Nashville Opera Celebrates Non-traditional Programming & More

Nashville Opera is on a roll! Four seasons ago, the regional company was the subject of a national radio piece from NPR's Weekend Edition when it debuted the very first synchronized podcast during a live opera performance. One year later, Nashville Opera's artistic director John Hoomes elected to produce the world premiere of a work based on the Sinclair Lewis novel, Elmer Gantry, and made it a commercial success for the company. The resulting positive reviews in The New York Times and other publications led several opera companies to include the piece in their upcoming seasons, including Milwaukee's renowned Florentine Opera which will produce the work this March. Elmer Gantry will also be recorded and released on the NAXOS label later in 2010. A 2005 collaboration with Nashville Symphony on Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortilèges was nominated this year for the Grammy® Award in the Best Classical Album category.

In November, Hoomes and noted visual effects designer Barry Steele presented the future of modern opera when they blended full-motion video effects with operatic performance in Philip Glass' The Fall of the House of Usher. Not only did Nashville audiences push ticket sales to more than 225% of budget, but critics like Opera News's Mark Thomas Ketterson called the production "... a profoundly satisfying theatrical experience..."

"Nashville Opera is forward-thinking in our approach to opera because of the strong vision of our Artistic Director John Hoomes, the unyielding support of our board of directors, and the unique creative energy which pervades our region," says Executive Director Carol Penterman. "The community's insatiable appetite for new artistic interpretations and innovative stagings has placed Nashville Opera squarely in the national spotlight."

The company's focus on innovation, artistic interpretation, and sound fiscal management brought Nashville Opera to the attention of Opera AMERICA, a national service organization, and they invited Executive Director Carol Penterman to join their Board of Directors. Her input and past experience are helping to define the future direction for one of the most popular performing arts.

About Nashville Opera
Nashville Opera, Tennessee's largest professional opera company, is dedicated to creating legendary productions and programs. Among the most successful regional companies in the United States of America, Nashville Opera has presented three different world premiere operas since its inception in 1981. Main stage performances are presented at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and play to over 17,000 people annually. Nashville Opera's extensive education and outreach touring program reaches over 30,000 students throughout Middle Tennessee. These projects are supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Metro Nashville Arts Commission.