Women directors to helm new season of Opera Columbus
Year in and year out, Opera Columbus presents gifted artists singing at the top of their lungs.
When reflecting on its current season and looking ahead to its next season, though, the company itself is finding plenty of reasons to sing.
For starters, a number of recent productions have attracted new audiences. When the troupe performed “Cinderella” in October, 35% of those in attendance had never before gone to an opera; and at “Maria de Buenos Aires” in February, 29% were newbies, according to General Director and CEO Julia Noulin-Merat.
“I like to say we are dating right now, so we are wooing people,” Noulin-Merat said. “‘Maria’ was our biggest box-office hit in 10 years.”
Photos: Opera Columbus to perform family-friendly version of "Cinderella"
Noulin-Merat — who assumed the reins of the company in January 2021, following the departure of former leader Peggy Kriha Dye — attributes the string of successes to listening closely to audience preferences in the post-pandemic era.
“We realized going to the theater is just no longer enough,” Noulin-Merat said. “If you’re asking me to come Downtown, it’s, ‘What are the restaurants? ... What other experiences am I going to get to enjoy for one evening?’ So, based on that, that’s how we developed. We had the tea party or the tiara contest for ‘Cinderella,’ and then for ‘Maria,’ you could come and tango onstage before the show.”
And this weekend in the Ohio Theatre, the company performed its season finale production of “Rigoletto,” an ambitious, large-scale joint undertaking with the Columbus Symphony.
“We wouldn’t be able to do ‘Rigoletto’ at the Ohio Theatre, given the size of our company, if it wasn’t (for) a wonderful co-production with the symphony,” she said. “As well, CAPA (the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts) has been very supportive of this and has been encouraging us.”
For its 2023-24 season, which the company announced today, Opera Columbus hopes to sustain its musical momentum. After scaling back its operating budget to $1.2 million, the company plans to return to its pre-pandemic budget in the season ahead.
“We’re hoping to go back to $1.5 (million), and then keep growing,” Noulin-Merat said.
Content promises to be cutting-edge, too, with female-focused programming all season long.
“Being a woman-led opera company, we really wanted to explore next season ... the different aspects of the struggles that women face,” Noulin-Merat said. “All of our productions next year are directed by women.”
Season to open with performance of 'Carmen'
The season will open in the fall with performances of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen" on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 in the Southern Theatre.
The title character has long been considered one of the signature parts for female singers.
“She’s kind of the ultimate femme fatale,” said Noulin-Merat, but, seeking to give the character more depth, the storyline has been tweaked in the production to be directed by Sarah Dahnke.
“There’s something that I’ve always struggled with: (Carmen) is always victimized, and at the end she must die,” Noulin-Merat said. “Why must she die? She does not have to die. ... There’s nothing in the music or in the action that (says) she must die. So, expect a plot twist.”
Dahnke will direct “Carmen” after being named a recipient of the Crane Directing Fellowship, an initiative begun by Opera Columbus in 2021 to nurture the careers of BIPOC stage directors, Noulin-Merat said.
Season announcement: Short North Stage's new season to offer fresh take on women-centric works
The Columbus Symphony will co-produce 'Eugene Onegin' in March 2024
On March 1-2, 2024 in the Ohio Theatre, the company will perform Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” which is named for a male character but which, in the production under the supervision of director Rosetta Cucchi, will highlight the perspective of the heroine, Tatyana.
“I’ve always felt that the opera should be called ‘Tatyana’ because she’s really the driving force,” Noulin-Merat said, pointing to a change in emphasis in the opera. “(Tatyana) takes us through different moments in her life of this wonderful love story that she has with Eugene. ... It’s really about a woman making her own decision and moving forward.”
The Columbus Symphony will accompany both “Carmen” and “Eugene Onegin”; the symphony is co-producing the latter with the opera company.
The season will close with 'The Magic Flute'
The season will conclude with one of its boldest experiments yet: a thoroughly reimagined version of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” Five performances of “The Temple: A Magic Flute Experience” will take place next April in venues to be announced at a later date.
“I’ve always refused to produce ‘Magic Flute’ in the past because I just think, in terms of the subject matter, it is incredibly sexist,” said Noulin-Merat, who had a change of heart when she recognized that the work could be “re-curated.”
“It’ll still be Mozart’s beautiful music that everybody’s familiar with, but we’re changing the narrative so that the women are not victims.”
The opera will be presented in an “immersive” version.
“We now have immersive Monet, immersive Van Gogh and it’s coming for opera, too,” Noulin-Merat said. “Our audience is at the heart of the action. You have singing happening all around you (and) there’s a little bit of a participation component.”
It’s all part of Noulin-Merat’s philosophy of pushing boundaries — and drawing in audiences at the same time.
“What we’re interested in is producing opera in the 21st century,” she said. “We are not interested in creating museum pieces.”
At a glance
Subscriptions for Opera Columbus’ 2023-24 season will go on sale May 7. Tickets to individual shows will go on sale June 1. For more information, visit operacolumbus.org.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Opera Columbus 2023-24 season kicks off in the fall with Carmen
