NYCO Renaissance presented Puccini s Tosca using Adolfo Hohenstein s stage and costume design from the opera s premiere in 1900 in Rome in January 2016 at the 1 100 seat Rose Theater 65 It had two separate casts including tenor James Valenti and soprano Latonia Moore and the least expensive balcony seats were 25 10 65 66 67 Tosca had been in 1944 the first opera performed by the NYCO 8 61 65 The NYCO announced that it would round out the 2015 16 season with the performance of three contemporary works all new to the company On March 16 2016 a new concert series at the Appel Room in Jazz at Lincoln Center was inaugurated with the premiere of David Hertzberg s Sunday Morning A work for soprano and small ensemble it featured soprano Sarah Shafer and mezzo soprano Kirstin Chavez 68 That was followed by the East Coast premiere of composer Stewart Wallace s and librettist Michael Korie s Hopper s Wife a surreal erotically charged 90 minute 1997 chamber opera fantasy about an imagined marriage between the painter Edward Hopper and the gossip columnist Hedda Hopper It was directed by Andreas Mitisek at Harlem Stage from April 28 through May 1 2016 in his New York City directorial debut 69 Third the NYCO staged Daniel Catan s Florencia en el Amazonas June 22 26 2016 at Jazz at Lincoln Center s Rose Theater Based on the writing of Gabriel Garcia Marquez the opera was part of a new Spanish language opera series named opera en Espanol 70 71 72 73 74 Reviewing the performance James Jorden of The New York Observer wrote in the current offering of the resurrected New York City Opera every page of the score sails orgasmically over the top as sinfully rich as molten caramel sauce The reconstituted New York City Opera should be bursting with pride at the high level of quality extending across every aspect of this presentation Among as strong a cast of vocalists as I ve heard at NYCO in 20 years or more the standout appropriately was Elizabeth Caballero as Florencia this production makes it clear that the company is at the very top of its game 75 The Wall Street Journal opined that Ms Caballero is a find 76 New York Classical Review while noting some staging flaws wrote If this is to be the standard of the company s work going forward the future may be very bright indeed 77 The NYCO s Opening Night for the 2016 17 season on September 8 2016 was a new production double bill of two operas that both premiered in May 1892 Aleko a New York premier composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff an adaptation of Alexander Pushkin s poem The Gypsies and Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo They were directed by Lev Pugliese with conductor James Meena leading the NYCO Orchestra at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center s Rose Hall 78 Bass Stefan Szkafarowsky made his NYCO debut in the title role of Aleko and Pagliacci featured tenor Francesco Anile in his NYCO debut as Canio 78 Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times wrote that the performance offered animated if sometimes scrappy playing by the New York City Opera Orchestra and vibrant singing from the company s chorus Pagliacci offers strong if not exceptional vocal performances in the leading roles The tenor Francesco Anile brings a sizable somewhat nasal voice to Canio the betrayed husband As Nedda his straying wife the soprano Jessica Rose Cambio sings with agile coloratura and mostly shimmering sound An enthusiastic audience showed up for the opening event in what should be a revealing even defining season for the rebooted City Opera 79 New York Classical Review wrote On this occasion Pagliacci emerged considerably more moving than the recent Met production by David McVicar mostly due to the Rose s increased intimacy It also didn t hurt that for the role of Canio the company snagged Francesco Anile who has the voice a clear expressive instrument that pleasantly pings above the orchestra and equally what appears to be a fountain of acting chops In the famous scene in which Canio realizes that Nedda has been unfaithful the soft sobbing into his costume was undeniably affecting And when he leaped onstage to open the traveling show his drunkenness was believable not overdone After a rocky few years this musically and emotionally satisfying double bill is the best evidence yet that this storied company may at last be staggering to its feet 80 The Huffington Post opined NYCO is on the right track to re establishing itself as a force in the opera world 81 In January 2022 82 NYCO produced the world premiere of Michael Korie and Ricky Ian Gordon s The Garden of the Finzi Continis in co production with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene World premieres EditWilliam Grant Still Troubled Island 1949 David Tamkin The Dybbuk 1951 Aaron Copland The Tender Land 1954 Mark Bucci Tale for a Deaf Ear 1958 first professional production Robert Kurka The Good Soldier Schweik 1958 Hugo Weisgall Six Characters in