Baltimore Concert Opera is now Opera Baltimore, the nonprofit opera company announced Tuesday, saying the name change is meant to reflect their addition of professional fully-staged opera with orchestra to its annual programming.
“Opera Baltimore is committed to building the future of opera in the Greater Baltimore region, creating an operatic center for the community for years to come,” company officials said in a release.
The opera company presented its first fully-staged opera production in February with two sold-out performances of “The Barber of Seville.”
Opera Baltimore also partnered with the Arch Social Community Network this past season to develop “Opera on the Avenue” to bring communities together through art.
Opera Baltimore announced its 2022-2023 season, which will kick off Oct. 8 with “Opera on the Avenue – A Celebration of Anne Wiggins Brown.” The daytime festival and evening concert at the Arch Social Club in Penn North will feature a premiere performance telling the story of Black opera singer Anne Wiggins Brown, who played Bess in the original 1935 Broadway production of American composer George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess.”
Brown grew up in Old West Baltimore, two blocks from the Arch Social Club, where her father was an early member, according to a release from Opera Baltimore.
Opera Baltimore’s concert performance of Brown’s story was created by soprano and writer Adrienne Danrich as part of an 18-month project supported by grants from OPERA America and the T. Rowe Price
Foundation, as well as funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior that are managed by the Baltimore National Heritage Area.
Next up in Opera Baltimore’s lineup for next season will be English composer Benjamin Britten’s “Turn of the Screw,” a semi-staged concert opera at the Engineers Club. Performances will take place on Nov. 18 and 20.
The opera company will present a fully-staged production of “La traviata,” by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, with an orchestra at Towson University’s Stephens Hall Theatre on March 24 and 26.
On April 28 and 30, Opera Baltimore will perform French composer Charles Gounod’s “Faust” as a semi-staged concert opera at the Engineers Club.
Starting in July, audience members will be able to purchase season subscriptions and single tickets.
Opera Baltimore is planning to share more information about the rest of their 2022-2023
season, including outdoor performances, the December 8th Gala, and Thirsty Thursdays at the Opera.
