Longwood Opera
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Longwood Opera's mission statement
The mission of Longwood Opera is twofold:
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to prepare trained emerging singers for the
next stage in their operatic careers by providing them with
the opportunity to practice their art and to polish their performing
skills in major roles before a live audience
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to foster appreciation for opera among individuals
from all walks of life in the Greater Boston communities by
offering high-quality, accessible and affordable operatic experiences
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About the company
 J.
Scott Brumit, the co-founder and current general director
of Longwood Opera, compares the training of an opera singer to that
of an athlete:
Both must learn by doing.
The Boston area has plenty of conservatories and universities with
excellent music programs - but provides few opportunities for young
singers to practice and gain experience in their art.
Why? Producing opera is a costly
undertaking. Most major companies are reluctant to risk using "unseasoned"
singers in leading roles.
Scott Brumit and John Balme were willing to take that risk.
They founded Longwood Opera in 1986 to give locally-based performers
a chance to establish themselves as professional artists.
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| To continue the sports metaphor:
Longwood works as baseball farm team - the Pawtucket
Red Sox of opera.
Longwood achieves its commitment to local artists by using
a cooperative system. Many of the roles in each production
are double- or even triple-cast, allowing several singers
to perform the same role.
As a result, over the past seventeen years hundreds of singers
have had an opportunity to practice their craft as members
of the company. |
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As more people seek performing arts careers
in a climate of dwindling opportunity, Longwood Opera has
matured into a valuable forum for the young, talented artist.
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While part of the company's mission is to
prepare singers for the next stage in their operatic careers,
success in achieving this goal can bring joy mixed with a
little sadness, as favorite artists move on.
Happily, many singers keep their local ties and may express
interest in learning a new role in one of our productions.
As a result, audiences can enjoy a performance
cast with singers drawn from several generations of the Longwood
roster.
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Jeffrey
Brody |
Composers need support, too.
Longwood has already had the privilege of providing commissions
for composers and then staging the premiers of their new works:
Friends and Dinosaurs, by Charles Shadle, was first performed
in 1989. The spring of 2001 marked the premier of a new work,
The Measure of Love,
composed by Longwood's conductor, Jeffrey Brody, with a libretto
by Richard Sizensky, commissioned and performed by Longwood
Opera.
Jeffrey Brody
on composing an opera for Longwood |
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| Since 1990, Christ Episcopal
Church in Needham has served as our base of operations for auditions
and rehearsals, and as a performance space for many full productions
as well as for our Summer Concert Series.
We are also committed to bringing opera to communities throughout
the greater Boston area. Longwood provides professional-level performances
for local audiences without the inconveniences of expense or travel.
So Longwood has a double mission: to give young artists a chance
to practice their craft - and to provide Opera for All! |
| Who's Who at Longwood Opera:
Scott Brumit, General Director
Jeffrey Brody, Musical Director
Wayne Ward, Musical Director
Harding Ounanian, Director of Marketing Communications
Robert Monaghan, Production Coordinator
Shelley Monaghan, Production Coordinator
Marion Leeds Carroll, Webmistress |
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