The Cincinnati Opera returns to Music Hall this summer
The Cincinnati Opera is back at Music Hall for the first time since 2019. As one of the oldest opera companies in the country—formed in 1920—the Cincinnati Opera is ready to dazzle guests with its jam-packed summer season.
Director of Communications Katie Syroney says the company cannot wait to start performing for guests again, with the company performing five operas this season.
The company was set to celebrate its 100th anniversary season in 2020 but had to put those plans on hold due to the pandemic. Syroney says it “pivoted as everybody else did” and held performances online. Last season, the company was able to perform safely outside at Summit Park in Blue Ash, with audiences cheering it on and braving the weather.
“We’re ready to move back in and to put some really amazing and beautiful productions up on the musical stage,” Syroney says.
2022 Summer Festival
Kicking off the 2022 Summer Festival June 18, 23 and 25 is La Bohème, a romantic love story that inspired the Broadway musical Rent. The opera takes place on a cold Christmas Eve in an apartment where the “penniless poet Rodolfo prepares to celebrate the holiday with friends on the city’s bustling streets.” However, after a knock on the door, he meets Mimì, whose candle has gone out. The opera explores the pair’s journey as sparks and emotions fly while searching for a match in the dark.
“La Bohème is just one of the most beloved works in all of opera,” Syroney says. “It’s just a really gorgeous, sweeping love story. It brings everyone to tears at the end, and it just fills your heart.”
For a fun and family-friendly opera, guests can enjoy The Pirates of Penzance, a comedy filled with swashbucklers, adventure and romance.
“We wanted a comedy to make people laugh, and it’s also pretty family friendly. It’s a great opportunity for people to bring kids and engage in something maybe they’ve not tried before,” Syroney says.
July 22, guests who are wanting to experience opera for the first time can enjoy Aida, which Syroney says is a great starting place for newcomers. The opera tackles war, forbidden love and secrets with grave consequences.
“Aida is just one of those super epic experiences that is sort of a bucket list item, I think, for people if they ever want to try opera—that’s one to start with,” Syroney says. “It’s just big and bold, and the music is just gorgeous. It’s an iconic opera experience.”
The Cincinnati Opera will also feature world premieres of two operas this season. Starting July 6 is Fierce, with music by William Menefield and libretto by Sheila Williams. Menefield—a Cincinnati native—and Northern Kentucky-based Williams were commissioned by the Cincinnati Opera to create an original work. The opera was originally set to debut during the 2020 season but was delayed due to the pandemic.
Fierce is brought together with collaboration from community partners WordPlay Cincy, The Music Resource Center – Cincinnati and i.imagine. Williams, the librettist, interviewed participants in WordPlay and The Music Resource Center to get a sense of what their lives are like as teens growing up and the issues they encounter—such as societal pressures, family issues and emotions.
“The story of the opera that will be sung is directly inspired by those conversations. That is pretty awesome and unique,” Syroney says. “We love how that will really reflect back to the community what the community is experiencing.”
Beginning July 21 is the premiere of Castor and Patience, with music by Gregory Spears and libretto by Tracy K. Smith. In 2016, the Cincinnati Opera commissioned an opera from Spears and it was a smashing success, Syroney says.
“It moved our audiences and we immediately asked him, ‘What do you want to do next?’ And [Castor and Patience] was the project that he brought to us,” Syroney says.
The story is set in the American South and tells its tale through the lens of historical challenges that still persist to this day, with the two main characters, cousins Castor and Patience, navigating financial and family struggles.
“It’s set against all the obstacles that Black Americans have faced in terms of land ownership in the United States. It really digs into that topic. Redlining, for instance, there’s just been extraordinary obstacles to inheritance and ownership for Black Americans,” Syroney says. “This probes into that a bit through this family story. It will be very moving.”
The Power of Opera
The arts community was one of the first industries to close because of the pandemic and one of the last to reopen. Now that the industry is slowly reopening, Syroney says people have been craving an “authentic emotional experience.”
“I believe that artistic expression—just sort of that unique human need to sing or to paint or to act—there is an energy there that is so infectious,” Syroney says. “It also shows us different sides of ourselves when we really allow ourselves to experience art and to truly listen and to truly be present when things are happening.”
Syroney says every person who comes to the opera will take away something different from the context of their lived experiences, but the opera hopes that people are able to unplug for a few hours and be washed over with “glorious music, incredible singing and visual spectacles.”
“They will experience and truly just get lost in the stories. As they reflect on that, they feel changed somehow—for the better—in terms of deepening one’s empathy or just feeling more connected to the people around them in the theater,” adds Syroney.
No matter what performance guests see this season, the opera’s goal is for them to experience joy and feel a connection to what they’re watching.
“It brings joy. It truly brings joy to people’s hearts. I think we’re ready for that. We need that,” Syroney says.
