25
Sep
2001
Approximately 85 people attended the Premiere Party for City Opera Company of the Quad Cities, at which Mark Elliot and Rosanne Duncombe-Elliott sang. It was the first public performance of what the group's leaders hope is the no-longer-absent element in the Quad Cities' arts scene.
Opera is "the only piece of the artistic puzzle that's now missing," said Mark Elliott, artistic director of City Opera Company of the Quad Cities with his wife, Rosanne Duncombe-Elliott. (Both Elliotts teach voice and performed opera professionally in Europe.) The Quad Cities are the only large metropolitan area in Illinois and Iowa without an opera, he added.
The idea for City Opera Company was born about a year ago, when the Elliotts were asked whether they'd be interested in producing an opera gala in the Quad Cities. The conversation was "a chat between friends that became something more." Organizers thought that an opera company might make more sense than a one-time event, and actual planning for the City Opera Company began in May.
City Opera Company hopes to bring opera programming to the Quad Cities beginning next year. The first large event will be a young-artist competition in March that will crown winners in three different categories. The top competitors in the two upper divisions will be given the opportunity to perform in an opera gala at the Adler Theatre in September 2002. Elliott also said he's planning to bring in a performer from The Metropolitan Opera for a lecture and presentation in January 2002, to help educate people who might be interested in opera but are a bit intimidated by it. (Elliott notes that many people are familiar with opera music, but they don't realize it because it's normally presented out of context, such as background music.)
These first-year events are modest, admittedly. An opera gala presents excerpts from various operas in a concert format, which might be an ideal introduction to opera for many people. "We are not yet at a point with financing to present a full-scale opera," Elliott said. Eventually, the company would like to present two or three operas a year in the Quad Cities.
The company also hopes to change what is now a reality for opera singers: "If you want a career in opera, you have to leave the area," Elliott said. If City Opera Company is a success, that will no longer be true.
People interested in getting more information about the City Opera Company of the Quad Cities can call Ron May at (563)355-8436 or Mark Elliott or Rosanne Duncombe-Elliott at (563)391-5279.
Opera is "the only piece of the artistic puzzle that's now missing," said Mark Elliott, artistic director of City Opera Company of the Quad Cities with his wife, Rosanne Duncombe-Elliott. (Both Elliotts teach voice and performed opera professionally in Europe.) The Quad Cities are the only large metropolitan area in Illinois and Iowa without an opera, he added.
The idea for City Opera Company was born about a year ago, when the Elliotts were asked whether they'd be interested in producing an opera gala in the Quad Cities. The conversation was "a chat between friends that became something more." Organizers thought that an opera company might make more sense than a one-time event, and actual planning for the City Opera Company began in May.
City Opera Company hopes to bring opera programming to the Quad Cities beginning next year. The first large event will be a young-artist competition in March that will crown winners in three different categories. The top competitors in the two upper divisions will be given the opportunity to perform in an opera gala at the Adler Theatre in September 2002. Elliott also said he's planning to bring in a performer from The Metropolitan Opera for a lecture and presentation in January 2002, to help educate people who might be interested in opera but are a bit intimidated by it. (Elliott notes that many people are familiar with opera music, but they don't realize it because it's normally presented out of context, such as background music.)
These first-year events are modest, admittedly. An opera gala presents excerpts from various operas in a concert format, which might be an ideal introduction to opera for many people. "We are not yet at a point with financing to present a full-scale opera," Elliott said. Eventually, the company would like to present two or three operas a year in the Quad Cities.
The company also hopes to change what is now a reality for opera singers: "If you want a career in opera, you have to leave the area," Elliott said. If City Opera Company is a success, that will no longer be true.
People interested in getting more information about the City Opera Company of the Quad Cities can call Ron May at (563)355-8436 or Mark Elliott or Rosanne Duncombe-Elliott at (563)391-5279.
