A moment from the Opera Fusion: New Works workshop for Lalovavi by Kevin Day and Tifara Brown. Photo by Philip Groshong, May 2024.
The gift enables the continuation of the company’s acclaimed partnership with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music that nurtures the development of new American operas.
The next workshop to be featured as part of Opera Fusion: New Works is The Post Office by Laura Kaminsky and Elaine Sexton, with a free, public performance of excerpts on March 22, 2025.
CINCINNATI (February 12, 2025)—Cincinnati Opera is delighted to announce a generous donation in support of Opera Fusion: New Works (OF:NW), its joint creative venture with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). The company has received an anonymous gift that will extend OF:NW by three years.
Cincinnati Opera and CCM launched Opera Fusion: New Works in 2011 to foster the development of new American operas, receiving significant support from the Mellon Foundation. Jointly led by Robin Guarino, professor of opera at CCM, and Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, the nationally unique initiative offers composers and librettists the opportunity to workshop their operas-in-progress, utilizing the facilities, personnel, and talent of both Cincinnati Opera and CCM.
To date, the program has hosted 34 workshops or orchestral readings for 28 operas, including several works which have since received multiple productions throughout the U.S.: Fellow Travelers by Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce, Eurydice by Matthew Aucoin and Sarah Ruhl, and Champion by Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer. Two OF:NW projects received their New York City premieres earlier this month to enthusiastic audience and critical acclaim: Blind Injustice by Scott Davenport Richards and David Cote, and Morgiane by Edmond Dédé.
Funding from the Mellon Foundation, which has supported OF:NW since its inception, is due to end in 2025. The newly announced gift will enable the program to continue through 2028 and host workshops for six additional operas.
Said Evans Mirageas, “Opera Fusion: New Works has been transformative for Cincinnati Opera, CCM, and opera in America. This generous gift will allow this unique creative collaboration to continue to thrive, giving composers and librettists valuable resources to shape their stories and ensuring the vibrancy of the art form for decades to come.”
“CCM is proud to continue our partnership with Cincinnati Opera, and we are grateful for the wonderful gift that makes this possible,” said Peter Jutras, the Thomas James Kelly Professor of Music and Dean at CCM. “Opera Fusion: New Works is an initiative that exemplifies the spirit of our university’s ‘Next Lives Here’ strategic direction, connecting our students with the artists who are shaping the future of their industry and adding to the opera repertoire with impactful stories that resonate with contemporary audiences.”
To learn more about Opera Fusion: New Works, visit ofnw.org.
Up Next for OF:NW: The Post Office
Cincinnati Opera and CCM are also pleased to share details of the next opera to be workshopped through OF:NW: The Post Office, with music by Laura Kaminsky and libretto by Elaine Sexton. A public performance of excerpts will take place Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. at Cincinnati Music Hall.
Laura Kaminsky
Composer
Elaine Sexton
Librettist
The work is set in a one-room post office, where three U.S. postal workers and a customer from disparate backgrounds take sides in a blistering conflict centered around same-sex marriage. The formerly collegial friendship between the postmaster, who is Black and straight, and his colleague, who is white and gay, turns foul when the latter happily announces his upcoming wedding. Taking place in the present day, with increasing hostility, toxicity, and violence playing out in the news, everyday exchanges become fraught: civil rights, reproductive rights, and LGBTQIA rights are challenged and threatened, and the sanctity of the postal service itself is at risk.
Event Details
What:
Opera Fusion: New Works presents The Post Office
When and Where:
Saturday, March 22, 2025 | 7:30 p.m.
The Presidents’ Garret | Corbett Opera Center at Cincinnati Music Hall
1243 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Tickets:
Admission is free, though seating is limited and reservations are required. Reservations are available by calling 513-241-2742 or visiting cincinnatiopera.org.
Media Contact:
Katie Syroney
Director of Communications
ksyroney@cincinnatiopera.org / 513-768-5526