508:, and was reopened as the Sarasota Theatre of the Arts in 1984. The name was changed to the Sarasota Opera House a few years later. From 2007 until the opening of the new season on 1 March 2008, the opera house was extensively remodeled and updated throughout its interior and exterior. The $ 20 million renovations included a gutting of the auditorium, resulting in a newly configured seating plan, expansion of the public areas and Opera Club on the second level, the opening up of the atrium to reveal a newly installed skylight system which had existed in the 1926 building. Seating has been expanded to 1,119.
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200:, two concerts dedicated to the music of Verdi, a two-day International Verdi Conference in partnership with the American Institute for Verdi Studies, and a 28-year retrospective exhibit on the Verdi Cycle. Distinguished guests included two of Giuseppe Verdi's great-great-grandchildren, Maria Mercedes Carrara Verdi and Angiolo Carrara Verdi, Gloria Marina Bellelli, Consul General of Italy, and Enzo Petrolini, President of the Club dei 27.
504:, which had been renamed as the Florida Theatre in December 1936. The theater had been built in 1926 by an important early resident of Sarasota, Arthur Britton Edwards, as a versatile performance venue that could be adapted for vaudeville or as a movie house. The guild members renovated the building beginning in 1982. The next year the A. B. Edwards Theatre was listed on the
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The 2016 Winter
Festival Season brought the completion of the 28-year Verdi Cycle on March 20, 2016 making Sarasota Opera the only company in the world to have performed every work, operatic and non-operatic, available for performance by Giuseppe Verdi and Maestro Victor DeRenzi the only conductor in
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Under the artistic direction of Victor DeRenzi since 1982 and executive director
Richard Russell, the company presents its Winter Opera Festival in February and March, usually offering four fully staged operas with the Sarasota Opera Orchestra. The repertoire includes standard works as well as lesser
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The
Sarasota Youth Opera program, begun in 1984, is the most comprehensive training program designed for young people ages 8 to 18 currently in the United States. The program admits all who apply, regardless of skill level, and provides instruction in the musical and theatrical aspects of opera. In
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First launched in 2016, the Da Capo
Society is an organization for younger opera enthusiasts, roughly ages 21 to 40, dedicated to promoting and enjoying opera. Members enjoy discounted prices and meet to socialize before and after shows, as well as gaining access to behind-the-scenes conversations
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Starting this fall, Sarasota Opera will launch a new venture entitled "Sarasota Firsts" in which the company will present operas never previously produced on the
Sarasota Opera House stage. For the 2016/2017 season, Sarasota Opera will present three operas in association with this new series which
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In addition to two or three operas in the popular repertoire, each season typically includes an opera as part of the long-running "Verdi Cycle", the company's planned presentations of every Verdi opera, and one in the "Masterworks
Revival" series.
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magazine that "Richard
Russell, the company's new executive director, decided to pull the plug on the enterprising project due to lack of enthusiasm from the company's local patron base, heavy on seniors who prefer conservative repertoire".
59:, the guild then began mounting its own productions, also at the Asolo, in 1974, but when it acquired the Edwards Theatre in 1979, the company set about a rehabilitation of the old vaudeville and movie theater and opened it in 1984.
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The 2010-2011 opera season marked the beginning of
Sarasota Opera's newest initiative, the American Classics Series, through which Sarasota Opera has made the commitment to produce one opera by an American composer each season.
31:, USA, which was founded as the Asolo Opera Guild and, until 1974, presented a visiting company's productions. Between 1974 and 1979, it set about mounting its own productions in the same venue until, in 1979, it acquired the
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the world to have conducted every available work by
Giuseppe Verdi. The season culminated in a Verdi Festival Week, March 15–20, which included performances of the final two Verdi operas to be performed as part of the cycle,
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In June of 2016 and in recognition for his role in bringing the Verdi Cycle to completion, Maestro DeRenzi was knighted by the
Italian government, receiving the title of
358:. Both programs provide young singers with additional training and performance opportunities in the chorus or other small roles in the company's productions.
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bringing the number of operas presented in a season to five. For the most part, the Fall operas have been popular favourites, but in 2012, it presented
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with visiting artists. Members are encouraged to bring guests, as a central goal of the organization is to cultivate a younger audience for the opera.
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Initially bringing the Turnau Opera of Woodstock, New York to perform chamber-sized operas at the historic Asolo Theater on the grounds of the
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in the four-act version of 1884 (the "La Scala" version) in French. At the time, this was the largest opera ever presented by the company.
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One of the company's longest standing initiatives is the Verdi Cycle, an effort—which began in 1989—to perform all of the works of
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The series includes presentations of neglected works of artistic merit. Operas presented in this series have included
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recent years, the Sarasota Youth Opera has mounted world premieres on Sarasota's stage, the best-known being
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Sarasota Opera House, late March 2008, after complete interior and exterior renovation
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Jay Handelman, "Sarasota Opera offers a new approach to Verdi in 2013 winter season"
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by Giulietta Bascioni Brattini, "Intervista a Maria Mercedes Carrara Verdi", 2010
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Carrie Seidman, "Richard Russell returns to Sarasota Opera as Executive Director"
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Jay Handelman, "Sarasota Opera reaches final notes of 28 year Verdi Cycle"
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592:, February 12, 2012 on artssarasota.com Retrieved 12 February 2012
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774:"Sarasota Opera's DaCapo Society For Young Professionals Returns"
749:"SRQ Daily Nov 16, 2016 - Freshly Squeezed Content Every Morning"
674:"DeRenzi Knighted By Italian Government - SRQ Daily Jun 15, 2016"
554:, 19 September 2012 on artssarasota.com Retrieved 4 November 2012
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in 2008. In 2010, the Sarasota Youth Opera presented the opera
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Jay Handelman, "DeRenzi marks 30 years leading Sarasota Opera"
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151:. In 2009, the company staged performances of the composer's
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127:. In recent years, the Verdi Cycle operas have included
604:"Sarasota's Verdi: Every Opera, and complete pleasure"
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For a more detailed article on the opera house, see
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447:. Sarasota Opera presented the world premiere of
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467:based on the popular children's novel by
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624:. American Institute for Verdi Studies.
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104:Characteristic features of the company
51:Sarasota Opera House, late March 2008.
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709:"REVIEW: Courage of all kinds marks
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27:is a professional opera company in
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801:Sarasota Opera Home Page
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239:L'italiana in Algeri
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329:Stanisław Moniuszko
66:In March 2008, the
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275:L'amore dei tre re
177:Un giorno di regno
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245:Gioachino Rossini
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162:grand opera
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92:Daron Hagen
815:Categories
783:2023-03-07
758:2023-03-07
683:2023-02-28
512:References
465:Dean Burry
434:The Hobbit
375:'s opera,
182:Don Carlos
172:I Lombardi
160:The first
142:I Lombardi
622:"Welcome"
314:Maskarade
167:JĂ©rusalem
154:Don Carlo
77:Rigoletto
339:Mascagni
304:La Wally
224:will be
392:Vanessa
124:Requiem
82:Rossini
354:and a
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148:Otello
735:Opera
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334:Halka
72:Verdi
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