Circle of Life
The New York region is known for its scrappy, adventurous, and unique opera companies. Some come in like a lightning bolt electrifying the opera status quo before going dim (think Loft Opera), while some steadily grow and become a fixture on the New York opera scene (Heartbeat Opera). And still other companies arrive on the scene with a fresh perspective, creative staging, and a mission to make opera feel like a totally immersive experience, like On Site Opera.
Created by founding General and Artistic Director Eric Einhorn and later guided by General Director/CEO Piper Gunnarson, Artistic Director Sarah Meyers, and Music Director Geoffrey McDonald, On Site became a leader in creating inventive, site-specific operatic presentations that showed that opera could be improved by intimacy and settings that enhance storytelling.
In January of 2025, On Site decided to shutter its operations. After 12 years of performances throughout New York, beginning with a collaboration at the Bronx Zoo, On Site’s staff and board made the difficult decision to end, as recently noted by their online statement, “While the decision is not an easy one, the financial landscape for the arts has made it increasingly challenging to sustain the kind of immersive, high-quality work we have always strived to create.” Indeed, On Site took traditional works and contemporary operas and gave them fresh retellings with top-tier talent and wonderful direction.
On Site Opera created a space where artists and audiences could experience opera in a way that connected them through an immediacy that allowed the story to resonate in a deeper way. They will be missed.
It’s All about That ’Base
Are you looking to program operas and vocal music by African American composers? Look no further than the Black Opera Database, an ever-expanding database of Black composers and their works. Created by Black Opera Research Network Fellows Nicholas Newton and Allison Lewis in conjunction with Dr. Naomi André, one of the foremost scholars on Black Opera, the Black Opera Database not only serves as a resource for those interested in learning more about the vast amount of vocal literature created by Black creatives, but also chronicles how Black Opera has evolved throughout history.
It Is the Very Model of a Major Opera Company
In December of 2024, Opera Delaware launched a revolutionary new initiative aimed at supporting operatic artists in a new model that, according to Opera Delaware General Director Brendan Cooke, “replaces fractional contract-labor relations with a full-time employment agreement that strengthens the connection between artist, company, and community.”
In addition to serving as artistic ambassadors for Opera Delaware, the artists fill vital roles within the company, reshaping administrative duties in operations, marketing, and education while deepening their connection to the company and the community.
For the artists, a chance to be in one city, and honing their craft through a host of performance opportunities, while also gaining knowledge about how an opera company runs, is invaluable and removes the “starving artist” idea that runs deep through the creative economy. Generously supported by the Longwood and Presser Foundations, this new employment model shows that opera can evolve in a manner that supports artists, companies, and communities.
NEA Makes a New Play
Amidst a flurry of recent presidential executive orders, the National Endowment for the Arts has introduced new guidelines specifically in relation to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). As of now, applicants are not to operate programs that “violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws” and restrict grantees from using federal funds to promote “gender ideology.” Applicants are encouraged (strongly) to propose projects that celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
For many arts groups—including many opera companies and choral institutions committed to DEI—the change has garnered confusion as to whether existing funds that have been granted will still be administered. Nearly $37 million dollars were planned to be given to 1,474 organizations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico for the current fiscal year.
With many of the applicants planning to use funding for existing projects that may seem at odds with the new executive orders, only time will tell how this will shape future programming that enables arts organizations to tell the stories of its many diverse citizens.
Five Singers to Watch
Alissa Albertson has been praised for her “powerful (and befittingly deep) contralto,” and for bringing her “formidable stage presence” to a variety of roles. She was recently seen as Mrs. Moreno in Opera Philadelphia’s The Listeners, as a scene-stealing Old Lady in Candide with the South Florida Orchestra, and as Lola Allen Loving in the world premiere of Damien Geter and Jessica Murphy Moo’s Loving v. Virginia directed by Denyce Graves and conducted by Adam Turner.
