National Opera Week 2014 Breaks Records

This year marked the most successful NATIONAL OPERA WEEK yet, smashing previous participation records. From Friday, October 24 through Sunday, November 2, 2014, 205 opera companies, schools and organizations across North America presented performances, activities, contests and announcements in 37 states to celebrate opera.

First held in 2009, National Opera Week is an annual event coordinated by OPERA America, the national service organization for opera. National Opera Week celebrates the vibrancy of opera in America today, and conveys the excitement and importance of opera to a wide national audience.

The strength and diversity of established opera companies, community opera ensembles, opera training programs, and opera-related learning and social groups across North America were on display through the wide array of events offered. These activities included performances, family-friendly festivals, lectures, social events, social media contests and announcements of year-round community impact.

Star bass-baritone ERIC OWENS served as Honorary Chairman of National Opera Week 2014. "I'll never forget my first time attending a live opera performance. It was a life-changing experience, simply for having heard the human voice in all of its glorious splendor," stated Owens. "Opera is an all-encompassing art form - it combines music with theater and dance and sets and lighting in a way that no other musical performance does," he continued.

A welcome message from Eric Owens is available at operaamerica.org/OperaWeek.

To highlight many examples of opera's current vitality, OPERA America President/CEO Marc A. Scorca issued a statement on Friday, October 31 on the state of the opera field, which reads in part:

"Over recent months, companies have navigated numerous obstacles to bring exciting performances by outstanding artists to appreciative audiences; a number of them are still struggling to under the weight of deficits that accumulated through the years of the Great Recession. Without oversimplifying the challenges that must be addressed, opera's vitality is not limited to National Opera Week. Artistically, the field has never been more vibrant. Companies are implementing new strategies to build attendance at the same time that public events have demonstrated a tremendous interest in the art form."

The statement may be read in full online.

National Opera Week 2015 took place from Friday, October 23 to Sunday, November 1, 2015. View the full list of National Opera Week 2014 activities at operaamerica.org/OperaWeek.

About OPERA America - OPERA America (operaamerica.org) leads and serves the entire opera community, supporting the creation, presentation and enjoyment of opera. Artistic services help opera companies and creative and performing artists to improve the quality of productions and increase the creation and presentation of North American works. Information, technical and administrative services to opera companies reflect the need for strengthened leadership among staff, trustees and volunteers. Education, audience development and community services are designed to enhance all forms of opera appreciation. Founded in 1970, OPERA America's worldwide membership network includes nearly 200 Company Members, 300 Associate and Business Members, 2,000 Individual Members and more than 10,000 subscribers to the association's electronic news service.

In response to the critical need for suitable audition, rehearsal and recording facilities, OPERA America opened the first ever NATIONAL OPERA CENTER (operaamerica.org/OperaCenter) in September 2012 in New York City. With a wide range of artistic and administrative services in a purpose-built facility, OPERA America is dedicated to increasing the level of excellence, creativity and effectiveness across the field.