Opera Europa
Encyclopedia
Opera Europa is the international service organisation for professional opera companies and opera festivals in Europe. It is incorporated in Brussels as a not-for-profit organisation.
With roots going back to 1995, Opera Europa gained its present format and name in 2002, on the merger of the European Opera Network and the Eurolyrica associations. It had 116 member companies in 36 different countries as at June 2011.
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, 9 May.
, Opera Europa supports a biennial competition, the European Opera-directing Prize (EOP, in German: Europäischen Opernregie-Preis) for young opera directors and design teams up to the age of 35. Competition is fierce with more than 200 teams applying in 2009. The winning team receive prize money of 30,000 euros, but perhaps more importantly have their production mounted by a European opera company, receiving mentoring and support for this process.
With roots going back to 1995, Opera Europa gained its present format and name in 2002, on the merger of the European Opera Network and the Eurolyrica associations. It had 116 member companies in 36 different countries as at June 2011.
Activities
For the benefit of its member companies, it runs forums, databases, a quarterly newsletter, and twice-yearly conferences, and offers reciprocal membership benefits with Opera AmericaOpera America
Opera America, officially OPERA America, is a service organization in North America promoting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera...
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European Opera Days
Opera Europa co-ordinates the annual European Opera Days when opera companies across Europe open their doors to the general public, with opera house tours, open rehearsals, talks and special events (both in and outside the conventional spaces). This takes place on the weekend closest to the EU's Europe DayEurope Day
In Europe, Europe Day is an annual celebration of peace and unity in Europe. There are two separate designations of Europe Day: 5 May for the Council of Europe, and 9 May for the European Union...
, 9 May.
European Opera-directing Prize (EOP)
In collaboration with the Camerata Nuova e.V. in WiesbadenWiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Opera Europa supports a biennial competition, the European Opera-directing Prize (EOP, in German: Europäischen Opernregie-Preis) for young opera directors and design teams up to the age of 35. Competition is fierce with more than 200 teams applying in 2009. The winning team receive prize money of 30,000 euros, but perhaps more importantly have their production mounted by a European opera company, receiving mentoring and support for this process.
| Year | Opera | Winning team | Premiere | Sponsoring company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Fidelio Fidelio Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora... (Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of... ) |
Matthias Lutz (dir), Julia Hansen (design) |
29 Apr 2002 | Hessisches Staatstheater Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden is the State Theatre of the German state Hesse in the capital Wiesbaden, producing operas, plays, ballets, musicals and concerts on four stages. It is also known as Staatstheater Wiesbaden or Theater Wiesbaden... , Wiesbaden |
| 2003 | Hans Heiling Hans Heiling Hans Heiling is a German Romantic opera in 3 acts with prologue by Heinrich Marschner with a libretto by Eduard Devrient, who also sang the title role at the première which occurred at the Königliche Hofoper , Berlin on 24 May 1833, and went on to become his most successful opera... (Marschner Heinrich Marschner Heinrich August Marschner , was the most important composer of German Romantic opera between Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner, and is remembered principally for his operas Hans Heiling , Der Vampyr , and Der Templer und die Jüdin... ) |
Andreas May (dir), David König (design) |
28 Feb 2004 | Opéra national du Rhin Opéra national du Rhin LOpéra national du Rhin is an opera company which performs in Alsace, eastern France, and which includes the Opéra in Strasbourg, the company's ballet in Mulhouse , and the "Opéra Studio" , a training centre for young singers, in Colmar... , Strasbourg |
| 2005 | La cenerentola La Cenerentola La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella... (Rossini) |
Thaddeus Strassberger Thaddeus Strassberger Thaddeus Strassberger is a celebrated American opera director and scenic designer. In 2005 he was awarded the European Opera Directing Prize by Opera Europa for his work on Opera Ireland's production of Rossini's La Cenerentola.-Biography:... (dir,sets), Mattie Ullrich (costumes) |
22 Apr 2006 | Opera Ireland, Dublin |
| 2007 | Rusalka Rusalka In Slavic mythology, a rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus, or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway.... (Dvořák Antonín Dvorák Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many... ) |
Johannes Gleim (dir), Daniela Juckel (design) |
30 Mar 2008 | Latvian National Opera Latvian National Opera The Latvian National Opera , Riga, is the national opera of Latvia. The opera company includes the Latvian National Ballet , LNO Chorus, and LNO Orchestra.-History:... , Riga |
| 2009 | La finta giardiniera La finta giardiniera La finta giardiniera , K. 196, is an Italian opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart wrote it in Munich in January 1775 when he was 18 years old and it received its first performance on January 13 at the Salvatortheater in Munich... (Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music... ) |
Anna Dirckinck-Holmfeld (dir), Sibylle Wallum (design) |
1 Apr 2010 | Stadttheater Bern |
| 2011 | I Capuleti e i Montecchi I Capuleti e i Montecchi I Capuleti e i Montecchi is an Italian opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini.The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of Romeo and Juliet for an opera by Nicola Vaccai called Giulietta e Romeo. This was based on Italian sources rather than taken directly from Shakespeare... (Bellini Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani... ) |
Sam Brown (dir), Annemarie Woods (design) |
Oct 2012 | As.Li.Co., Como and tour |
Sources
- Opera Europa website
- Camerata Nuova e.V., Wiesbaden website