OPERA America Reveals 2024 Opera Hall of Fame Inductees

OPERA America has announced the induction of seven exemplary artists, administrators, and advocates to the Opera Hall of Fame as the class of 2024.

The 2024 Opera Hall of Fame inductees are:

· Adele Addison, soprano and teacher

· Justino Díaz, bass-baritone and teacher

· Jake Heggie, composer and mentor

· Carol F. Henry, founding trustee and philanthropist

· Wayne Sanders, artist, pianist, and arts leader

· Sarah Billinghurst Solomon, artistic administrator and philanthropist

· Teresa Stratas, soprano and actress

The Opera Hall of Fame recognizes the achievements of outstanding living American artists, administrators, and advocates who have strengthened the art form and the field. It was established on the occasion of OPERA America's 50th anniversary in 2020 to help celebrate the progress of the industry over the past half-century. The 2024 inductees join a distinguished roster of honorees who are recognized prominently in OPERA America's National Opera Center.

"The 2024 Opera Hall of Fame inductees, through their distinguished career achievements and remarkable dedication, have shaped the opera landscape in profound ways," said Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of OPERA America. "We are proud to honor their profound impact on opera in North America."

OPERA America will induct members of the 2024 class into the Opera Hall of Fame at the OPERA America Salutes awards dinner on Friday, March 7, 2025, in New York City. The event will include cocktails, dinner, and musical performances by singers from the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

The OPERA America Salutes awards dinner generates essential support for OPERA America's professional development programs. Proceeds underwrite the organization's Leadership Intensive, New General Director Roundtables, and Mentorship Programs. For more information and tickets to OPERA America Salutes, visit operaamerica.org/OASalutes in fall 2024.

Nominations for the Opera Hall of Fame are open to the public each year and are reviewed by a selection committee composed of established professionals and supporters from the field with a deep understanding of the entire opera industry. The 2024 Opera Hall of Fame inductees were selected from a pool of 191 worthy nominees.

Nominations for the 2025 cycle of the Opera Hall of Fame will be accepted in spring 2025. For more information about the Opera Hall of Fame and to submit nominations, visit operaamerica.org/HallofFame.

ABOUT THE HONOREES

Adele Addison, soprano and teacher

Adele Addison is a celebrated American lyric soprano and teacher. After completing her formal education at Westminster Choir College and Princeton University, she trained with Boris Goldovsky at the Berkshire Music Festival and continued her studies at Juilliard. Addison made her professional debut at The Town Hall in New York City in 1952 and went on to make her New York City Opera debut in 1955 as Mimì in La bohème. Her signature roles included Liù in Turandot, Gilda in Rigoletto, Micaëla in Carmen, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. In a stage career that extended into the 1960s, she played an important part in the resurgence of Baroque repertoire, performing the title role in Acis and Galatea. Concerts and recitals figured prominently in her career, as well, and she worked with conductors including Serge Koussevitzky, Charles Munch, George Szell, and Leonard Bernstein. Addison sang the world premieres of Lukas Foss' Time Cycle, Aaron Copland's Dirge in Woods, and Francis Poulenc's Gloria, which the composer dedicated to her. Addison turned to nurturing the next generation of singers, including Faith Esham, Dawn Upshaw, and many others. She taught at SUNY at Stony Brook, the Eastman School of Music, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and Manhattan School of Music, which awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2001.

Justino Díaz, bass-baritone and teacher

A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, bass-baritone Justino Díaz started performing at the age of eight and made his operatic debut in 1957 as Ben in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Telephone. Díaz won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1963 and made his Met debut the same year, as Monterone in Rigoletto. He went on to sing 39 roles in 400 performances with the company, appearing as Scarpia in Tosca, Iago in Otello, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Escamillo in Carmen, and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, among many other roles. He notably sang Mark Antony opposite Leontyne Price's Cleopatra in the world premiere of Samuel Barber and Franco Zeffirelli's Antony and Cleopatra, which opened the new Metropolitan Opera House in 1966. Díaz also appeared at houses including La Scala, the Paris Opera, the Vienna State Opera, Covent Garden, and the Teatro Colón. He has made many recordings of opera and oratorios, and in 1986, he appeared as Iago in Franco Zeffirelli's film adaptation of Otello. In 2021, Díaz was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.

Jake Heggie, composer and mentor

Jake Heggie is the composer of 10 full-length operas, including Dead Man Walking, the most widely performed new opera of the 21st century. With a libretto by the late Terrence McNally, it has received more than 75 productions at major international houses, smaller companies, and universities alike. Other operas include Moby-Dick, Three Decembers, It's a Wonderful Life, If I Were You, and Intelligence, all with libretti by Gene Scheer. Heggie's operas, numerous one-acts, and more than 300 art songs have been performed on five continents, championed by some of the world's most beloved artists. Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as "arguably the world's most popular 21st-century opera and art song composer," Heggie frequently serves as a mentor to young composers and as a guest artist at music schools. He actively seeks out projects that invite a wide range of perspectives, including recent collaborations with Margaret Atwood (Songs for Murdered Sisters), Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Urban Bush Women (Intelligence), Anita Amirrezvani (Earth 2.0), and Taylor Mac (Good Morning, Beauty).

