Opera Maine

Opera Maine had an artistically successful season in 2023 with its mainstage presentation of Rossini's comic masterpiece La Cenerentola. The exuberant music was performed to great acclaim by a talented cast of principals and the Opera Maine Orchestra and Chorus. Opera News declared it "an evening of boisterous laughs and thrilling vocalism", the title character "met all the coloratura challenges set by Rossini and sang with an eleganbt and emotive beauty that transformed even simple phrases into meaningful sentiments." A local critic praised the production as simultaneously "hilarious and enchanting", and marveled at how the "exquisite delineation of each character made the story pop with life." The high quality of the production notwithstanding, the opera unfortunately lacked the name recognition necessary to make the season a financial success, and attendance fell short of the company's budgeted goals.

Community Programs: Opera for All is Opera Maine's multi-faceted initiative to make opera inclusive and accessible to everyone in our community. In our FY'23 school program, our teaching artist, accompanist, and six Education Outreach Artists from the University of Southern Maine performed to more than 1,100 students in nine schools in six counties. Dramaturg Calien Lewis gave talks about La Cenerentola and Rossini at the Portland Public Library, Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, and to classes in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. To enhance the audience experience, Ms. Lewis presented a talk just prior to each performance of La Cenerentola, and for the first time, gave pre-show talks ahead of the Studio Artist Opera performances. Opera Maine also started a pilot film series of three opera performances to an audience of 180.

Opera Maine's Studio Artist Program (SAP) continues to offer singers who are just beginning professional careers the opportunity to perform all roles in the company's secondary opera production. In 2023 the SA presented two performances of Rocking Horse Winner, a contemporary opera by Gareth Williams based on a short story by D.H. Lawrence. Because the lead character of the opera is autistic, the company connected with the Maine Autism Society for post-performance discussion. The opera was supported by a small orchestra of rising musicians and the production values were especially high. In one reviewer's opinion, the show was a decided winner. Studio Artists also participated as choristers and role covers in La Cenerentola.

Overhead expenses properly allocated to programs