Search of an Author 1959 Norman Dello Joio The Triumph of St Joan 1959 the premiere of the third version Robert Ward He Who Gets Slapped 1959 revised version Douglas Moore The Wings of the Dove 1961 Robert Ward The Crucible 1961 Abraham Ellstein The Golem 1962 Carlisle Floyd The Passion of Jonathan Wade 1962 Jerome Moross Gentlemen Be Seated 1963 Lee Hoiby Natalia Petrovna 1964 Jack Beeson Lizzie Borden 1965 Ned Rorem Miss Julie 1965 Vittorio Giannini Servant of Two Masters 1967 Hugo Weisgall Nine Rivers from Jordan 1968 Gian Carlo Menotti The Most Important Man 1971 Thea Musgrave The Voice of Ariadne 1977 Leon Kirchner Lily 1977 Dominick Argento Miss Havisham s Fire 1979 Stanley Silverman Madame Adare 1980 Thomas Pasatieri Before Breakfast 1980 Jan Bach The Student from Salamanca 1980 Leonard Bernstein Candide Opera House Version 1982 Anthony Davis X The Life and Times of Malcolm X 1986 first staged production Jay Reise Rasputin 1988 Hugo Weisgall Esther 1993 Ezra Laderman Marilyn 1993 Lukas Foss Griffelkin 1993 premiere of revised version Deborah Drattell Lilith 2001 first staged production Charles Wuorinen Haroun and the Sea of Stories 2004 Ricky Ian Gordon The Garden of the Finzi Continis 2022 References EditNotes Wakin Daniel J May 23 2011 City Opera Departure Brings Questions The New York Times Archived from the original on September 26 2017 Retrieved February 11 2017 Wakin Daniel J December 6 2011 City Opera Leaving Lincoln Center The New York Times Archived from the original on January 18 2012 Retrieved December 18 2011 2011 2012 Season and Tickets New York City Opera Archived from the original on November 11 2011 Retrieved November 8 2011 Cooper Michael September 29 2013 Veterans of City Opera Proudly Wistful Reflect as the Curtain Falls The New York Times Retrieved October 7 2013 Cooper Michael October 7 2013 New York City Opera Announces It Will Close The New York Times Archived from the original on December 5 2013 Retrieved October 1 2013 a b c d e f g Michael Cooper January 12 2016 New York City Opera Will Return and Soon Under Reorganization Plan The New York Times Archived from the original on January 10 2017 Retrieved February 11 2017 a b c d e Stephanie Gleason January 12 2016 Judge OKs City Opera s Revival Plan The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on July 12 2017 Retrieved March 10 2017 a b c Michael Cooper November 11 2015 Effort to Revive City Opera Includes a Tosca Staging The New York Times Archived from the original on September 6 2017 Retrieved February 11 2017 Michael Cooper December 2 2015 A Group Cedes Its Bid to Revive City Opera to a Rival The New York Times Archived from the original on February 15 2018 Retrieved February 11 2017 a b Review Tosca From NYCO Renaissance Puts a Grand Ambition to the Test Archived January 2 2017 at the Wayback Machine by Anthony Tommasini The New York Times January 21 2016 Tommasini Anthony Beverly Sills All American Diva With Brooklyn Roots Is Dead at 78 Archived May 5 2021 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times July 4 2007 Retrieved November 6 2007 a b Holland Bernard July 1 1984 City Opera at 40 Young as Ever Section 2 The New York Times p 1 Archived from the original on April 11 2021 Retrieved April 12 2021 a b c d Allan Kozinn October 31 2001 Laszlo Halasz First Director Of City Opera Is Dead at 96 The New York Times Archived from the original on June 10 2015 Retrieved May 18 2009 Southern Eileen 1997 The Music of Black Americans A History W W Norton p 417 ISBN 978 0 393 97141 5 a b Strauss Created New Orchestra in Writing His Operad Ariadne Montreal Gazette November 26 1946 Rebecca Paller October 12 2006 Homecoming Playbill Archived from the original on September 9 2011 Retrieved December 13 2011 The Love for Three Oranges A Slaphappy Fairy Tale Makes a Smash Hit Opera Life Magazine November 1949 a b New Man at the Center TIME January 9 1956 Archived from the original on December 14 2008 Retrieved May 18 2009 a b Allan Kozinn July 25 1993 Classical Music City Opera Turns 50 But Who s Counting The New York Times Archived from the original on September 17 2011 Retrieved May 18 2009 Howard Taubman November 4 1956 Cliff Hanger Peril and Heroics Mark Story of City Center The New York Times Archived from the original on July 23 2018 Retrieved May 18 2009 a b c Anne Midgette October 19 2006 City Opera s Great Innovator Returns Baton at the Ready The New York Times Archived from the original on March 27 2014 Retrieved May 20 2009 Robin William March 2 2016 Protecting Alberto Ginastera From Oblivion The New York Times Archived from the original on June 24 2018 Retrieved May 12 2017 a b c Anthony Tommasini July 2 2007 Beverly Sills Acclaimed Soprano Dies at 78 The New York Times Archived from the original on June 5 2015 Retrieved May 20 2009 Obituaries John Simon White Opera News February 2002 Archived from the original on August 25 2018 Retrieved October 15 2010 a b James R Oestreich October 9 1995 Christopher Keene