Carol F. Henry, founding trustee and philanthropist

Carol F. Henry is one of the founders of Los Angeles Opera. She began volunteering for the company's support organization, Los Angeles Opera League, in 1981 and has served on the board of the opera company since its founding in 1985 and previously served as its president. Henry is involved with several civic and charitable organizations. She began her volunteerism with the Junior League of Los Angeles and went on to serve on the boards of trustees of the KCET Women's Council, the National Council on Alcoholism, the Cate School, Teach for America, the Pasadena Art Alliance, and the ArtCenter College of Design. She currently serves on the boards of trustees of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, the Colburn School, and OPERA America, where she served as chair from 2021 to 2023. Henry is a 2018 recipient of OPERA America's National Opera Trustee Recognition Award, and she previously served as chair of the award's selection committee. After receiving a master's degree from Stanford, Henry taught in public schools in Manhattan Beach, California, from 1962 to 1966.

Wayne Sanders, artist, pianist, and arts leader

Wayne Sanders is the co-founder of Opera Ebony and has served as musical director since the company's inception in 1973. Under his direction, Opera Ebony has gained domestic and international prominence. As a coach/accompanist, Sanders has performed for televised Opera Ebony concerts worldwide with singers including Jessye Norman, Florence Quivar, Kathleen Battle, George Shirley, William Brown, Hilda Harris, Jorma Hynninen, Benjamin Matthews, and Jubilant Sykes. For his contribution to the arts and humanities, he has been awarded numerous honors in the U.S. and Europe, and he received high praise for his musical direction of Porgy and Bess in Helsinki, Moscow, and Tallinn, Estonia. He returned to Finland with the Opera Ebony singers to participate in the prestigious Joensuu Song Festival. Sanders also conducted a 10-city tour of Opera Ebony's Black Heritage Concerts in Switzerland and Iceland, which was broadcast throughout Europe and the Baltic states. Sanders is a prominent figure in the preservation and presentation of new American operas, with a special emphasis on works by women and people of color. He has co-produced and served as musical director for several world premieres, including Perfect Harmony by Heikki Sarmanto and Gregory Allan Freelon, The Outcast by Noa Ain, and The Meetin' by Pamela Baskin-Watson. Sanders is currently on the voice faculty at Sarah Lawrence College.

Sarah Billinghurst Solomon, artistic administrator and philanthropist

Sarah Billinghurst Solomon, a native of New Zealand, retired from the Metropolitan Opera in 2014 after 20 years as assistant general manager for artistic affairs. Billinghurst Solomon played an integral role in planning and casting seasons, supervising the artistic budget, directing the artistic and music staff departments, and organizing the company's tours. Her career began in 1972 at San Francisco Opera, where she served as assistant to the artistic administrator before being named artistic administrator. Billinghurst Solomon and her late husband, Howard Solomon, created the Howard and Sarah D. Solomon Foundation, which supports the performing arts. She also serves on the boards of The Juilliard School, Carnegie Hall, the Santa Fe Opera, The English Concert in America, and AMOC (American Modern Opera Company) and serves as chair of the Women's Healthcare Council of Columbia University Medical Center.

Teresa Stratas, soprano and actress

Soprano Teresa Stratas has been described as one of the greatest and most expressive opera actresses of all time. She made her professional debut at the Canadian Opera Company in 1958 and won the Metropolitan Opera auditions the following year. She would go on to appear at the Met in 385 performances of 41 roles over the course of three decades. Some of her best-known roles included Liù in Turandot, Nedda in Pagliacci, and Mimì in La bohème, each of which she performed dozens of times. She also appeared in several film adaptations of operas, including Salome, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Bartered Bride, Pagliacci, La traviata, and Così fan tutte. In 1994, Stratas made Met Opera history by performing both lead soprano roles in an opening-night double bill, singing Nedda in Pagliacci and Giorgetta in Il tabarro. She is the recipient of multiple Grammy Awards and was nominated for a Tony for her role in Rags on Broadway. Stratas took two breaks from her career to focus on humanitarian work in Kolkata, India, and Romania. First trained at Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music, she holds five honorary degrees from the University of Toronto, York University, McMaster University, the Eastman School of Music, and The Julliard School.

ABOUT OPERA AMERICA

OPERA America (operaamerica.org) leads and serves the entire opera community, supporting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera. The organization is committed to:

• Promoting collaboration and effectiveness among opera companies, universities, and allied businesses.
• Delivering professional development to artists, administrators, and trustees.
• Increasing appreciation of opera through educational and audience development resources.
• Offering support and services that foster the creation and presentation of new works.
• Fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion across all aspects of the opera industry.
• Undertaking national research and representing the field to policymakers and the media.
• Managing the National Opera Center, a custom-built facility that provides a centralized space for collaboration, rehearsal, and performance.

Founded in 1970, OPERA America fulfills its mission through public programs, an annual conference, regional workshops, consultations, granting programs, publications, and online resources. It is the only organization serving all constituents of opera: artists, administrators, trustees, educators, and audience members. Membership includes 200 professional opera companies; 300 associate, business, and education members; and 3,000 individuals. OPERA America extends its reach to 80,000 annual visitors to its National Opera Center and over 83,000 subscribers and followers on digital and social media. Representing over 90 percent of eligible professional companies, OPERA America is empowered to lead field-wide change.

Over the past five decades, OPERA America has awarded over $23 million to opera companies and artists across North America. This strategic philanthropy, made possible through OPERA America's Opera Fund endowment and in partnership with committed foundations, supports new work development, audience building, civic practice, co-productions, and field-wide innovation at its member opera companies. Awards to individuals advance the careers of women and people of the global majority in creative roles, highlight emerging artists, and recognize the leadership of exceptional trustees.

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