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.
Riders Opera Finalist in NYF Radio Awards
"Monumental and well-crafted…Craig Bohmler's Riders of the Purple Sage can now lay claim to a rightful place in the canon of works about the American West." WFMT's American Opera Series broadcast of Riders has been named a finalist in the New York Festivals Radio Awards.
June 27, 2017
The WFMT broadcast of Riders of the Purple Sage, the world premiere opera written by Olivier Award-nominated composer Craig Bohmler and commissioned by Arizona Opera, aired in 400 cities throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
The broadcast, hosted by Naomi Lewin and co-produced by Kristin Atwell Ford, has now been recognized as a Finalist in the New York Festivals Radio Awards "Best Music Special" category.
Riders Opera Airs Worldwide
"An opera as monumental and well-crafted as Craig Bohmler's Riders of the Purple Sage can now lay claim to a rightful place in the canon of works about the American West. Riders is literally and figuratively blazing new trails, demonstrating the relevance and value of the age old genre in a dynamic and memorable production." Arizona Opera's first commissioned world premiere airs on WFMT's American Opera Series in over 400 cities.
November 25, 2017
Riders of the Purple Sage, Arizona Opera's first-ever world commission by Olivier Award-nominated composer Craig Bohmler, shattered box office records for the company. Now, audiences outside of Arizona can hear this American Western Opera, via WFMT's American Opera Series, airing to more than 400 cities worldwide.
Details of broadcast >
Riders Opera World Premiere Success Inspires $1 Million Donation
The impact of Craig Bohmler's Riders of the Purple Sage continues to be felt across the Southwest. Inspired by the success of Riders, major donors have now pledged a $1 million gift to Arizona Opera.
April 27, 2017
Scott Stallard remembers sitting in the Phoenix audience early last month and getting “goosies” the moment the curtain rose for Arizona Opera’s “Riders of the Purple Sage.”
“It was stunning,” Stallard said Monday. “We saw that show and we had a glimpse of the future and how increasingly exciting ... it is going forward. We just wanted to be a part of that.”
Last week, Stallard and his wife, Marlu Allan, donated $1 million to Arizona Opera to support bringing similarly exciting new works to the stage.
Riders World Premiere Breaks Box Office Records, Earns Critical Acclaim
"This is what great art can do. It can energize a community." The world premiere run of Craig Bohmler's Riders of the Purple Sage is a runaway success.
March 6, 2017
““It blew away even my wildest expectations, financially or in terms of the public response. This is what great art can do. It can energize a community.””
Riders of the Purple Sage, Arizona Opera's first-ever world commission by Olivier Award-nominated composer Craig Bohmler, has shattered box office records for the company, now celebrating its 45th season.
Single ticket sales for Riders totaled $390,924 – the third highest in the company's 45 seasons. Total ticket sales were the highest for the company in twelve years, and total attendance for the world premiere run was 7,796.
The production has been hailed as a history-defining moment for Arizona Opera – one that has given the company a "seat at the big boy's table."
Read reviews:
"Suave melodies and distinctive motives...a fascinating work that deserves to be heard often."
Opera Today
"Monumental and well-crafted, Riders can lay claim to a rightful place in the canon of works about the American West. A dynamic and memorable production...resonates with authenticity in the voices of a superb cast...that merits the unequivocal standing ovation."
Broadway World
"Bohmler's cinematic score also has a very contemporary energy, with flashing violins of the sort that build excitement in the latest “Star Wars” flick. This engaging production is built on sturdy bones: iconic hero-and-villain characters, a suspenseful story and a score that’s studded with soaring, hummable melodies. There’s no denying the edge-of-your-seat energy..."
The Republic
"Bohmler’s score had strong references to classic Western film themes — it reminds us of the Silver Screen era Westerns without imitating them."
Arizona Daily Star
Riders of the Purple Sage Featured in Etched Magazine
Craig Bohmler's world premiere at Arizona Opera is featured in the Fall 2016 issue.
September 1, 2016
"In just the first few pages of Zane Grey’s classic novel, Riders of the Purple Sage, fearless gunslingers and men on horseback tear through unforgiving mountains as emotions become as extreme as their surroundings: jealousy looms like a fatal precipice, and love ignites like a brushfire.
It’s a fitting opening for a story where the land and its inhabitants are inextricably linked, where every action takes its cue from the rough terrain, the lush plant life that thrives in spite of challenges, the rhythms of horse hooves and the crashing of storms.
It’s also a perfect beginning for an opera."
