History of Opera at Juilliard
Opera didn’t always have a place at Juilliard. Founded in 1905 as the Institute of Musical Art, the original conservatory program featured solo voice study in its curriculum, and only opera scenes were performed. In 1929, once a second, well-endowed ‘Juilliard Graduate School’ had merged and begun to overtake the Institute, opera was introduced; the first performance was of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.
In 1930, an opera department was created under the auspices of John Erskine, President of both schools, and Ernest Hutcheson, Dean of the Juilliard Graduate School. Albert Stoessel, a respected orchestral and choral conductor, was appointed head of the new department and remained director until his death in 1943. Between 1943 and 1947, Wilfred Pelletier, Edgar Schenkman, and Alfredo Valenti guided the program through its ambitious schedule. During those first 18 years, Juilliard staged 31 productions; 23 were from the pre-Classical, Classical, and Romantic opera repertoire, and 15 were contemporary works, including world premieres by George Antheil and Robert Russell Bennett. Handel’s Julius Caesar and Xerxes received their New York premieres at Juilliard, and it was only the second time they had been performed in the United States.
When William Schuman became President of Juilliard in 1945, he elevated the status of the opera program, changing its name to the Juilliard Opera Theater. He appointed Frederic Cohen, an experienced conductor and director, co-founder and artistic director of the Jooss Ballet, as its first director. Assisting Mr. Cohen were Frederic Waldman as associate director; Frederick Kiesler as scenic director; and Elsa Kahl as instructor in musical acting. The faculty included an expanded staff of coaches, accompanists, and diction teachers: Catherine Aspinall, Lucia Dunham, Eva Evans, Marion Szekely-Freschl, Serguis Kagen, Florence Kimball, Edith Piper, Dolf Seing, Belle Sondant, and Bernard Taylor.
The Juilliard Opera Theater’s first six years included productions of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Milhaud’s Le pauvre matelot, presented as a double bill; Verdi’s Falstaff; and Stravinsky’s Mavra. In 1952, Milhaud’s Robin and Marion was presented as Juilliard’s first commissioned opera. Mr. Cohen remained director of the Juilliard Opera Theater for 16 years. He retired in 1963, just prior to the appointment of Peter Mennin who, as President of Juilliard, would usher in an age of new prestige for opera at the School.
Christopher West, Mr. Cohen’s successor as Director of Juilliard’s Opera Theater, began his association with Juilliard in 1963 when he directed the American premiere of Paul Hindemith’s The Long Christmas Dinner, conducted by the composer himself. Other premieres staged by Mr. West during his tenure at Juilliard included the New York premiere of Janácek's Kátya Kabanová (1964) and the American premiere of Hans Werner Henze's Elegy for Young Lovers (1965). Standard works he produced were Puccini's Il tabarro and Gianni Schicchi (1964), Fidelio (1965), and Die Zauberflöte, La bohème and Madama Butterfly (1966). Mr. West remained at Juilliard until his death in October 1967. Among the singers educated in the early years of Juilliard's opera program were Simon Estes, Evelyn Lear, Leontyne Price, Risë Stevens, Thomas Stewart, Tatiana Troyanos, Shirley Verrett, and Marilyn Zschau.
In January 1965, President Mennin announced plans for a new American Opera Center for Advanced Training at Juilliard, aided by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The Center would offer young artists from the United States and abroad an advanced education in operatic singing under professional conditions. The establishment of the American Opera Center took place three years later in 1968, and Tito Capobianco was named its first director. The Center's first production — Igor Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf and directed by Mr. Capobianco — coincided with the opening of the Juilliard Theater in April 1970 (now called The Peter Jay Sharp Theater) in Juilliard’s new home at Lincoln Center.
