Harvard College Opera

Harvard College Opera (HCO), formally the Harvard College Opera Society, is a collegiate opera company composed of undergraduates at Harvard College and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1992 at Dunster House as the Dunster House Opera Society, the organization aims to expand undergraduate access to opera at Harvard.[1][2][3]

Agassiz House, whose theatre has been the venue for HCO's productions since 2014

HCO presents a variety of performances, including annual staged operas at the Agassiz Theatre and recitals. Prior to the 2014 season, the company performed its annual operas in Dunster House.[4][5]

Membership

Harvard College Opera is governed by a Board of Operators composed of approximately twenty students. The Board of Operators selects a shortlist of operas for the music and stage directors, also selected by the Board, to decide from for each production. In keeping with the company's mission of providing opportunities to undergraduates, the music and stage directors are always students at Harvard College.

The annual operas produced by HCO involve around 80 undergraduates in the cast, staff, and orchestra.[6][7] To provide opera performance opportunities to students of a liberal arts institution, the cast is generally entirely composed of Harvard undergraduates, though the company has occasionally featured undergraduates at the Boston Conservatory and New England Conservatory, students at the Harvard graduate schools, and recent graduates of Harvard College.

Past productions

Notable alumni

Past members of the company include composers Benjamin P. Wenzelberg, Matthew Aucoin[8] and Joel Derfner,[9] baritone Davóne Tines,[10] mathematician and chessmaster Noam Elkies,[11] and businesswoman Randi Zuckerberg.[12]

References
  1. "A night at the opera: HCO presents Mozart's 'Le nozze di Figaro' - The Tufts Daily". The Tufts Daily. 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  2. STAFF, BMINT (2017-01-16). "Saying "I Do" and "Yes We Can" to Le Nozze". The Boston Musical Intelligencer. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  3. Thamel, Pete (2007-11-17). "Football Bruiser With Pavarotti Dream". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  4. Topczewska, Ola (4 February 2014). "“Così fan tutte” Updated and Repackaged at Agassiz". Harvard Crimson
  5. BWW News Desk. "Harvard College Opera Celebrates 25 Years of Performance with LE NOZZE DI FIGARO". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  6. BWW News Desk. "Harvard College Opera Presents Stravinsky's THE RAKE'S PROGRESS This Weekend". Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  7. Valentino, Patrick (2017-02-04). "Timeless Figaro Impresses - The Boston Musical Intelligencer". The Boston Musical Intelligencer. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  8. "Musical wunderkind Aucoin is a star in ascendancy - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  9. Dunster House Opera Society. Gianni Schicchi and La Rondine 1995 Archived 2016-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Davóne Tines: Wide-Ranging Baritone Set to Make His Mark at S.F. Opera". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  11. Dunster House Opera Society. Don Giovanni 1998
  12. Dunster House Opera Society. The Bartered Bride 2001

Official website

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