Commonwealth Opera--now in its 21st season in Western Massachusetts!

The company, called Project Opera until 1989, mounts a full-scale Broadway musical each fall and a full-scale grand opera each spring. The company stages its productions in Northampton at the Academy of Music Opera House, John M. Greene Hall at Smith College, and the Northampton High School, and in Amherst at the UMass Fine Arts Center. We stage opera concerts and tour special programs all over Western Mass.

The company has staged more than 60 performances of over 30 operas, including such greats as La Traviata, La Gioconda, The Magic Flute, Faust, Madama Butterfly, Il Trovatore, La Boheme, and Turandot. The operas are most often sung in English, and some, such as Verdi's Aida, are sung in Italian. The musicals, which have included Brigadoon, Showboat and, this season, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, are chosen for their operatically demanding roles.

The company attracts its artistic personnel-- stage directors and set, lighting and costume designers--from the professional diversity of the five-college area. Under the artistic direction of Richard R. Rescia, we've gone on stage with Amherst Ballet Theatre, Pioneer Valley Ballet, Chorus pro Musica of Boston, Hampshire Choral Society, and Pioneer Valley Symphony. For our November 1996 performances of South Pacific, we feature the acclaimed dancers from choreographer Li Ciaglo's Movement Ensemble.

Many ask how an opera company can meet the challenge of mounting full-scale opera in the nonmetropolitan region of Western Mass. First, we have a Board of Directors dedicated to the mission of preserving opera and making it happen right here in the Valley. Board members, many of whom perform on stage, are listed in our whole-season program guide, "The Opera Glass." The company's commitment to artistic excellence is also supported in part by a core of volunteers who work behind the scenes in many areas of production and promotion. And each season the company counts on its many supporters, first among them the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Northampton Arts Council provides critical project support, as do area corporate sponsors for each public program we produce.

Business supporters include Eastside Grill, The Optimist newspaper, Cross Culture Travel, Beyond Words Bookshop, La Cazuela, Fitzwilly's, Foster-Farrar Co., Michael Lawrence Levine CFP, J Rich Clothing, Spoleto, Bart's, Applewood Retirement Community, and Downtown Sounds, to name a few. Their ads appear in our whole-season guide called "The Opera Glass" as well as on our ticket brochures and in group newspaper ads. We ask all of our patrons to thank these businesses for supporting opera in the Pioneer Valley.

Also important are our own Guild members, whose donations each season show our growing base of audience support--people coming to our shows, loving the experience--some even enough to volunteer their time behind the scenes!

How do we judge our program excellence? By the outstanding reviews--including this past season a first from the Boston Globe giving a thumbs-up on our performance of Verdi's Aida, which included the guest appearance of the Chorus pro Musica of Boston.

And by our ticket sales! Each season brings more and more audience of all ages and backgrounds, some new to opera and Broadway musicals, and some with their whole families. Younger audiences show that opera and musicals are alive in the Valley.

To come to a performance, simply call us for a ticket brochure. Sending in the early ticket order form on this brochure guarantees the finest seats in the house. We want to give you the best view of the stage and orchestra. Our sites are wheelchair-accessible, and our ushers are on hand to assist disabled individuals.

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All contents ©Copyright 1996, Commonwealth Opera. All Rights Reserved
Last modified October,1996

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