Peter Herman Adler succeeded Tito Capobianco as the American Opera Center's director in September 1973 and remained in that capacity until 1981. Some of the notable AOC productions during Mr. Adler's tenure include the world premiere of Virgil Thomson's Lord Byron (Gerhard Samuel, conductor; John Houseman, director; and Alvin Ailey, choreographer) in April 1972; Samuel Barber's revised version of Antony and Cleopatra (James Conlon, conductor; and Gian Carlo Menotti, director) in February 1975; and the U.S. premiere of Emmanuel Chabrier's Le roi malgré lui (Manuel Rosenthal, conductor; Bliss Hebert, director; and George Balanchine, choreographer) in November 1976. Martin Smith, a head coach with the Center from 1973-81, served as acting director for the 1985-86 academic year. David Lloyd was the American Opera Center's director from 1986 until his retirement in the spring of 1988, after which Frank Corsaro was appointed the Center's artistic advisor. These successive directors continued Juilliard’s presentations of newer works with the New York premieres of Convery’s Pyramus and Thisby, Rhim’s Jacob Lenz, and Delius’ Fenimore and Gerda; the United States premiere of Weill’s Der Kuhhandel, in new translation by Jeremy Sams; and the world premiere of the Paulus/Corsaro commission, Heloise and Abelard.
Beginning with the 1988-1989 performance season, the Center was more simply renamed the Juilliard Opera Center. Today it is restructured as part of the Department of Vocal Arts, under the leadership of Artistic Director and renowned pianist Brian Zeger, with expanded opera studies and song repertoire programs at several levels of study for undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate singers.
In its nearly 77 year-history, Juilliard’s opera department has presented numerous premieres of new operas as well as works from the standard repertoire. For its 2005-2006 centennial celebration, Juilliard commissioned a new opera by alumnus Lowell Liebermann, Miss Lonelyhearts, with libretto by J.D. McClatchy, based on the novella by Nathanael West. Other recent productions have included Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges; Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue; an English-language production of Smetana’s The Bartered Bride; Handel’s Oreste; Stravinsky’s Oedipus rex and Le rossignol; Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin; Mozart’s Don Giovanni; Carlise Floyd’s Susannah; Poluenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites; Rossini’s La Cenerentola, and others. In December 1997, its second production of Humperdinck’s Hansel ünd Gretel – featuring new sets and costumes designed by Maurice Sendak – again made history as the first full-length opera production ever broadcast Live from Lincoln Center on PBS.
Today, the Juilliard Opera's Artist Diploma in Opera Studies program offers a professional education program for the finest young singers from around the world, with full tuition and living stipend provided. Participants are given the opportunity to perform in opera productions staged each season, as well as in Juilliard’s own series of master classes presented by esteemed artists, which have included Elly Ameling, Arleen Auger, Fedora Barbieri, Régine Crespin, Sherrill Milnes, Luciano Pavarotti, Leontyne Price, and José van Dam. Alumni of the Opera Center included John Aler, Peter Atherton, Gail Dobish, Faith Esham, Renée Fleming, Anthony Dean Griffey, Barbara Hendricks, Ben Holt, Hei-Kyung Hong, Matthew Lord, Leona Mitchell, Marie Plette, and Veronica Villaroel, among others.
In July 2007, Juilliard announced the appointment of Stephen Wadsworth, stage director, writer and educator, as the James S. Marcus Faculty Fellow: Director of Opera Studies, Artist Diploma. In this newly-created full-time position, Mr. Wadsworth leads curriculum development for the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies program, leads a new intensive acting program together with Juilliard faculty member Eve Shapiro, works closely with the young artists in the program and directs one Juilliard Opera production each year.
In February 2008, the Metropolitan Opera and Juilliard announced a joint training program to identify and train the finest young opera singers and accompanists, preparing them for careers in the world’s great opera houses. The newly-named Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in Partnership with The Juilliard School was announced by Peter Gelb, the Met’s General Manager, and Joseph W. Polisi, President of Juilliard. Met Music Director James Levine will serve as the program’s artistic director, and Brian Zeger, artistic director of Juilliard Vocal Arts, will serve as executive director. The program will begin with the 2010-2011 season.
