ROCopera, A New Opera Collective, Is Born In Rochester, New York

ROCopera is a new opera collective in the City of Rochester, New York.

ROCopera was created to broaden opera's reach in the Rochester area by reimagining and reinterpreting existing classical vocal music through a contemporary lens; by promoting new works for the classical voice; and by bringing opera out of the concert hall and into everyday spaces. ROCopera wants to create opera that is with, by, and for the people of Rochester.

Their inaugural season begins - where else - online! ROCopera is excited by the challenge of bringing a traditional medium into the digital age, exploring community collaboration and audience engagement in the time of Covid-19.

Their first virtual concert has a witty twist on an MTV classic: Total Request Live [TRL]: OPERA EDITION! at the 2020 KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival (Tuesday, Sept. 15 - Saturday, Sept. 26) via rochesterfringe.com throughout the 12-day festival. To help engage the Rochester community and make opera accessible to all, ROCopera's concert is a FREE event with online donations gratefully accepted.

Total Request Live [TRL]:OPERA EDITION! Will feature singers: Pablo Bustos, Tyler Cassidy-Heacock, Juli Elliot, Elisabeth Halliday Quan, Heather Holmquest, Nicholas Kilkenny, Kerri Lynn Slominski, and pianists Alex Kuczynski and Lee Wright. More information is available at rochesterfringe.com.

ROCopera is the brainchild of three professional opera singers:

Elisabeth Halliday-Quan, Soprano, works with established and emerging composers to commission and premiere new classical vocal repertoire. She is co-founder and artist of the New York City-based commissioning opera ensemble Rhymes With Opera and trained at the Peabody Conservatory.

Heather Holmquest, Soprano, is a singer, music theorist, and voice pedagogue who has established herself as a sacred and early music specialist. She is the soprano choral scholar at Third Presbyterian Church and trained at Knox College and the University of Oregon.

Kerri Lynn Slominski, Soprano, dominates the stage with commanding force, delightful comedic timing and continues to create memorable performances throughout the United States and Italy. Trained at the Peabody Conservatory and Boyer College of Music and Dance, she strives to make opera accessible to all generations by providing "no-holds-barred" experiences.

Together, they have assembled a growing team of local professional opera singers and instrumentalists, creating a regional opera collective. ROCopera will be both a producing organization and a mechanism for promoting and supporting the work of our local artists.

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