|
About Virginia Opera Virginia Opera Board Members
Virginia Opera Association, Inc., in its 37th year of operation, is known and respected nationwide for the identification and presentation of the finest young artists, for the musical and dramatic integrity of its productions, and for the ingenuity and variety of its education and outreach programs. The Company has a working budget of $5.4 million with 32 mainstage performances in three markets reaching nearly 50,000 attendees. In March of 1994, by unanimous vote of the Virginia General Assembly, Virginia Opera was named The Official Opera Company of the Commonwealth of Virginia in recognition of the organization’s contribution to the Commonwealth and to the world of opera.
Organized in 1974 by founding president Edythe C. Harrison, Virginia Opera was launched with two productions in the Norfolk Center Theater and has since expanded to four productions including 16 performances at the Edythe C. and Stanley L. Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, 8 performances at the Carpenter Theatre at Richmond CenterStage in Richmond, and 8 performances at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts in Fairfax. Virginia Opera is the only opera company to perform regularly in three separate mainstage venues and reaches more than 150,000 students and community members each year through its innovative Education and Community Outreach Program.
Virginia Opera’s statewide history began in Richmond in 1977 with the encouragement of Governor Mills Godwin and Mrs. T. Fleetwood (Anna) Garner. Under their leadership, The Richmond Friends of Opera was formed to present Virginia Opera productions annually in the capital city. By 1983, the Richmond and Central Virginia Board of Virginia Opera formed and a Richmond office was opened. In November 1992, the Company presented its first mainstage performance at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax. This development was hailed as "one of the major local operatic events of the year” by The Washington Post, and deemed a special day in music history for the Washington D.C. area by Opera News.
Maestro Peter Mark was the founding artistic director of Virginia Opera and served in that capacity for 36 seasons. Since his Virginia Opera debut in 1975 – conducting the pilot production of La Traviata with rising star Diana Soviero as Violetta – Maestro Mark presided over the Opera’s growth. In 2008, Il Trovatore celebrated Mark’s 100th production as Maestro as well as his 700th performance conducted for Virginia Opera.
Virginia Opera has presented some of the nation’s most promising young singers on its stages including Jeannine Altmeyer, John Aler, Rockwell Blake, Renée Fleming, Barbara Dever, Frank Porretta, Grant Youngblood, Fabiana Bravo, Lawrence Brownlee, Nmon Ford, Jeniece Goldbourne and Mary Elizabeth Williams. Attracting acclaimed directors from the theatre and opera world, audiences have enjoyed the work of Gian Carlo Menotti, Gordon Davidson, Arvin Brown, Dorothy Danner and Lillian Groag, among others, in new productions designed by the nation’s top opera and theater designers. Virginia Opera has continued its tradition of commissioning/co-commissioning new works as illustrated by the world premieres of A Christmas Carol, Harriet - The Woman Called Moses, Simón Bolivar, Pocahontas, and the most recent, Rappahannock County.
Building upon accomplishments, the 2011-2012 opera season will feature an exciting level of artistry and diverse programming. While remaining committed to securing the highest caliber of vocal talent, the Opera will invite brilliant conductors, assisted by the next generation of gifted artists, to challenge audiences and create new opera experiences.
Virginia Opera's 2011-2012 Executive Committee
Alan D. Albert
Chair of the Board of Directors
Marcellus C. Kirchner
Vice Chair
Joan Miller
Immediate Past Chair
Martha Lee Shaw
Secretary
John M. Chandler
Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair
Peter M. Huber
Marketing Committee Chair
Valerie Neff
Hampton Roads Board of Governors President
Kemper K. Hyers
Central Virginia Board of Governors President
Marcus A. Kraker
Northern Virginia Board of Governors President
Charlotte Anders
Chair of the Virginia Opera Guild
Marshall H. Earl, Jr.
Artistic Advisory Committee Chair
Alan C. Hess
Development Committee Chair
Barry J. Case
Strategic Planning Committee Chair
Dr. William T. Hark
Education Committee Chair
William Poynter
Governance and Nominating Committee Chair
Cyrus W. Grandy, V
Virginia Opera Foundation Chair
Peter Mueller
At-Large
Denise Keane
At-Large
Anthony R. Corso
At-Large
Eleanor Bader
Jeannie P. Baliles
Stanley G. Barr, Jr., Emeritus
Martin J. Carney, MD
Lucy Church, Emeritus
Christopher Coffing
Josée Covington
Mark T. Cox IV
Michael P. Daniels
Bess Decker
Dorothy Doumar, Emeritus
Henry Garrity
Brian Taylor Goldstein
John Holloway
Michael A. Hopkins
Cora Huitt
Lorraine Hutchinson
Anne H. Lankford
Dr. David Lambert
Ina D. Levy
Russell E. Lundeberg, Jr.