Riders of the Purple Sage, by composer Craig Bohmler, will receive its world premiere at Arizona Opera February 25 – March 5, 2017. Featuring baritone Morgan Smith, soprano Karin Wolverton, and tenor Joshua Dennis, the world premiere will be conducted by Keitaro Harada, directed by Fenlon Lamb, and feature set design by world-famous Southwest landscape artist Ed Mell.
Learn about the opera, based on Zane Grey's most famous Western novel, and purchase tickets.
American Western Opera Launches Digital Homestead
Riders of the Purple Sage, based on Zane Grey's iconic Western novel, will receive its world premiere at Arizona Opera in 2017.
April 29, 2016
Riders of the Purple Sage, an American Western opera composed by Craig Bohmler with a libretto by Steven Mark Kohn, will receive its world premiere at Arizona Opera in 2017.
Based on Zane Grey's most famous novel, the story of Riders is remarkably relevant today – tackling issues of women's independence, faith vs. fundamentalism, abuse of power, and guns in society. Complex issues are given human faces, with sharply drawn characters like Jane Withersteen, our morally incorruptible heroine, and Lassiter, the "John Wayne of Opera.”
Riders is a visceral experience that raises Big Questions and allows audiences to seek their own answers through the pure emotional experience of opera. The music style is influenced by Carlisle Floyd, Stephen Sondheim, and Kurt Weill, and utilizes the musical idioms of Western film soundtracks.
The world premiere production will star baritone Morgan Smith (Starbuck in Jake Heggie's Heggie's Moby-dick) as Lassiter, opposite the Jane Withersteen of Karin Wolverton (Anna Sorensen in Kevin Puts's Silent Night). Sets will be designed by famed Southwest landscape artist Ed Mell, with stage direction by Fenlon Lamb and Keitaro Harada conducting.
Rolando Sanz Brings Andrew Lippa Concept Opera to Strathmore
Executive Producer Rolando Sanz brought Lippa's latest work, a concept opera starring Kristin Chenoweth, to Washington, D.C. this weekend.
April 24, 2016
Composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa, Jacquie Sanz, Executive Producer Rolando Sanz, and star Kristin Chenoweth
Executive Producer Rolando Sanz brought the world premiere of Andrew Lippa's latest work, a concept opera called I Am Anne Hutchinson / I Am Harvey Milk, to the Music Center at Strathmore near Washington, D.C. this weekend.
Starring Kristin Chenoweth and composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa, the work deals with two reluctant prophets speaking up for women's rights and gay rights.
The production was met with critical acclaim, with the Washington Post raving, "This is music as activism, celebratory and inspirational. Strathmore gets very high marks for pulling together this premiere; surely – hopefully – this won’t be the last time Lippa and Chenoweth perform Anne/Harvey with the full battalion of musical support marshaled here."
Featuring forces of 175 musicians, the production was directed by Noah Himmelstein. Before the premiere, Rolando spoke with Classicalite and Broadway World Opera about the experience of mounting the project and the middle-of-the-night stroke of inspiration that led to coining the new "concept opera" genre.
Creative team and cast of I Am Anne Hutchinson / I Am Harvey Milk
Rolando Sanz to Executive Produce Concept Opera Starring Kristin Chenoweth
In April 2016, Rolando Sanz and Strathmore will present the world premiere of I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk, a concept opera by Grammy and Tony Award-nominated composer Andrew Lippa.
September 9, 2015
In April 2016, Rolando Sanz and Strathmore will present the world premiere of I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk, the newest work by Grammy and Tony Award-nominated composer Andrew Lippa.
Broadway superstar Kristin Chenoweth will join Lippa, along with a full symphonic orchestra and a cast of 140 actors and singers. Part choral work, part theater piece, this concept opera will bring to life two trailblazing stories of struggle, joy, passion, and ultimately, triumph.
Centuries apart, two reluctant prophets stood up for equality and changed the world. This groundbreaking World Premiere Concept Opera combines song, movement and powerful storytelling, bringing to life the emotional tales of two American icons.
Starring Broadway luminaries Kristin Chenoweth and Andrew Lippa, this stunning production magically weaves together the lives of 17th century women’s rights activist Anne Hutchinson and 1970s’ gay rights leader Harvey Milk. Separated by time, space, and culture, these two heroes were each lit from within by the same fierce passion for human dignity and devoted themselves to the fight for justice. This new, riveting theatrical work celebrates courage in the face of daunting odds, shining across the centuries from the hearts of two good people who achieved greatness.
Strathmore will partner with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the National Women’s History Museum, who will benefit from the proceeds of these performances.
