Chicago: Where You Can See The Present – And Future – of Opera
Chicago Opera Theater “rides on a new wave, bringing a repertoire that ranges from grand spectacle to electric intimacy.” Now COT’s Vanguard Emerging Opera Composer Residency, which invites accomplished composers into the company for a two-year education in opera-specific skills, has been named the recipient of a $500,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
October 17, 2019
Vanguard Emerging Opera Composer Stacy Garrop
Photo by Darrell Hoemann
CHICAGO, IL – October 16, 2019 – As Chicago magazine recently noted, Chicago Opera Theater “rides on a new wave, bringing a repertoire that ranges from grand spectacle to electric intimacy.” A key component of that innovation is COT’s Vanguard Initiative, an aptly named industry-leading commitment to developing opera as a living art form. The centerpiece of the initiative is the Vanguard Emerging Opera Composer Residency, which invites accomplished composers into the company for a two-year education in opera-specific skills and was today named the recipient of a $500,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
“Composing an opera is among the most challenging of artistic undertakings,” said Lidiya Yankovskaya, COT Staley Music Director and the newly named Artistic Director of the Vanguard Initiative. “In addition to being masters of shaping sound, opera composers must be exceptionally skilled at writing for the voice and adept at dramatic timing and flow. They must also have a clear understanding of the enormous collaborative mechanism essential for work to reach the stage and, crucially, be able to navigate the business side of the industry.”
Despite the daunting breadth and depth of skills required, there is no traditional path for opera composers and no clear training ground. The Vanguard Emerging Opera Composer Residency aims to bridge the gap between general compositional skills taught in university music programs and the real-world observation and experience that help inform an operatic composer’s work. Launched in 2018, the program identifies skilled composers who have not yet had sufficient opportunities for writing opera and provides them with a stipend and a two-year comprehensive course of study.
In addition to a survey of the canonic repertoire and detailed study of voice types, the residency offers access to operatic productions and industry events, insider knowledge of administrative processes, and ample networking opportunities. After observing the scope of the interpretative process by attending creative team meetings and staging rehearsals, the Emerging Composers collaborate with COT Young Artists and an experienced librettist, dramaturg, and director to develop a new full-length opera. Composers also work closely with Vanguard Composer Mentor Jake Heggie, hailed by The Wall Street Journal as “arguably the world’s most popular 21st-century opera and art song composer."
Through the selection and recruitment of composers from underrepresented groups, COT hopes this robust training will empower more diverse composers and bring their voices into the field.
“In order to ensure a future for opera, we must promote stories told by a variety of individuals, who represent the many regions and cultures of the United States, and bring a breadth of musical backgrounds to our field,” said Yankovskaya. “Opera’s strength throughout the form’s history has been in its ability to unite the arts in an effort to tell powerful, moving stories. We can take ownership of ensuring the art form’s continued impact by nurturing a new generation of opera composers who represent all that our country has to offer.”
The first alumna of the program will be second-year composer Stacy Garrop, an accomplished instrumental composer already commissioned by Carnegie Hall, Kronos Quartet, St. Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra. Though Garrop had also composed extensively for the voice, her lack of immersive experience in the operatic medium made her an ideal candidate for the Vanguard Residency.
“The Vanguard program is a godsend,” said Garrop. “Having two years to write my first opera, and get feedback on it throughout the entire process, has been extremely beneficial for my development. The wide range of activities COT designed for me opened my eyes to see opera from every angle. I can’t imagine entering this world without this kind of training.”
Garrop’s new chamber opera “The Transformation of Jane Doe,” with a libretto by Jerre Dye, will be performed in April at Northwestern University’s Ryan Opera Theater and will feature members of the COT Young Artist Program.
COT’s commitment to building diversity has also placed it at the forefront of the industry offstage. Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya is the only woman to hold that title in a multimillion-dollar opera company in the United States, and when Ashley Magnus was promoted to General Director in January, COT became a company led by millennial women. The leadership team, supported by COT Board President Susan J. Irion, have brought indomitable energy and keen foresight to strategic planning, fundraising, and artistic programming.
“We are committed to doing our part to ensure the future of our art form,” said General Director Ashley Magnus. “My dream is for Chicago to be at the forefront of new opera – for people to realize that our city is just as rich with art and creativity as the coasts. We believe the Vanguard Initiative can help Chicago become a destination for a new Golden Age of opera in America.”
