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Harvard College Opera

{{Short description|Opera group at Harvard University}}

File:Agassiz House, Radcliffe College.jpg

Harvard College Opera (HCO), formally the Harvard College Opera Society, is a collegiate opera company composed of undergraduates at Harvard College and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1992 at Dunster House as the Dunster House Opera Society, the organization aims to expand undergraduate access to opera at Harvard.{{Cite news|url=https://tuftsdaily.com/arts/2017/02/06/night-opera-hco-presents-mozarts-le-nozze-di-figaro/|title=A night at the opera: HCO presents Mozart's 'Le nozze di Figaro' - The Tufts Daily|date=2017-02-06|newspaper=The Tufts Daily|access-date=2017-02-07|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.classical-scene.com/2017/01/16/yes-le-nozze/|title=Saying "I Do" and "Yes We Can" to Le Nozze|last=STAFF|first=BMINT|date=2017-01-16|website=The Boston Musical Intelligencer|access-date=2017-02-07}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/sports/ncaafootball/17harvard.html|title=Football Bruiser With Pavarotti Dream|last=Thamel|first=Pete |author-link=Pete Thamel |date=2007-11-17|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2017-02-07|issn=0362-4331}}

HCO presents a variety of performances, including annual staged operas at the Agassiz Theatre and recitals. Prior to the 2014 season, the company performed its annual operas in Dunster House.Topczewska, Ola (4 February 2014). [http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/2/4/cosi-fan-tutte-preview/ "“Così fan tutte” Updated and Repackaged at Agassiz"]. Harvard Crimson{{Cite news|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/boston/article/Harvard-College-Opera-Celebrates-25-Years-of-Performance-with-LE-NOZZE-DI-FIGARO-20170111|title=Harvard College Opera Celebrates 25 Years of Performance with LE NOZZE DI FIGARO|author=BWW News Desk|newspaper=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en|access-date=2017-02-02}}

Membership

Harvard College Opera is governed by a Board of Operators composed of approximately twenty students. The Board of Operators selects a shortlist of operas for the music and stage directors, also selected by the Board, to decide from for each production. In keeping with the company's mission of providing opportunities to undergraduates, the music and stage directors are always students at Harvard College.

The annual operas produced by HCO involve around 80 undergraduates in the cast, staff, and orchestra.{{Cite news|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/Harvard-College-Opera-to-Present-Stravinskys-THE-RAKES-PROGRESS-Today-20160203|title=Harvard College Opera Presents Stravinsky's THE RAKE'S PROGRESS This Weekend|author=BWW News Desk|access-date=2017-02-02|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.classical-scene.com/2017/02/04/agassiz-figaro/|title=Timeless Figaro Impresses - The Boston Musical Intelligencer|last=Valentino|first=Patrick|date=2017-02-04|newspaper=The Boston Musical Intelligencer|access-date=2017-02-07|language=en-US}} To provide opera performance opportunities to students of a liberal arts institution, the cast is generally entirely composed of Harvard undergraduates, though the company has occasionally featured undergraduates at the Boston Conservatory and New England Conservatory, students at the Harvard graduate schools, and recent graduates of Harvard College.

Past productions

Notable alumni

Past members of the company include composers Benjamin P. Wenzelberg, Matthew Aucoin{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2015/05/09/aucoincrossing/Mobb0fijSOZEWyRgU7Q4yM/story.html|title=Musical wunderkind Aucoin is a star in ascendancy - The Boston Globe|newspaper=BostonGlobe.com|access-date=2017-02-07}} and Joel Derfner,Dunster House Opera Society. [http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/dho/gianni95.php Gianni Schicchi and La Rondine 1995] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810094301/http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/dho/gianni95.php |date=2016-08-10 }} baritone Davóne Tines,{{Cite news|url=https://www.sfcv.org/events-calendar/artist-spotlight/davone-tines-wide-ranging-baritone-set-to-make-his-mark-at-sf-opera|title=Davóne Tines: Wide-Ranging Baritone Set to Make His Mark at S.F. Opera|work=San Francisco Classical Voice|access-date=2018-02-06|language=en}} mathematician and chessmaster Noam Elkies,Dunster House Opera Society. [http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/dho/giovanni98.php Don Giovanni 1998] and businesswoman Randi Zuckerberg.Dunster House Opera Society. [http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/dho/bride01.php The Bartered Bride 2001]

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Official website|http://harvardcollegeopera.com}}

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Category:American opera companies

Category:Harvard University musical groups

Category:Musical groups established in 1992