Juilliard Opera Center Productions 1970-2008
1970
Fidelio/Ludwig van Beethoven
January 16/17/19
Concert Version - NY Philharmonic & Leonard Bernstein
The Rake's Progress/Igor Stravinsky
April 23/25/26
Erich Leinsdorf, conductor; Tito Capobianco, director
Il giuramento/Saverio Mercadante
May 15/16/17
Bruno Maderna, conductor; Tito Capobianco, director
1971
La clemenza di Tito/W.A. Mozart
January 21/22/23
Bruno Maderna, conductor; Osvaldo Riofrancos, director
A White Butterfly/Alan Leichting World Premiere
February 18/20
The Losers/Harold Farberman World Premiere
March 26/28
Harold Faberman, conductor; John Houseman, director
Huckleberry Finn/Hall Overton World Premiere
May 20/22
Dennis Russell Davies, conductor; William Woodman, director
Die Zauberflöte/W.A. Mozart
December 14/15/16
Theodore Bloomfield, conductor; George London, director
1972
La bohème/Giacomo Puccini
February 10/11/12/13
Lord Byron/Virgil Thomson World Premiere
April 20/22/23
Gerhard Samuel, conductor; John Houseman, director
Don Pasquale/Gaetano Donizetti
December 7/8/9
James Conlon, conductor; Gian-Carlo Menotti, director
1973
DOUBLE BILL
March 29/30/31
The Bear/Sir William Walton
David Ramadanoff, conductor; Boris Tumarin, director
Suor Angelica/Giacomo Puccini
James Conlon, conductor; Lee Owens, director
Macbeth/Ernest Bloch NY Premiere
May 9/11/13
Peter Herman Adler, conductor; John Houseman, director
The Bartered Bride/Bedrich Smetana
December 14/15/16/17
Peter Herman Adler, conductor; Rhoda Levine, director
1974
La bohème/Giacomo Puccini
February 28, March 1/2/3
James Conlon, conductor; Theodore Mann, director
Ariadne auf Naxos/Richard Strauss
May 2/3/4/5
Peter Herman Adler, conductor; Gerald Freedman, director
Tosca/Giacomo Puccini
December 12/13/14/15
Peter Herman Adler, conductor; John Houseman, director
1975
Antony and Cleopatra/Samuel Barber Premiere, revised version
February 6/8/9/10
James Conlon, conductor; Gian Carlo Menotti, director
The Turn of the Screw/Benjamin Britten
February 28, March 1
Rusalka/Antonín Dvo?ák
November 19/20/21/23
Peter Herman Adler, conductor; Moni Yakim, director
La traviata/Giuseppe Verdi
December 11/12/13/14
Sixten Ehrling, conductor; Bliss Hebert, director
1976
Il matrimonio segreto/Domenico Cimarosa
February 7/8
1976 continued
DOUBLE BILL
April 22/24/25
Il cordovano/Goffredo Petrassi US Premiere
John DeMain, conductor; Jack O'Brien, director
The Hundred Nights/Hugo Weisgall World Premiere
Bruce Ferden, conductor; John Olon-Scrymgeour, director
DOUBLE BILL
May 8/9
Signor Deluso/Thomas Pasatieri
Savitri/Gustav Holst
Le Roi malgré lui/Emmanuel Chabrier US Premiere
November 18/20/21/22
Manuel Rosenthal, conductor; Bliss Hebert, director
1977
Die Zauberflöte/W.A. Mozart
March 3/4
Falstaff/Giuseppe Verdi
April 21/22/24
Sixten Ehrling, conductor; Tito Gobbi, director
The Medium/Gian Carlo Menotti
May 8/9
Madama Butterfly/Giacomo Puccini
December 14/15/16
Myung-Whun Chung, conductor; Roy Lazarus, director
1978
La calisto/Pier Francesco Cavalli
February 24/25
Martin Isepp, conductor; David Ostwald, director
Jenufa/Leo Janácek
April 13/14/16
Peter Herman Adler, conductor; Gerald Freedman, director
Un ballo in maschera/Giuseppe Verdi
December 6/9/10
Sixten Ehrling, conductor; Tito Gobbi, director
1979
L'Orfeo/Claudio Monteverdi
February 1/3/4
Peter Herman Adler, conductor; Sandro Sequi, director
La finta giardiniera/W.A. Mozart
April 5/6