COT Music Director Pens Series on Responsibilities of Artistic Leaders in the 21st Century
“Those who embark on this path can foster creativity and collaboration, open doors that may otherwise remain closed, increase the number of voices represented, and ultimately move classical music toward a more viable future.” Lidiya Yankovskaya has penned a wide-ranging series on the evolving responsibilities of musical leaders.
August 28, 2019
““As mobilizers and catalysts for change, conductors from diverse backgrounds—spanning cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender boundaries—can have an opportunity to make an impact on our field, even when initially halted by gate-keeping institutions. Those who embark on this path can foster creativity and collaboration, open doors that may otherwise remain closed, increase the number of voices represented, and ultimately move classical music toward a more viable future.””
Lidiya Yankovskaya, Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, shared her thought leadership in an articulate four-part series for NewMusicBox. Speaking from her diverse experiences as a conductor, activist, and ensemble-leader, Yankovskaya covers everything from the roles of artists as activists, expanding the American canon, and working to create a plurality of voices in classical music.
Photo by Kathy Wittman
Chicago Opera Theater Joins Verismo Roster
Led by millennial women, Chicago Opera Theater is emerging from the recent leadership transition as a company laser-focused on living its values.
July 26, 2019
Chicago Opera Theater brings a demonstrated commitment to equity, a multi-pronged approach to nurturing new works and creators, and a boldly millennial voice to the industry. Verismo Communications is proud to be representing COT for a full season of Chicago premieres, including a double bill of Everest / Aleko, the world premiere of Dan Shore’s Freedom Ride, and Nathan Gunn’s role debut in David T. Little’s Soldier Songs.
Company Overview
Led by millennial women, Chicago Opera Theater is emerging from the recent leadership transition as a company laser-focused on living its values:
• expanding the tradition of opera as a living art form
• producing high-quality works that are new to Chicago audiences
• identifying top-tier casts and creative talent at the beginning of grand operatic careers
• leading the industry in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility initiatives
Since its founding in 1973, COT has staged over 125 operas, including 66 Chicago premieres and 36 operas by American composers. COT is led by Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson General Director Ashley Magnus and Orli and Bill Staley Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya, who is the only woman to hold the title of music director at a multimillion-dollar opera company in the United States.
In addition to its mainstage season, COT is devoted to the development and production of new opera in the United States through its three-pronged Vanguard Initiative, launched in 2018. The Vanguard Initiative mentors emerging opera composers, invests time and talent in new opera at various stages of the creative process, and presents the Living Opera Series to showcase new and developing work.
Committed to leading the charge to increase representation onstage and behind the scenes. In the coming season, 47% of artists (singers/conductors/directors) are ALAANA; 20% of staff are people of color; 27% of staff identify as LGBTQIA; 37% of board members are female-identified.
VerismoComm Welcomes Lidiya Yankovskaya to Roster
“One of the hottest young conductors forging a path in the world of opera today… Lidiya Yankovskaya is the future of opera.” As Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, Lidiya is the only woman to hold that title in a multimillion-dollar opera company in the United States.
November 5, 2018
Verismo Communications is proud to welcome Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya to the roster. As Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, Yankovskaya is the only woman to hold that title in a multimillion-dollar opera company in the United States.
Under her leadership, COT has established the Vanguard Initiative, a three-pronged investment in new opera that includes a two-year residency for emerging opera composers. Committed to developing the next generation of artistic leaders, she also serves on the Advisory Board of Turn The Spotlight, a foundation dedicated to illuminating the path to a more equitable future in the arts.
Yankovskaya is Founder and Artistic Director of the Refugee Orchestra Project, which proclaims the cultural and societal relevance of refugees through music, and has brought that message to the United Nations and hundreds of thousands of listeners around the world.
In the 2018/19 season, Ms. Yankovskaya leads the Chicago premieres of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Heggie’s Moby-Dick at COT, the world premiere of Kamala Sankaram’s Taking Up Serpents at Washington National Opera, and the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Ellen West at Opera Saratoga. She conducts Grétry’s Belgian rarity Zémire et Azor at Carnegie Mellon University, workshops Justin Chen’s The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing at COT and Paola Prestini’s Edward Tulane at Minnesota Opera, and makes her Mobile Symphony debut in Carmina Burana. She also debuts at Trinity Wall Street, leading the New York premiere of Laura Schwendinger’s Artemisia, and returns to New York’s National Sawdust to close her season with the Hildegard Competition Concert, which features the work of emerging female, trans, and nonbinary composers.