Chicago Opera Theater Announces GIOVANNA D'ARCO As The 'People's Opera' Winner
By: Charlie Piane Jun. 21, 2010
The winner of Chicago Opera Theater's (COT) third annual "People's Opera" contest is Giuseppe Verdi's Giovanna d'Arco (Joan of Arc). Giovanna d'Arco maintained the lead spot throughout the competition that began on April 15 and ended Friday, June 11.
Opera patrons and audience members voted with their dollars to select an opera to be produced by COT during the 2012-13 Season. Voters chose from three different Verdi operas in recognition of the Bicentenary of Giuseppe Verdi's birth in 2013. The other two nominees were I masnadieri (The Bandits) and I due Foscari (The Two Foscari), which came in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. This year the "People’s Opera" raised over $32,000 for Chicago Opera Theater. "I am delighted that Chicago Opera Theater audiences have voted for Verdi’s Giovanna d’Arc," said General Director Brian Dickie. "When we present this opera, in celebration of the bicentennial of Verdi’s birth, Chicago audiences will experience Verdi’s unique take on Joan of Arc, the legendary Maid of Orleans, in a thrilling new production by Chicago Opera Theater!"Founded in 1974 by Alan Stone, Chicago Opera Theater has carved a significant place for itself in the operatic life of Chicago and has reached an audience of hundreds of thousands through its main stage performances, outreach, education and young artist programs.Since Brian Dickie's appointment as General Director in 1999, COT has evolved as an opera company that is young, fresh, and colorful - an image well suited to its surroundings at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.
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