Roger Nierenberg, conductor; David Ostwald, director
A Midsummer Night's Dream/Benjamin Britten
April 27/29
Stephen Colvin, conductor; Norman Ayrton, director
La rondine/Giacomo Puccini
December 12/14/15/16
Laszlo Halasz, conductor; Ian Strasfogel, director
1980
Feathertop/Edward Barnes World Premiere
February 7/8/9/10
Richard Dufallo, conductor; H. Wesley Balk, director
The Mother of Us All/Virgil Thomson
February 29, March 1
Richard Fletcher, conductor; David Ostwald, director
DOUBLE BILL
April 24/26/27
Le rossignol/Igor Stravinsky
Jorge Mester, conductor; Norman Ayrton, director
La vida breve/Manuel de Falla
Jorge Mester, conductor; Norman Ayrton, director
The Hero/Gian Carlo Menotti NY Premiere
December 10/12/14
Christian Badea, conductor; Gian Carlo Menotti, director
1981
Lucia di Lammermoor/Gaetano Donizetti
February 25/27/28, March 1
Laszlo Halasz, conductor; Norman Ayrton, director
La buona figliuola/Niccolò Piccinni
April 24/26
Ivan Torzs, conductor; Norman Ayrton, director
La traviata/Giuseppi Verdi
December 9/10/11/13
Christian Badea, conductor; Andrei Serban, director
1982
Montezuma/Roger Sessions NY Premiere
February 19/21/23
Frederick Prausnitz, conductor; Ian Strasfogel, director
School For Fathers/Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
April 23/25
Jonathan McPhee, conductor; Norman Ayrton, director
Manon/Jules Massenet
December 9/10/12/13
Jorge Mester, conductor; Norman Ayrton, director
1983
I Capuleti ed i Montecchi/Vincenzo Bellini
February 23/25/27
Denis Vaughn, conductor; Ian Strasfogel, director
Die Walküre (Act I)/Wagner - Concert Version
April 8
Jorge Mester, conductor
Così fan tutte/W. A. Mozart
April 13/14/15
La bohème/Giacomo Puccini
1983 continued
December 8/9/10/11
Jorge Mester, conductor; Graziella Sciutti, director
1984
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk/Dmitri Shostakovich
February 15/17/19
Maxim Shostakovich, conductor; Robert Goldschlager, director
La Vie Parisienne/Jacques Offenbach
April 5/7/8
Roger Nierenberg, conductor; Norman Ayrton, director
Il trittico/Giacomo Puccini
December 5/7/9
Vincent La Selva, conductor; James Lucas, director
1985
Postcard From Morocco/Dominick Argento
February 20/22/24
Ronald Braunstein, conductor; David Ostwald, director
Xerxes/George Frederick Handel
April 24/26/28
Albert Fuller, conductor; Norman Ayrton, director
Pyramus and Thisbe/Robert Convery NY Premiere
October 18
Casey at the Bat/William Schuman
November 22/24
Ronald Braunstein, conductor; Daniel West, director
1986
Mireille/Charles Gounod
February 21/23/25
Anton Coppola, conductor; Bernard Lefort, director
Don Giovanni/W.A. Mozart
April 16/18/20
Klauspeter Seibel, conductor; Dino Yannopoulos, director
Le nozze di Figaro/W.A. Mozart
December 10/12/14
Michael Charry, conductor; Rhoda Levine, director
1987
Albert Herring/Benjamin Britten
February 18/20/22
Andreas Delfs, conductor; Cynthia Auerbach, director
DOUBLE BILL
April 24/26/28
Tamu-Tamu/Gian Carlo Menotti
Amelia al ballo/Gian Carlo Menotti
Mark Stringer, conductor; Gian Carlo Menotti, director
Jakob Lenz/Wolfgang Rihm NY Premiere
December 11/13/15
Klauspeter Seibel, conductor; Ian Strasfogel, director
1988
Béatrice et Bénédict/Hector Berlioz
February 19/21/23
Jorge Mester, conductor; Jack Eddleman, director
A Midsummer Night's Dream/Benjamin Britten
April 22/24/26
Raymond Harvey, conductor; Dorothy Danner, director
The Crucible/Robert Ward
December 7/9/11
