Opera lovers new to the area will be pleased to know there’s no need to fly off to La Scala or Covent Garden to sate their musical appetites. Quality opera can be found on three sides of Tampa Bay, with established professional companies in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota.
Opera Tampa, founded in 1996 by composer-conductor Anton Coppola — an uncle of the famous filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola — is the Straz Center’s resident opera company. Enjoying a close partnership with The Florida Orchestra, Opera Tampa has offered fully staged operatic productions for 30 years and counting.
Most of its productions are traditionally staged, a general rule for area opera companies. Thematically, it’s latest calendar of events — which kicked the new year with an operatic adaptation of “The Shining” — reflects a mix of contemporary and classic productions.
Coming up next for the troupe are two well-known operas: Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” on Feb. 27 and March 1, and Verdi’s “Macbeth,” set for April 24 and 26.
All of Opera Tampa productions are staged in the Straz Center’s spacious Ferguson Hall, situated just off the downtown’s scenic Riverwalk. St. Pete Opera is in its 20th season, a milestone marked by an inventive slate of operatic and pop productions set to stretch into the summer.
Next up: Puccini’s masterpiece opera, “La bohème,” coming to the Palladium on June 5-14. St. Pete Opera’s current season, which kicked off in October with a cabaret production, will conclude at the Mahaffey Theater with a Fourth of July holiday concert.
The company’s “Mornings with the Maestro” are a fun way to get acquainted with its offerings. The sessions are billed as opera previews and feature St. Pete Opera’s artistic and executive director, Mark Sforzini.
“Maestro” tickets cost $40, with complimentary coffee and free valet parking. The programs start at 11 a.m. and are held at Opera Central, 2145 First Ave. S. in downtown St. Pete.
The “Maestro” session for “La bohème” is Friday, May 15.
Manatee and more
Sarasota Opera has a loyal fan base to match its impressive performance track record.
A subscriber’s recent online post reflected both: “They are the only opera company in the world to have staged all Verdi operas, and their festival orchestra comprises players from around the world.”
The Verdi kudo is for artistic director and avowed Verdi-lover Victor Derenzi, who’s leaving in May (with general director Richard Russell set to succeed him). As for the hat-tip to orchestral musicians, many who play in Sarasota Opera’s winter productions also perform in the classical festival held each summer.
Sarasota started staging its own operas — after booking out-of-town productions for several years — in 1974. Today, its operas primarily are staged in downtown’s Sarasota Opera House. Multiple productions including Verdi’s Il Trovatore run through March, so check the Sarasota Opera website for more information.
Elsewhere around Tampa Bay, the opera landscape is sufficiently fertile to sprout a non-profit company dubbed Opera for Earth, whose mission statement promises “performance and education for those who love the earth.”
“We strive to use 80% repurposed items for the stage,” notes Jodi Karem, performer and head of educational efforts for Opera for Earth. “This includes costume fabrics, prop pieces and set pieces.”
Opera for Earth’s latest season kicks off 2 p.m. March 1 at Trinity Presbyterian Church 2001 Rainbow Drive in Clearwater, featuring performances by resident ensemble Volare Tre of selections from Aida, Tosca, Cavalleria rusticana and other works. Then at 2 p.m. March 28 at Palm Harbor Library in Palm Harbor, Opera for Earth will present a lecture-and-concert program, “Dueling Divas.”
Fun with Felix
And finally, how about this for further recent evidence of the area’s estimable opera creds? The well-regarded and oft-experimental composer, Nathan Felix, recently premiered “The Meta Opera” — which he calls an “immersive opera” —at St. Pete’s Museum of Fine Arts.
“The opera (was) presented as an immersive production that pops up around the audience, much like a flash mob,” Felix explains.
Inspired by works in museum exhibit “In Caravaggio’s Light,” it featured area opera and theater talent including sopranos Samantha Sosa, Lauren Williams, Ariel Andrew and Serenna H. Jones; baritone Keenan Kade; tenor José Miguel; and actor Tommy Norton. •
Carl DiOrio is a Tampa Bay area journalist and a lifelong music lover. He can be reached at
carldiorio@gmail.com.
