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Longwood Opera
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 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.
Scotty 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! |
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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
Elaine Senay, Photographer & Historian
Roger Mansen, Technical Advisor
Marion
Leeds Carroll, Webmistress |
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