John DeMain, conductor; Eve Shapiro, director
1989
A Celebration of Grand Opera
February 17/19
Arias and Scenes From Famous Operas
Anton Coppola, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
L'amico Fritz/Pietro Mascagni
April 12/14/16
Nello Santi, conductor; Christopher Mattiliano, director
Così fan tutte/W. A. Mozart
November 17/19/21
Andreas Delfs, conductor; Eve Shapiro, director
1990
DOUBLE BILL
February 23/25/27
Rothschild's Violin/Fleischmann-Shostakovich
American Premiere
The Seven Deadly Sins/Kurt Weill
Bruno Ferrandis, conductor; Christopher Mattaliano, director
Hugh the Drover/Ralph Vaughan Williams
April 25/27/29
Richard Bradshaw, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
DOUBLE BILL
December 12/14/16
A Matter of Taste/William Schuman
The Mighty Casey/William Schuman
Gerard Schwarz, conductor; Edward Berkeley, director
1991
Falstaff/Giuseppe Verdi
February 11/13/16
Julius Rudel, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
DOUBLE BILL
April 24/25/28, May 20
Le donne rivali/Domenico Cimarosa
Lo sposo deluso/W. A. Mozart
Will Crutchfield, conductor; Eve Shapiro, director
Vanessa/Samuel Barber
December 11/13/15
Richard Bradshaw, conductor; Edward Berkeley, director
1992
A Celebration of 20th-Century Opera
February 26/28, March 1
Featuring singers from the Juilliard Opera Center in works by Shostakovich, Blitzstein, Bernstein, Walton, Kern, Hoiby, and Weill
Hal France, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
Fennimore and Gerda/Frederick Delius New York Premiere
April 29, May 1/3
Christopher Keene, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
Medea/Jacob Druckman
October 15
A concert reading of The Prologue and Act I
Bruno Ferrandis, conductor; Edward Berkeley, director
Don Pasquale/Gaetano Donizetti
December 9/11/13
Hal France, conductor; Moni Yakim, director
1993
DOUBLE BILL
February 24/26/28
Les Mamelles de Tirésias/Francis Poulenc
La Voix humaine/Francis Poulenc
John McGlinn, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
The Rape of Lucretia/Benjamin Britten
March 25/26/27/28
(Chamber Opera Production)
Bruno Ferrandis, conductor; Christopher Mattaliano, director
Il viaggio a Reims/Gioachino Rossini
November 10/12/14
Richard Bradshaw, conductor; Christopher Mattaliano, director
1994
A Celebration of Song from Mussorgsky to Bernstein
February 2/3/4/5
(Chamber Opera Production)
Frank Corsaro and Richard Harrell, directors
L'incoronazione di Poppea/Claudio Monteverdi
April 20/22/24
Gary Wedow, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
The Immortal Hour/Rutland Boughton
November 16/18/20
Randall Behr, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
1995
The Impresario/W.A. Mozart
February 2/3/4
(Chamber Opera Production)
Kenneth Merrill, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
Werther/Jules Massenet
April 5/7/9
Guido Ajmone-Marsan, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
L'Amour des trois oranges/Serge Prokofiev
1995 continued
November 15/17/19
Randall Behr, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director;
Maurice Sendak, scenic and costume design
1996
Le nozze di Figaro/W.A. Mozart
April 17/19/21
Richard Bradshaw, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
Elegy for Young Lovers/Hans Werner Henze
November 20/22/24
Randall Behr, conductor; Christopher Mattaliano, director
1997
DOUBLE BILL
April 16/18/20
Monsieur Choufleuri/Jacques Offenbach
