Cincinnatians have always possessed pride in their city’s cultural jewels, including Cincinnati Opera. But how is the company viewed outside our city?
In Cincinnati Opera: A Centennial Celebration, Fred Plotkin, one of America’s foremost opera experts and the author of Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera, summarizes the elements he believes coalesced to cement the company’s role nationally and internationally. His is one of eight essays and hundreds of photos you’ll find in the commemorative book, available now through Cincinnati Opera’s online Bravo Shop.
Built to Last
By Fred Plotkin
Cincinnati Opera patrons were delighted to return to Music Hall for the opening opera of the 2018 season, La Traviata.
As Cincinnati Opera celebrates its centennial season, this illustrious company has a huge amount to be proud of, not only for its decades of accomplishments and innovation, but its acknowledged place in today’s opera firmament.
As a New Yorker, and someone who has worked at the Met, La Scala, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Covent Garden, and many top opera companies elsewhere, I have the means to compare them to Cincinnati Opera. I have long admired this company and have spent a considerable amount of time pondering what elements conspired to make this institution so special, in comparison not only to American opera companies, but also some in Europe. I have concluded that Cincinnati Opera, like the city that created it, is rooted in old, enduring values that prize art, culture, tenacity, and optimism. In our era in which ideas and meaning have trouble taking root in shifting cultural sands, those Cincinnati values form a foundation that combines respect for the best of the past with the desire to create meaningful new art for our own times.
Cincinnati Opera’s 2016 world premiere opera Fellow Travelers by Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce was praised by The New York Times: “With its smart music and sharp-edged romantic drama, Fellow Travelers seems assured of lasting appeal.”
Cincinnati has traditionally been an important cultural center. The arts—especially music—have had widespread support from citizens, public officials, and corporations who understand that a strong cultural presence makes the city a better place to do business in and attract talented workers to. When I talk to natives of Cincinnati, whether they are opera lovers or not, they all seem to have an awareness and civic pride in this company and their city’s history as a bastion of culture….
A secret to Cincinnati Opera’s success, whether it was intended or not, was that its performance seasons were concentrated in a period from late spring to midsummer. In effect, it was an opera festival, the first of its kind in the nation. This came about because, after the Met ended its New York season and then its national tour, many of its talented singers and conductors wanted to perform at a time when the only other permanent company where they could make music was in Cincinnati. World-class musicians, and many stars, appeared in Cincinnati. In turn, local audiences became highly discerning because they knew what real talent was.
Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves was a fiery Amneris in the 2000 Aida.
The winning combination of great musical institutions, outstanding performers, and a knowledgeable and demonstratively appreciative audience created an environment in which a new opera company could take root and flourish even in challenging times....
Despite increased competition, Cincinnati Opera continues to attract some of the finest singers, many of whom regularly grace the most important opera houses in the world. This is a huge achievement and speaks to the continued high regard with which the company continues to be held.
Read the entire essay in Cincinnati Opera: A Centennial Celebration.
Cincinnati Opera: A Centennial Celebration is a keepsake publication spanning the company's history from 1920 to 2020. This commemorative book features full-color photos and collected essays chronicling Cincinnati Opera's vibrant first century.