Alissa Albertson, Contralto
Baritone Kidon Choi, a recent graduate of the Metropolitan Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, has been hailed as “that rarest of singers—a true Verdi baritone—with a range, flexibility, and opulence.” He was recently seen as Amonasro at Arizona Opera and joins the roster of LA Opera, covering the title role in Rigoletto. Earlier this season, the artist was seen as Marcello in Opera San José’s La Bohème. Other recent appearances include Die Zauberflöte with the Cleveland Orchestra and Madama Butterfly with San Diego Opera. Next season, he returns to both Lyric Opera of Chicago and Opera San José and makes his debut with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Kidon Choi, Baritone
Hailed as a “crystalline lyric soprano and a superb singing actress,” soprano Amber R. Monroe was recently seen as Lucienne in Korngold’s rarely heard Die tote Stadt with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and as Nedda (Pagliacci) at Pensacola Opera. She will return to Washington National Opera, where she is a graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist Program, as Serena in Francesca Zambello’s production of Porgy and Bess. She will also make her debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as the High Priestess while covering the title role in Aïda. Next season she sings the title role in Aïda at Washington National Opera, appears as Mary Johnson in Fellow Travelers in her Seattle Opera debut, and joins the roster of San Francisco Opera covering Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking.
Amber R. Monroe, Soprano
Tenor Jamez McCorkle, described as having a voice that is “substantial, expressive, and flexible,” garnered critical praise for singing the leading role in Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’ Omar appearing at the Spoleto Festival, LA Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and San Francisco Opera. He recently sang Florestan in Washington National Opera’s Fidelio, joined the Staatsoper Hamburg as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, and sang as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the St. Louis Symphony. Upcoming, the tenor will reprise Florestan at France’s Opéra National de Bordeaux and make his house and role debut as Siegmund in Die Walküre at Santa Fe Opera.
Jamez McCorkle, Tenor
Praised for his “exemplary technique combined with a refined sensitivity,” Filipino countertenor Kyle Sanchez Tingzon was seen as Endimione in last summer’s La Calisto at the Glimmerglass Festival. He also spent December performing as a soloist in John Adams’ El Nino: Nativity Reconsidered with the Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Gävle Konserthus, and the American Modern Orchestra. He recently joined Detroit Opera as Goffredo in Rinaldo alongside Anthony Roth Costanzo, Elena Villalón, and Nicole Heaston. A favorite of the American Bach Soloists, Kyle recently performed in their “Bach’s Paradise” concert conducted by Jeffrey Thomas.
Kyle Sanchez Tingzon, Countertenor
New and Noteworthy
Composer, percussionist, and cofounder of NYC’s Experiments in Opera Aaron Siegel and former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize® winner Tracy K. Smith’s oratorio, I Will Tell You the Truth about This, I Will Tell You All about It, recounts the stories of African American soldiers and their families during the Civil War. Taken from letters found in the National Archives, “I Will Tell You” is written for chamber choir, piano, violin, and cello.
The work is a unique fusion of rhythmically driven folk-inspired songs alongside soulfully mournful narratives that harken back to American Romanticism, yet still feel modern. Beginning with a somber solo violin that bursts into flights of virtuosity, it evokes a deep feeling of urgency, resiliency, and pain connected to these stories that have nearly been forgotten.
Each musical number is as unique as the letter upon which it is based. Particularly striking are “Mr. Abraham Lincoln,” which melds both Siegel’s use of simple folk-like melody with his innate sense of vocal and musical rhythmic underpinning. Also of note is “My Children,” from an 1864 letter, and “I take the pleasure of writing you,” from an 1866 letter, with a driving pulse that highlights the importance and thrill of Black men exercising their right to pen letters.
Using the Baroque tradition of soloists emerging from the chamber choir, the singers equip themselves well as they maintain blend in the choral writing while also shining in solo moments. I Will Tell You the Truth about This, I Will Tell You All about It is available on Gold Bolus Recordings.
