Dayton Opera is an American opera company based in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

. The company makes its home at the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton where it annually produces three operas and an operatic concert and has an annual budget of approximately $2 million. Thomas Bankston is the General and Artistic Director.

History

The Dayton Opera was founded in 1960 by the opera impresario Lester Freedman

Lester Freedman

Lester Freedman was an American opera director. In 1959 he founded the Toledo Opera and in 1960 he founded the Dayton Opera. He led both organizations concurrently until 1981 when he resigned from his post in Dayton. In May 1983 he was fired from his position as director of the Toledo Opera after...

, who also led the Toledo Opera company. For 20 years under Freedman, the company produced opera at Dayton's Memorial Hall. From 1981 to 1993 the company operated in partnership with the Michigan Opera Theatre

Michigan Opera Theatre

Michigan Opera Theatre is Michigan's principal opera company. The company is based in Detroit, where it performs in the Detroit Opera House. Each year it presents an opera and dance season. The company usually presents five operas in their original language with English supertitles and hosts five...

 under artistic director David DiChiera and other administrators. In 1996 Dayton Opera entered into a partnership with the Cincinnati Opera

Cincinnati Opera

Cincinnati Opera is an American opera company based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the second oldest opera company in the United States .-History:...

, sharing staff including the general director Thomas Bankston. The late 1990s saw the company grow in stature and independence, culminating in a move to the new Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center

Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center

The Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center is located in Dayton, Ohio and was built in 2003 to serve as Dayton's key performance arts center. This building hosts performances from local, national, and international performing arts groups...

 in 2003.

Over its history the Dayton Opera has produced a wide repertoire of Italian, French, American and German opera. It has presented many prominent guest stars, including Placido Domingo

Plácido Domingo

Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...

, Martina Arroyo

Martina Arroyo

Martina Arroyo is an operatic soprano of Puerto Rican and African-American descent who had a major international opera career during the 1960s through the 1980s...

, and Deborah Voigt

Deborah Voigt

Deborah Voigt is an American operatic soprano. Voigt regularly performs in opera houses and concert halls worldwide.- Early life and education :...

, among others. Since 1987 the company has encouraged new talent in opera through a professional training program and an artist-in-residency.

Since 1998 the company has maintained a partnership with Dayton's Victoria Theatre

Victoria Theatre (Dayton, Ohio)

The Victoria Theatre is a historic 1,154-seat performing arts venue located in downtown Dayton, Ohio, USA.-History:The Victoria, one of the oldest continually operated theaters on the continent, was opened to the public as the Turner Opera House on New Year's Day, 1866, at a cost of $225,000...

 under which the two companies share administrative and management functions. The Dayton Opera is a not-for-profit organization funded by individual and corporate contributions as well as county and state support. The Opera Guild of Dayton is a volunteer support organization.