Opera Theatre of Saint Louis sends an annual fall newsletter to its large and dedicated volunteer “guild” of more than 200 members. The newsletter begins with a letter from the general director, which I wrote for the 2023 season’s fall newsletter. For this I interviewed four different departments to get highlights of recent developments, and crafted the warm letter below.
Dear Volunteer Guild Members,
As the beautiful fall weather ushers us into an exciting season ahead, I want to take a moment to once again celebrate our joyous and long-awaited return to our beloved theatre last season. Opera Theatre volunteers rose to the occasion with an incredibly warm welcome for our artists, staff, and audiences. I am grateful to all of you.
The Gerdine Young Artists Audition Tour is full steam ahead this November. We had over 1,100 applicants for the second year in a row. We are traveling all the way from Los Angeles to New York City scouting for the next stars to emerge from Opera Theatre. Joining Patricia Racette and Yvette Loynaz on tour is also our new Manager of Artistic Planning, Alexis Aimé, who will be starting her first days with Opera Theatre on tour!
We are also seeing great enthusiasm for the Bayer Fund Artists-in-Training program, with the highest number of students auditioning for that program in recent years. The 25 talented students selected for this year’s cohort will begin their winter residency in January with Katherine Jolly. Katherine is a great friend of OTSL, and we are so thrilled to have her working with our students again. The students will showcase all their progress with a recital in January.
Last year, we announced to the opera world the first-ever commission process led by a community council, our very own New Works Collective. After receiving applications from more than 130 artists, a panel of ten diverse St. Louis community leaders selected three talented artistic teams to create operas that challenge traditional definitions of genre. Now, we are thrilled to present their original 20-minute works as one suite of performances this spring. Our community partners are already buzzing with excitement and anticipation for these world premieres, which will be performed March 16th through 18th at the Catherine B. Berges Theatre at COCA.
We have four wonderful productions in motion for the 2023 Festival Season: two beloved classics Tosca and Cosi Fan Tutti, another classic by an American composer Susannah, and the world premiere of Damien Sneed’s re-imagined edition of Treemonisha. Mark your calendars for Opening Night on Saturday, May 20!
I am thrilled to welcome you to another year of fantastic programs and events, the success of which, would not be possible without your continued dedication. We at Opera Theatre are deeply grateful for your support and community.
Sincerely,
[General Director]