Is Dead Head of City Opera Was 48 The New York Times Archived from the original on January 7 2016 Retrieved May 20 2009 a b Anthony Tommasini January 4 2009 Toward A Leaner Bolder City Opera The New York Times Archived from the original on November 7 2012 Retrieved May 20 2009 Daniel J Wakin September 15 2005 Paul Kellogg to Quit as Head of City Opera The New York Times Archived from the original on March 22 2023 Retrieved May 20 2009 Fresh Faces The New Yorker Archived from the original on September 14 2016 Retrieved May 12 2017 Anthony Tommasini May 6 2007 At City Opera an Innovator Bows Out The New York Times Archived from the original on July 19 2011 Retrieved July 21 2010 Anthony Tommasini December 30 2001 The Year in Review of Necessity Thoughts Turned to Purpose and Relevance The New York Times Archived from the original on May 27 2015 Retrieved July 21 2010 Anthony Tommasini January 3 2010 Ten Years of Opening the Tent The New York Times Archived from the original on February 9 2016 Retrieved July 21 2010 1 Archived March 31 2009 at the Wayback Machine The Week Ahead April 26 May 2 The New York Times April 26 2009 Archived from the original on September 11 2014 Retrieved May 20 2010 Tommasini Anthony May 5 2006 At Vox 2006 City Opera Presents Excerpts From Works in Progress The New York Times Archived from the original on October 6 2017 Retrieved May 20 2010 Following Mortier Fallout New York City Opera Retains Turnaround Adviser Michael Kaiser Opera News November 20 2008 Archived from the original on December 18 2008 Retrieved December 14 2008 2 Archived October 19 2013 at the Wayback Machine Philip Boroff June 1 2009 New York City Opera Ran Up 11 Million Deficit as Sales Dropped Archived March 22 2023 at the Wayback Machine Bloomberg L P Retrieved on June 6 2009 a b Daniel J Wakin January 14 2009 City Opera Names Steel as General Manager The New York Times Archived from the original on April 4 2013 Retrieved January 15 2009 Wakin Daniel J January 14 2009 City Opera Names Steel as General Manager The New York Times Archived from the original on May 8 2017 Retrieved January 20 2016 a b c Maloney Jennifer September 27 2013 Drama Behind City Opera The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on February 4 2014 Retrieved January 20 2016 Pogrebin Robin Wakin Daniel J June 15 2011 New York City Opera s Recent History The New York Times Archived from the original on November 15 2017 Retrieved January 20 2016 Stewart James B October 11 2013 Ransacking the Endowment at New York City Opera The New York Times Archived from the original on November 15 2017 Retrieved January 20 2016 Wakin Daniel J November 7 2008 Bold Impresario and City Opera Part Ways The New York Times Archived from the original on May 26 2017 Retrieved January 20 2016 Wakin Daniel J September 15 2005 Paul Kellogg to Quit as Head of City Opera The New York Times Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved January 20 2016 3 Archived March 5 2012 at the Wayback Machine 4 Archived March 5 2012 at the Wayback Machine Tommasini Anthony April 20 2011 Seance on a Wet Afternoon at City Opera Review The New York Times Archived from the original on January 29 2018 Retrieved May 12 2017 NYCO 2010 11 Press release Archived July 1 2017 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times March 10 2010 5 Archived March 19 2014 at the Wayback Machine Opera News Struggling New York City Opera Announces Intention to Depart Lincoln Center Opera News Archived from the original on September 6 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 Wakin Daniel J January 18 2012 New York City Opera and Union Reach Deal The New York Times Archived from the original on February 1 2019 Retrieved January 20 2016 Tommasini Anthony August 19 2003 Critic s Notebook A Chance for Opera the City and City Opera The New York Times Archived from the original on March 7 2016 Retrieved January 20 2016 Tommasini Anthony April 26 2013 City Opera Might Do Best at City Center The New York Times Archived from the original on February 1 2019 Retrieved January 20 2016 New York City Opera to shut down after failing to meet 7m funding goal The Guardian Associated Press October 2013 Archived from the original on October 2 2013 Retrieved October 2 2013 New York City Opera To File For Bankruptcy Billboard Archived from the original on October 2 2013 Retrieved October 2 2013 Chronicle Of A Death Foretold New York City Opera Shuts Its Doors NPR Morning Edition Archived from the original on October 3 2013 Retrieved October 2 2013 a b Cooper Michael October 6 2015 Plan to Revive New York City Opera Has Creditors Backing The New York Times Archived from the original on October 12 2015 Retrieved January 20 2016 a b c Smith Jennifer January 16 2015 New York City Opera Suitors Prepare Bids The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on December 1 2017 Retrieved January 20 2016 Anthony Tommasini Lessons in a Year of Crises Archived September 30 2015 