Gianni Schicchi/Giacomo Puccini
Randall Behr, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
Hänsel und Gretel
December 11, 13, 15, 17 (Live from Lincoln Center broadcast)
Randall Behr, condutor; Frank Corsaro, director
Maurice Sendak, new costume and set design
1998
Il cappello di paglia di Firenze/Nino Rota
November 18/20/22
Randall Behr, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director; Franco Colavecchia, set design
1999
Armide/Christoph Willibald Gluck
November 17/19/21
Randall Behr, conductor; Chas Rader-Shieber, director; David Zinn, set and costume design
2000
Der Kuhhandel/Kurt Weill
United States premiere production
Newly commissioned translation by Jeremy Sams
April 11/13/15
Randall Behr, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director; Franco Colavecchia, set design
La Cenerentola/Gioachino Rossini
November 15/17/19
Kenneth Merrill, conductor; Eve Shapiro, director; Juliana von Haubrich, set design
2001
Dialogues of the Carmelites/Francis Poulenc
April 25/27/29
Julius Rudel, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director;
Franco Colavecchia, set design
Susannah/Carlisle Floyd
November 14/16/18
Julius Rudel, conductor; Eve Shapiro director;
Chris Barreca, set design
2002
Heloise and Abelard/Stephen Paulus/Frank Corsaro World Premiere
April 24/27/29
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Frank Corsaro, director
Eugene Onegin/Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
November 13/15/17
Julius Rudel, conductor; Eve Shapiro, director
2003
Don Giovanni/W. A. Mozart
April 25/27/29
Jahja Ling, conductor, Edward Berkeley, director
Oreste/G.F. Handel
November 12/14/16
Daniel Beckwith, conductor, Lillian Groag, director
2004
DOUBLE BILL
Oedipus rex/Stravinsky
Le rossignol/Stravinsky
April 20/22/24
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor, Ned Canty, director
DOUBLE BILL
L’enfant et les sortileges/Ravel
L’enfant prodigue/Debussy
December 8/10/12
Yves Abel, conductor; Lillian Groag, director
2005
The Bartered Bride/Smetana
April 27/29, May 1
Mark Stringer, conductor; Eve Shapiro, director
A Midsummer Night’s Dream/Britten
November 16/18/20
David Atherton, conductor; Eve Shapiro, director
2006
Miss Lonelyhearts/Lowell Liebermann/J.D. McClatchy
World Premiere, Commissioned for Juilliard’s Centennial
April 26/28/30
Andreas Delfs, conductor; Ken Cazan, director
Orphée aux enfers/Offenbach
November 15/17/19
Anne Manson, conductor; Jon Pascoe, director
2007
La finta giardiniera/W.A. Mozart
April 25/27/29
Gary Thor Wedow, conductor; Jay Lesenger, director
Le comte Ory/G. Rossini
November 14/16/18
Asher Fisch, conductor; Sam Helfrich, director
2008
Our Town/Ned Rorem/J.D. McClatchy
New York Premiere
April 23/25/27
Anne Manson, conductor; Edward Berkeley, director
Juilliard Opera Productions
2009
The Death of Klinghoffer by John Adams
January 31
John Adams, conductor; Edward Berkeley, director
Falstaff by Verdi
April 22/24/26
Keri-lyn Wilson, conductor; Stephen Wadsworth, director
Ariodante by Handel
November 11/13/15
Gary Thor Wedow, conductor, Stephen Wadsworth, director
2010
The Tender Land by Aaron Copland
January 30
David Effron, conductor
Transformations by Conrad Susa
February 15/17/19
Edward Berkeley, director
Dialogues of the Carmelites by Francis Poulenc
April 21/23/25
Anne Manson, conductor; Fabrizio Melano, director
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