New York City Opera
The New York City Opera ( NYCO ) was an opera institution in New York City that existed from 1943 to 2013.
history
The New York City Opera was founded in 1943 and was the second largest cultural institution of its kind in the city after the Metropolitan Opera (MET). The aim was to make opera visits possible for broader strata of the population through low admission prices, which is why the mayor at the time, Fiorello LaGuardia, also referred to NYCO as "the people's opera". In the first opera season in 1944 were u. a. Giacomo Puccini's Tosca and Georges Bizet's Carmen performed to ticket prices from 0.75 to 2.00 USD . In order to make these low prices possible and because the MET's fees could not be competed with anyway, NYCO relied on young actors and their training from the start. The New York City Opera thus became a springboard for various later world stars, such as a. Josep Carreras or Plácido Domingo . Initially, the New York City Center was used as a venue, and since 1966 the performances have taken place in the David H. Koch Theater (New York State Theater) at Lincoln Center . Due to financial difficulties, the NYCO decided in 2011 to no longer use the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, but instead to perform on changing stages in New York.
On October 1, 2013, NYCO declared its bankruptcy and announced it would be closed and liquidated.
Directors
Laszlo Halasz (1943–1951)
Halasz was the first director of the house. During this time he shaped the company by consistently pursuing the goals: low admission prices, promoting young talent and promoting American composers and artists. He also advocated performing at least one foreign opera per season in English, also in order to reach a wider audience. Its budget for the first season was 30,463 USD . Halasz always added new, previously unknown works to the repertoire. In 1949 William Grant Still's opera Troubled Island celebrated its world premiere, it was the first opera by an African American to be played by a major opera house. Although Laszlo Halasz was fired in 1951 due to ongoing disputes with the board, his services were always recognized.
Joseph Rosenstock (1952–1956)
After Halasz's dismissal, Rosenstock was appointed director, who by then had already been a conductor for the NYCO. The opera The Tender Land by Aaron Copland had its world premiere in 1954 under his direction . For his decision to include musicals in the repertoire, Rosenstock was heavily criticized and ridiculed by the press, but since the performance of Show Boat was sold out and the opera buffa Don Pasquale only filled 35% of the seats this season, he saw himself confirmed. In 1956 he asked for his dismissal, because he had too much commercial work to do in this position, music and art were neglected for him.
Erich Leinsdorf (1956/1957)
After the board of directors had accepted Rosenstock's request, the conductor Leinsdorf was appointed director. However, he was also fired after a year, his brief tenure was considered hapless, most of the performances received poor reviews and the NYCO got into financial trouble. Only the successful production of Susannah by Carlisle Floyd , which from then on became one of the most popular and most performed operas in the United States after Porgy and Bess , is credited to Erich Leinsdorf.
Julius Rudel (1957–1979)
As Leinsdorf's successor, the board of directors decided on Julius Rudel, who had been with NYCO since completing his studies in 1944. Under his leadership, the house was considered one of the best addresses for opera performances in the United States in the 1960s, recognized by both critics and audiences. During Rudel's tenure, 19 world premieres took place as well as, from 1966, the move to the David H. Koch Theater as a performance venue.
Beverly Sills (1979–1988)
After Rudel decided in 1979 to give up the post of director, he was followed by the well-known opera singer Beverly Sills, who ended her active career. During her tenure, the New York State Theater (David H. Koch Theater) was renovated in 1982 for $ 5.3 million and in 1983 surtitles were introduced in the United States. In case of fire in 1985 were more than 10,000 costumes from the fundus of NYCO destroyed.
Christopher Keene (1989-1995)
On Sills' recommendation, she was followed in 1989 by Christopher Keene, who had previously worked as a conductor and music director in the house. He held the office until his death at the age of 48. During his term of office u. a. a musicians' strike and the strained financial situation of the deficit society for years worsened.
Paul Kellogg (1996-2007)
Keene was followed in 1996 by Paul Kellogg, who was previously director of Glimmerglass Opera . Under his direction, the NYCO achieved numerous productions that were praised by both audiences and critics. He also introduced the series Vox: Showcasing American Composers . This event, which takes place annually today under the name Vox, Contemporary Opera Lab , gives up- and- coming composers and librettists the opportunity to have their works performed by professional musicians and singers.
The Belgian opera and theater director and former artistic director of the Salzburg Festival Gerard Mortier was to take over as General Manager and Artistic Director from 2009 and has been preparing for this task since Paul Kellogg's departure. Due to the major financial losses suffered by NYCO as a result of the financial crisis from 2007 , Mortier was no longer able to offer an artistically demanding program, despite two years of preparation, and suddenly canceled in November 2008.
George Steel (from February 2009)
Web links
- The official website of the New York City Opera
- Collected press reports , The New York Times
- New York City Opera at Operabase (productions, artists and calendar)
Individual evidence
- ^ New York City Opera is insolvent. Deutschlandradio Kultur - Kulturnachrichten, October 2, 2013. ( Memento from October 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ New York City Opera Announces It Will Close . NYTimes.com, October 1, 2013.
- ^ Laszlo Halasz, 1st director of NYCO , The New York Times -Arts.
- ↑ The NYCO under Rudel, report in the New York Times .
- ^ "Mortier's rejection of New York. The first cultural victim of the crisis ” , in: FAZ , November 9, 2008.
Coordinates: 40 ° 46 ′ 18.5 ″ N , 73 ° 59 ′ 1.5 ″ W.