Antonio Monroig
Walter G. Neff, Jr
Gerald J. Pepe, Ph.D
Ron Primm
Allan S. Reynolds, Jr.
S. Warren Richard
C. Jeffers Schmidt, Jr.
Joyce Strelitz
Hon. Lydia Taylor
George T. Williamson
Dr. Lisa Witzig
Dixie Wolf, Emeritus
GOVERNORS
HAMPTON ROADS
Alan D. Albert
Eleanor Bader
Stanley G. Barr, Jr., Emeritus
Martin J. Carney, MD
John M. Chandler
Christopher Coffing
Bess Decker
Dorothy Doumar, Emeritus
Eric Gallo
Henry Garrity
John Holloway
Michael A. Hopkins
Nancy Huber
Peter M. Huber, Esq.
Hon. Pamela Hutchens
Trisha Jones
Marc C. Kirchner
Sarah Kotarides
Dr. David Lambert
Anne H. Lankford
Ina D. Levy
Linda H. Lilly
Earl McLain
Joan B. Miller
Peter K. Mueller
Valerie Neff
Walter G. Neff, Jr.
Gerald J. Pepe, Ph. D
Anne Perry
William Poynter
Ron Primm
Allan S. Reynolds, Jr.
S. Warren Richard
Dr. Stephen Scoper
Martha Lee Shaw
Homer Smith, Jr.
Joyce Strelitz
Hon. Lydia Taylor
Darren Wesley
Kelly Willette
Paul Winslow
Dixie Wolf, Emeritus
CENTRAL VIRGINIA
Brad Armstrong
Jeannie P. Baliles
Dr Lisa Edwards Burrs
Barry J. Case
Jane Christian
Langdon Christian
Deborah Corliss
Josée Covington
Mark T. Cox IV
Ammon G. Dunton, Jr.
Marshall H. Earl, Jr.
Kristen Fournier
Dr. William Frable
Mark Gordon
Marjorie Grier
Dr. James K. Hayes
Dr. William T. Hark
Alan C. Hess
Michelle Holmes
Cora Huitt
Kemper Hyers, President
Henry A. Johnson, Jr.
Denise Keane
Elizabeth King
Russell E. Lundeberg, Jr.
Beth McClelland
Dr. Betsy Muhlenfeld
Patti Pusey
Marika A. Rawles
Helen Scott Reed
C. Jeffers Schmidt, Jr.
Kenneth J. Timmons, Jr.
George T. Williamson
Larry A. Wollan, Jr.
CENTRAL VIRGINIA ADVISORY COUNCIL
Eldridge Blanton
Betsy Bredrup
Amy Bridge
Kitty Claiborne
Rita Earl
Jackie Francis
Sarah Frank
Judy Gonzalez
Floyd Gottwald
A.E. Dick Howard
Eileen Kitces
Chris Kulp
Ginni Mackenzie
Martha Morrill
Mary Ellen Murray
Dorothy Pauley
Betty Pratt
Pam Reynolds
Julie Vinyard
Bucci Zeugner
NORTHERN VIRGINIA
Kim Bollinger
Mary Fordenbacher Burns
Anthony Corso
Néstor Cruz
Michael P. Daniels
Sean Foohey
Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.
Karen J. Hedlund
Stephen Hertz
Brandon Hiles
Lorraine Hutchinson
Marcus Kraker
Joy E. Langley
Nancy Mangione
Antonio Monroig
Dr. Patricia Sutcliffe
Sherry Watkins
Harry L. Wilbur
Priscilla Walker
Dr. Lisa Witzig
HONORARY MEMBERS
The Honorable Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)
The Honorable Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)
The Honorable Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA)
The Honorable Rep. James Moran (D-VA)
The Honorable Rep. Robert Wittman (R-VA)
The Honorable H. Chapman Petersen, Senator, Virginia General Assembly
The Honorable Janet Howell, Senator, Virginia General Assembly
The Honorable George Barker, Senator, Virginia General Assembly
The Honorable David L. Bulova, Delegate, Virginia General Assembly
The Honorable Kenneth R. Plum, Delegate, Virginia General Assembly
The Honorable Vivian Watts, Delegate, Virginia General Assembly
The Honorable Sharon Bulova, Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
The Honorable Robert Lederer, Mayor, City of Fairfax
Rick Davis, Assistant Provost, George Mason University
Maestro Christopher Zimmerman, Music Director, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
Nicole Lacroix, Evening Host, Classical WETA-FM
|
