Friday, October 27 – Sunday, November 5
#OperaWeek

Denyce Graves, Honorary Chair, Encourages Everyone to Experience Opera

Opera Advocacy Day 2017: Wednesday, November 1

Opera companies, schools and organizations across North America will celebrate the ninth annual National Opera Week (operaamerica.org/OperaWeek) from Friday, October 27 through Sunday, November 5, 2017, with nearly 200 opera activities in their communities. Part of National Opera Week for the second year, Opera Advocacy Day (November 1) empowers individuals to encourage legislation to support the arts. National Opera Week and Opera Advocacy Day are coordinated by OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation’s leading champion for American opera.

OPERA America is delighted to announce that renowned opera singer Denyce Graves is serving as the Honorary Chair of National Opera Week 2017, encouraging audiences to explore opera. “I tell people all the time to just go and try the opera, and after they do, they come back to me and say, ‘I had no idea that this is what the opera is — I want to come again and again!’” says Ms. Graves. “It’s really a culmination of all the art forms, and that’s what really makes it so great,” she continued.

Ms. Graves welcomes audiences to National Opera Week in a video message, viewable at operaamerica.org/OperaWeek and on the organization’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/OPERAAmerica).

National Opera Week celebrates the vibrancy of opera in America today and conveys the excitement and importance of opera to a national and international audience. The strength and diversity of established opera companies, community opera ensembles, opera training programs and individual opera artists across North America will be on display through the wide array of events offered. These activities include performances, family activities, lectures, social events, tours, trivia contests and announcements of year-round community impact.

“Opera is thriving across the United States and Canada,” stated OPERA America President/CEO Marc A. Scorca. “Cities large and small are home to vibrant opera organizations that serve the public inside the opera house with resonant productions and in the community with meaningful relationships, performances in alternative venues, events for families and inspiring introductions to the magic of the art form. National Opera Week demonstrates and celebrates the diversity of our art form today that promises an exciting future for opera across the country.”

On Wednesday, November 1, Opera Advocacy Day provides an opportunity for individuals who work in or love opera to urge federal, state and local lawmakers to support arts education, the cultural agencies and other policies and legislation that sustain opera and the performing arts. Facts, talking points and other resources are available on the National Opera Week website (operaamerica.org/OperaWeek) and through the Performing Arts Alliance (theperformingartsalliance.org), of which OPERA America is a founding member.

“Nothing makes a bigger difference than when policymakers hear from their constituents,” stated Brandon Gryde, director of government affairs at OPERA America. “Whether the issue most important to you is arts education in our schools, funding for the National Endowment for the Arts or tax policies for nonprofits, change won’t happen if we don’t raise our voices. Opera Advocacy Day is a great opportunity for opera leaders, artists and lovers of the art form to share how opera and the performing arts make our communities healthier and more vibrant.”

Descriptions of select National Opera Week activities and lists of participating organizations and event locations may be found below.

Join the National Opera Week conversation on social media with #OperaWeek.

Select Activities

Austin Opera: Opera Video Contest (October 27 – November 5)
Everyone is invited to celebrate Opera Week and Austin Opera’s upcoming production of Bizet’s Carmen by creating a video that showcases a creative version of one of that opera’s classic melodies. Prizes will be awarded to the most inventive submissions. (online/Austin, TX)

Cantanti Project: Magic & Mayhem (October 27)
Attendees in costume will experience famous opera scenes, musical theater, spooky songs and jaw-dropping singing, followed by a dance party with rising pop sensation Petra Jarrar. (Brooklyn, NY)

Knoxville Opera & Zoo Knoxville: KO at BOO! at the Zoo (October 27)
Join the revelry at Knoxville's largest Halloween event in safe and not-too-scary style at Zoo Knoxville. Knoxville Opera sings their sirens' song as families trick-or-treat along the BOO! Trail. (Knoxville, TN)

Minnesota Opera & Tech Tools for the Trades: Project Opera: Tech Tools (October 30)
This introductory workshop teaches teens the principles of costume design. Participants will work with master craftsmen to explore the creative process of developing a costume design for an opera. (Minneapolis, MN)

Ohio State University: Ramala: An American "Indianist" Opera (November 1)
Charles Wakefield Cadman’s unperformed 1939 opera gets a special lecture/concert presentation when Ohio State musicologist Katie Graber presents her research into this work, which is based on traditional Native American melodies. (Columbus, OH)

Opera Maine: Opera Chorus Sing-Along (November 3)
Singers of all experience levels are warmly invited to join Opera Maine in singing some of opera's most beloved choruses. (Portland, ME)

Virginia Opera & Hardywood Park Craft Brewery: Tap into Virginia Opera! (November 2)
Savor Hardywood's legendary selection of craft brews accompanied by a performance featuring Virginia Opera's Herndon Foundation Emerging Artists. (Richmond, VA)

Opera Tampa: Straz LIVE! in the Park (November 5)
This family-friendly concert in Downtown Tampa features Opera Tampa singers and other artists performing popular arias and Broadway tunes.

Boston Lyric Opera & Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: The Creators of Burke & Hare Talk New Opera (November 5)
WBUR Arts Reporter Andrea Shea sits down with composer Julian Grant and librettist Mark Campbell to discuss their inspirations, writing process, and the vibrancy and urgency of opera in the 21st century. (Boston, MA)

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