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times January 8 2014 Sara Randazzo Investors Have a Deal for Spurned New York City Opera Ticketholders Archived September 6 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Wall Street Journal December 15 2014 a b c d Smith Jennifer November 1 2015 Rival Visions to Reboot New York City Opera Detailed The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on June 28 2017 Retrieved January 20 2016 About Our Mission New York City Opera Archived from the original on April 19 2021 Retrieved April 12 2021 Hedge fund manager Roy Niederhoffer promotes New York City Opera in European tour this and next week Roy Niederhoffer Opalesque com Archived from the original on October 15 2015 Retrieved January 20 2016 Jennifer Rivera December 9 2014 An Interview With the Man Now in Charge of Reviving New York City Opera Huffingtonpost com Archived from the original on February 22 2016 Retrieved January 20 2016 a b c New York City Opera s resurrection may be right philly com Archived from the original on November 6 2016 Retrieved May 12 2017 Reviving the New York City Opera The New Yorker Archived from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved January 20 2016 Reviving City Opera with a nod to past asianage com January 22 2016 Archived from the original on February 5 2016 Retrieved May 12 2017 Woolfe Zachary March 18 2016 Review New York City Opera a Quiet Sunday Morning The New York Times Archived from the original on September 6 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 BWW News Desk New York City Opera to Present NY Premiere of Hopper s Wife This Spring broadwayworld com Archived from the original on June 2 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 Smith Jennifer February 22 2016 Rebooted New York City Opera Plans Three Premieres The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on April 6 2019 Retrieved May 12 2017 Cooper Michael February 22 2016 New York City Opera Unveils Rest of Season The New York Times Archived from the original on September 6 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 Entertainment Index ABC News Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved May 12 2017 Cooper Michael March 9 2016 Beer Bottles Graffiti and Puccini The LoftOpera Formula The New York Times Archived from the original on September 6 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 Russell Platt March 3 2016 Spring Classical Music Preview The New Yorker Archived from the original on June 29 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 James Jorden June 23 2016 Piranhas and Cholera Are No Match for a Diva The New York Observer Archived from the original on August 13 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 Waleson Heidi June 27 2016 Florencia en el Amazonas Patience amp Sarah and Le Comte Ory Reviews The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on August 13 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 New York Classical Review newyorkclassicalreview com Archived from the original on September 6 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 a b BWW News Desk New York City Opera to Open Season with Aleko amp Pagliacci Double Bill broadwayworld com Archived from the original on September 6 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 Tommasini Anthony September 9 2016 Review Signs of Rebirth at New York City Opera The New York Times Archived from the original on September 6 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 New York Classical Review newyorkclassicalreview com Archived from the original on February 6 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 ZEALnyc September 15 2016 New York City Opera Presents a Historically Interesting Double Bill of Aleko and Pagliacci Huffington Post Archived from the original on February 27 2017 Retrieved May 12 2017 Finzi Continis National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Archived from the original on October 19 2021 Retrieved October 13 2021 Further reading EditMcKenna Harold J 1981 New York City Opera Sings Stories and Productions of the New York City Opera 1944 79 New York Richards Rosen Press ISBN 978 0 8239 0544 7 Sokol Martin L 1981 The New York City Opera An American Adventure MacMillan ISBN 0 02 612280 4 Waleson Heidi 2018 Mad scenes and exit arias the death of the New York City Opera and the future of opera in America Henry Holt and Company ISBN 9781627794978 External links EditOfficial website New York City Opera s channel on YouTube New York City Opera collected news and commentary at The New York Times Biography of Laszlo Halasz Finding aid to the New York City Opera records at Columbia University Rare Book amp Manuscript Library Interview with Laszlo Halasz November 28 1987Portal Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title New York City Opera amp oldid 1145977361, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, 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