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| Centre for Contemporary Opera | |
|---|---|
| Name | Centre for Contemporary Opera |
| Formation | 1982 |
| Founder | George Manahan; Carol Plantamura |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Location | United States |
| Leader name | Gloria Boostrom |
| Leader title | Artistic Director |
Centre for Contemporary Opera is an American nonprofit opera company based in New York City dedicated to producing, commissioning, and promoting contemporary opera and music theater. The organization stages professional productions, workshops, and recordings of new works by living composers and lesser-known 20th- and 21st-century composers. Through collaborations with universities, festivals, conservatories, and ensembles, it serves as a nexus between composers, librettists, performers, and presenters.
Founded in 1982, the company emerged during a period of renewed interest in new music opera inspired by institutions such as New York City Opera, Miller Theatre, and Juilliard School. Early seasons reflected influences from composers affiliated with Columbia University, The Juilliard School, and Manhattan School of Music, and drew performers from ensembles like American Composers Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, and New York Philharmonic. Over decades the organization weathered shifts in cultural funding involving foundations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Ford Foundation, and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, while engaging with venues across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and regional stages tied to Tanglewood Music Center and Carnegie Hall educational initiatives.
The company’s mission centers on commissioning and presenting contemporary operatic works, supporting composers and librettists, and preserving 20th- and 21st-century repertoire. It produces mainstage productions, staged readings, and concert presentations akin to activities at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Metropolitan Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. The organization facilitates collaborations with institutions such as Bard College, Columbia University School of the Arts, and New England Conservatory, and partners with presenters including Brooklyn Academy of Music and Kennedy Center. It also awards residencies and prizes in the spirit of initiatives like the Guggenheim Fellowship and Pulitzer Prize commissions.
The company has presented world premieres, American premieres, and revivals of 20th- and 21st-century operas by composers linked to Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Luciano Berio, and Philip Glass traditions, while spotlighting emerging voices resonant with figures like Missy Mazzoli, David T. Little, Kaija Saariaho, and Harrison Birtwistle. Productions have been staged in venues comparable to Alice Tully Hall, Symphony Space, and off-Broadway theaters associated with Roundabout Theatre Company. The repertory ranges from chamber operas reflecting the aesthetics of Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg to genre-defying works in the lineage of John Adams and Steve Reich. The company’s premieres have attracted performers affiliated with Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Young Concert Artists, and ensembles such as New York Voices.
The organization has commissioned works from both established and emerging composers, collaborating with librettists, directors, and conductors who have affiliations with institutions like Yale School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, and Royal College of Music. Notable collaborators include composers in the circles of Elliott Carter, Roger Sessions, and George Crumb, as well as contemporary figures connected to Caroline Shaw, Tania León, and Julia Wolfe. These collaborations often involve workshops with ensembles modeled on ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), Ensemble Modern, and Alarm Will Sound, and have resulted in staged commissions supported by funders in the manner of the Sloan Foundation and Koussevitzky Music Foundation.
Educational programming includes workshops, masterclasses, and lecture-demonstrations designed for conservatory students and community members, similar to outreach by Mannes School of Music, Peabody Institute, and Curtis. The company partners with youth ensembles, summer programs like Aspen Music Festival and School and Tanglewood Music Center, and academic departments at Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center to provide internships, composer labs, and dramaturgy practica. Outreach initiatives extend to community venues and libraries in neighborhoods across Manhattan, Bronx, and Queens, and work with presenting organizations such as Lincoln Center Education.
The company operates as a not-for-profit corporation with a board of directors, artistic staff, and administrative personnel. Leadership has included artistic directors and conductors with connections to New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, and university music faculties like University of California, Los Angeles and Princeton University. Music directors and guest conductors have been drawn from institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and Royal Academy of Music. The board’s fundraising and governance model follows practices seen at American Guild of Musical Artists-adjacent organizations and regional companies supported by state arts councils.
The company has produced live recordings, studio releases, and scholarly program notes documenting new operas in formats comparable to releases on labels like Naxos, Mode Records, and New World Records. Program booklets and libretti have been distributed to libraries associated with New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and academic collections at Columbia University Libraries. Critical reception has been covered in outlets such as The New York Times, Opera News, Gramophone (magazine), and specialist journals aligned with scholarship from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.
Category:Opera companies in New York City