FEATURE
KENTUCKY OPERA — WELCOME TO SPRING AUTHOR Tom James , MD
We have all been through it : this dark year where much of human interaction was 2D rather than in three dimensional relationships . It ’ s natural as spring has come that we look to the arts to raise our spirits , even while that pandemic is yet to be fully contained . Of the arts , opera has it all , combining music , singing , acting and staging : the spectacle , emotion and sound . Opera offers the perfect form to consider how the arts will boost our psyches while keeping us safe . In part because of her personal strengths but in part because of the special role that opera has within the arts , the Kentucky Opera CEO , Barbara Lynne Jamieson , has been chosen board chair of Louisville ’ s Arts and Culture Alliance
Kentucky Opera is celebrating its 70th anniversary in the fall of 2022 . If this were a normal season , Kentucky Opera would be staging three full operas . Two would be well-known classics and one a more contemporary piece . Pre-pandemic , the 2020-2021 schedule called for presentations of Puccini ’ s “ La Bohème ,” Engelbert Humperdinck ’ s “ Hansel and Gretel ,” and a modernization of Gluck ’ s “ Orpheus and Eurydice ,” set in a hospital waiting room . Beyond the performances at the Brown Theater , Kentucky Opera has been reaching out to children and adult audiences . The Studio Artists include seven individuals from around this country , and even beyond the US , who typically have roles in the main stage performances , but also provide recitals and performances around the Commonwealth introducing opera to Kentuckians in less urban settings .
This pause in the normal opera season has given Kentucky Opera the opportunity to rethink its mission and readjust its plans . Beyond staging high quality regional performances , the focus for Kentucky Opera includes “ Engagement initiatives … with the greatest potential impact on underserved or at-risk populations .” Opera is not just a form of white upper- and middle-class entertainment . The richness of opera goes way beyond the art of Verdi , Puccini , Mozart and Bellini . There is a world of opera , composed by Black , Asian and Hispanic artists , whose works can engage all audiences . Danie Bernard Roumain , a Black composer , wrote the score for the chamber opera , “ We Shall Not Be Moved ,” which was called the best classical performance of 2017 by the New York Times . We all know Scott Joplin and his ragtime music , but he also wrote the score and the libretto for “ Treemonisha ,” an opera set in a former slave community . The 1996 premiere of “ Florencia en el Amazonas ” represented the first Spanish language opera widely performed in
10 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE