NOA Opera Production Competition

The goal of the NOA Opera Production Competition is to further the organization’s mission by encouraging and rewarding creative, high quality opera productions at academic institutions and music conservatories.

2024-2025 Production Competition Winners

The winners of the 2024-2025 Opera Production Competition have been announced. Due to the vast range of resources available to producing organizations, the 99 entrants were first divided into Undergraduate, I-IV, and Graduate levels, V-VIII, (based on predominant age group or training level of the cast) and then each level divided into divisions according to production size and budget. A total of 28 awards have been given by the judges.

Photo Gallery

Division I

1^st Place (tie)

Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music:
Speed Dating Tonight!, by Michael Ching & Michael Ching (Based on a Concept by Dean Anthony)

Scott Skiba, Director, Designer Producer
Heather Dennen, Choreography
Brittany Powell Blaschke / Steve Shack, Projection Design / Lighting Design
Dean Buck, Conductor & Music Director

1^st Place (tie)

Texas State University:
The Medium, by Gian Carlo Menotti & Gian Carlo Menotti

Michael Leavitt, Music Director
Matthew Haney, Director
Zachary Nelson, Assistant Director

2^nd Place

Chapman University:
Fright Night: Bad Romance!, by Various & Marc Callahan

Marc Callahan, Director
Janet Kao, Music Director
Clara Cheng, Music Director

Division II

1^st Place

Chapman University:
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Will Todd & Maggie Gottlieb and Marc Callahan

Marc Callahan, Director
Danko Drusko, Conductor
Morgan Embry, Designer
Janet Kao and Clara Cheng, Music Directors

2^nd Place (tie)

Purchase College:
Amahl and the Night Visitors, by Menotti & Menotti

Jacque Trussel, Director
Hugh Murphy, Conductor

2^nd Place (tie)

Concordia College:
The Three Bears, by Jonathan Stinson & Jonathan Stinson

Dr. Robin Griffeath, Director
Kevin Sütterlin, Conductor, Orchestra Director
Cedar Remmen, Scenic Designer
Katie Curry, Costume Designer

Honorable Mention

University of Alabama at Birmingham:
Priates of Penzance, by Arthur Sullivan & W. S Gilbert

Lara Wilson, Stage Director
Patrick Evans, Music Director
McKenna Shaw, Choreographer
Therrin Eber, Scenic Designer

Honorable Mention

The University of Kansas:
Suor Angelica, by Giacomo Puccini & Giovacchino Forzano

Stella Markou, Director / Scenic & Costume Design
Boris Vayner, Conductor
Ted Taylor, Vocal Coach
Nicholas Sibert, Lighting Designer

Division III

1^st Place

Queens College:
Albert Herring, by Benjamin Britten & Eric Crozier

Alex Paul Sheerin, Director
James John, Conductor
Rebecca Ming, Costume Designer
David Schocket, Lighting Designer

2^nd Place (tie)

Hawaii Performing Arts Festival:
L'incoronazione di Poppea, by Monteverdi & Busenello

Scott Skiba, Director, Producer, Concept
Brittany Powell Blaschke / Steve Shack, Projection Design / Lighting Design
Michelle Hartman, Costume Design
Stephen Stubbs, Conductor & Music Director

2^nd Place (tie)

Pepperdine University:
The Magic Flute, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Emanuel Schikaneder

Keith Colclough, Director
David Aks, Conductor
David Wilkinson, Vocal Coach
Rick Aglietti, Scenic Designer

Division IV

1^st Place (tie)

University of Michigan:
Cosi fan tutte, by Mozart & Da Ponte

Kirk Severtson, Conductor
Gregory Keller, Stage Director

1^st Place (tie)

University of Texas at San Antonio:
La voix Humaine, by Poulenc & Cocteau

Jourdan Laine Howell, Director
Anna Hakobyan, Pianist, Music Director
Taylor Malcolm, Soprano, Music Director

1^st Place (tie)

Manhattan School of Music:
Princess Ida: The Glow Up, by Arthur Sullivan & W.S. Gilbert/reimagined by Heather O'Donnovan

Jackson McKinnon, Conductor
Felicity Stiverson, Stage Director and Choreographer
Michael Ruis-del-Viso, Scenic Designer
Jessica Crawford, Costume Designer

Honorable Mention

Oberlin Conservatory:
Cendrillon, by Jules Massenet & Henri Cain

Stephanie Havey, Stage Director
James Feddeck, Conductor
Dr. Kyung-Eun Na, Vocal Coach
Laura Carlson-Tarantowski, Scenic Designer

Division V

1^st Place

The Ohio State University Opera Theatre:
The Turn of the Screw, by Benjamin Britten & Myfanwy Piper

Eric Gibson, Director
Edward Bak, Vocal Coach
Miriam Burns, Music Director
Maranda DeBusk, Lighting Designer

2^nd Place

University of Wisconsin Madison:
The Light in the Piazza, by Adam Guettel & Adam Guettel (lyrics) and Craig Lucas (book)

Thomas J. Kasdorf, Director
Oriol Sans, Music Director
Matthew Albrecht, Lighting Designer
Kenneth Hoversten and Emily Popp, Costume Designers

3^rd Place

Columbus State University:
Double Bill: Suor Angelica & The Medium, by Giacomo Puccini & Gian Carlo Menotti & Giovacchino Forzano & Gian Carlo Menotti

Joshua May, Director
Paul Hostetter, Conductor

Division VI

1^st Place

University of Oklahoma:
L'heure espagnole & Rita, by Maurice Ravel & Gaetano Donizetti & Franc-Nohain & Gustave Vaëz

Nicole Kenley-Miller, Stage Director
Jonathan Shames, Artistic and Musical Director
Student Set & Lighting Designers, Cara Oates & Noah Jittawait
Student Costume Designers, Emily Post & Paige Kasulis

2^nd Place

McGill University - Opera McGill:
Imeneo, by G.F. Handel & Silvio Stampiglia

Patrick Hansen, Director
Dorian Bandy, Conductor
Vincent & Ginette, Set & Costume designs
Stephen Hargreaves, Vocal Coach

3^rd Place

Boston Conservatory at Berklee:
Riders to the Sea/Whaling Women, by Ralph Vaughan Williams/Jodi Goble & Ralph Vaughan Williams and John Millington Synge/Jodi Goble

Nathan Troup, Director
Tiffany Chang, Conductor
Jean Anderson, Vocal Coach
Laurann Gilley, Vocal Coach

Division VII

1^st Place

University of Houston, Moores Opera Center:
Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi, by Giacomo Puccini & Giovacchino Forzano

Kathleen Belcher, Director
Jorge Parodi, Conductor
Jefferson Ridenaur, Scenic Designer
Shaun Heath, Costume Designer

2^nd Place

Temple University Opera Theater:
Cendrillon, by Jules Massenet & Henri Caïn

Samuel McCoy, Conductor
Rose Freeman, Director
Ellen Rissinger, Principal Coach
Brandon McShaffrey, Producer

3^rd Place

The University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign:
L'Orfeo, by Claudio Monteverdi & Alessandro Striggio

Dawn M. Harris, Stage Director
Andrea Solya, Music Director, Conductor
Rachel Rizzuto, Choreographer
Brian Bembridge, Scenic Designer

Honorable Mention

McGill University - Opera McGill:
The Light in the Piazza, by Adam Guettel & Craig Lucas

David Gately, Director
Jonathan Monro, Conductor
Patrick Hansen, Musical Supervision
Vincent Ginette, Set & Costume design

Division VIII

1^st Place

Manhattan School of Music:
Rusalka, by Anton Dvořák & Jaroslav Kvapil

Kelly Kuo, Conductor
John de los Santos, Stage Director and Choreographer
Michael Ruiz-del Vizo, Scenic Designer
Ashley Soliman, Costume Designer

2^nd Place

Boston University Opera Institute:
Florencia en el Amazonas, by Daniel Catán & Marcela Fuentes-Barain

William Lumpkin, conductor
Amy Hutchison, stage director
Oshin Gregorian, producer

3^rd Place

University of Michigan:
The Turn of the Screw, by Benjamin Britten & Myfanwy Piper

Kirk Severtson, Conductor
Chía Patiño, Stage Director
Kevin Judge, Scenic Designer
Christianne Myers, Costume Designer

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Competition Guidelines, 2024-25 Cycle

Competition Timeline Eligibility Submission Process Video Guidelines

Competition Divisions Judges and Judging Pastiche Operas Questions?

Competition Timeline

• April 1: Submission Period opens
• June 15: Submission Period closes
• November 15: Winners Announced

Eligibility

• Currently eligible productions are those presented between June 1, 2024, and June 15, 2025, at academic institutions.
• The submitting institution or a member of the production team must be hold an active NOA member, current on dues as of June 15. Dues for continuing or new members must be paid online (verify your membership status here).
• Submission deadline is 11:59 PM PST, June 15, 2025.
• Multiple submissions are permitted, although each producing institution will be limited to a total of two awards each competition cycle, and only one award in a single division. In the event of a school garnering multiple awards, the highest placing production(s) will be awarded.
• Submissions should be full productions of operas or operettas. For Pastiche Operas, please see the section below to be sure your production is eligible. Scenes programs are not permitted, nor are staged art song cycles.

Submission Process

Online Application   Pay Fee Now...

Before you begin your application, please check to make sure your NOA membership is current.

Submission period closes 11:59 PM PST, June 15. No late entries are accepted.

What you will need to apply:

• A working, anonymized link to your production video on the streaming site of your choice (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.). If you have more than two links, you are encouraged to combine them into one video. Please see the Video Guidelines to make sure your video is in compliance with the competition rules. Videos that are not in compliance, i.e. that reveal the production team through a water mark, name of account, etc., will be automatically disqualified with no refund of competition fees.
• A hi-res production photo
• Title, composer, librettist, and duration of the opera. 
  • Double-bills should be submitted as a single production / competition entry.  Please enter the information in the fields as best as you can. Please simply separate with a /, for instance:
    • Gianni Schicchi/Buoso’s Ghost; Puccini/Ching
• Production Format: Tell us how you created your opera. Traditional staged production? Green screen and video editing? Socially distanced traditional production? Zoom? You’ll only have 120 characters, so be brief.?Examples: Traditional Staged Production; Greenscreen Film and Animation; Traditional Film; Minecraft Opera
• If your production is a pastiche, you will be asked to upload a PDF of the run order of your show. This should be anonymized - please do not include any information that might identify your school, the names of the singers, or the names of any of the production team.
• A cast list of up to eight named characters, along with the age and level of training (class rank/professional/faculty) of the singers playing those roles. (We are asking for both age and level of training for consideration in the case of casts with a mix of ages/levels of training.)  Please see AGMA's Schedule C for assistance in determining role sizes (e.g. Leading, Supporting, or Bit/Comprimario).
  For example:

  Adina (leading): age 24, Master’s student
  Nemorino (leading): age 40, Professional Singer/Faculty
  Belcore (leading): age 21, Junior
  Dulcamara (leading): age 32, Doctoral/Artist’s Diploma/Performer’s Certificate
  Gianetta (supporting): age 18, Sophomore

• Complete budget, broken down by: Scenic/Projection, Costume, Lighting, and Post-production video editing
  • If pulling from stock or borrowing, include original cost of items, or an estimate.
  • Include any rental costs, but do not include shipping costs for rentals.
  • No, you do not need to include designer costs.
  • You will indicate designer level on the form (i.e. professional faculty designer, professional outside designer, grad student designer, no separate designer, or other). 
  • You do not need to include publicity costs, as that did not contribute to the quality of your production.
• Orchestra size
• Director’s Note, if you desire. This will be your opportunity to explain your concept and approach, any changes you may have made to the libretto, setting, etc. (1200-character limit) DO NOT simply paste the Director’s Note from the program, as any mention of your school name will render your application non-compliant and subject to disqualification.
• Synopsis of productions that are new, rare, or in a language other than Italian, German, French, or English. It is not necessary to include a synopsis for works in the common repertory, such as Le nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, etc. (1200-character limit)
• Pay the application fee ($25 per entry) through the NOA secure online payment area. Be aware this payment item will only be available to you if your NOA membership is current, so please check that you have paid your dues for the year well in advance of the submission deadline.

Be certain that, apart from the area of the application that specifically asks for this info, your director’s note, synopsis, video title, video description, etc., DO NOT contain information that will reveal the name of your institution, director, conductor, or other identifying information. (Please see Video Guidelines.) Incomplete and/or inaccurate applications, non-working video links, or entries for which submitted videos or explanatory statements reveal the performance venue or the name of any participating NOA member will be disqualified. Entry fees for disqualified applications will not be refunded.

By submitting a production for competition, you allow NOA to use submitted video and production photos for publicity purposes.

Video Guidelines

Please be sure that your submission does not include any identifiers. Edit to exclude titles that will reveal institution name, names of production team, etc.

• For traditionally staged productions: video submissions must be of a complete, live, single performance or dress rehearsal with audience. Submissions that are edited from multiple performances will be disqualified.
  • The performance should be recorded with stationary cameras, although multiple cameras are permitted. Zoom and pan are acceptable and encouraged.
  • If the opera is produced in a non-traditional space that would preclude stationary cameras, this stipulation can be waived.
• Independent microphone systems are permitted.
• Videos should be edited to exclude bows and any other identifiers.
• Videos should be edited to avoid showing the conductor, director or other potentially recognizable figures wherever feasible, but brief glimpses of such personnel will not disqualify a submission.
• If you have the technology to superimpose surtitles, they are welcome.
• Please ensure that the sound levels on your video submission are audible.
• The video must be submitted as a link from a streaming platform such as YouTube or Vimeo. Note that links to non-streaming services such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, etc., are not acceptable.
  • The video title should be simply the name of the opera and the date
    • Le Nozze di Figaro – 3/11/22
  • There should be no other identifying information within the name or description of the video, the account used to upload the video, or the video itself, that will reveal the name of the institution or producing organization, conductor, or director. Do not use an account that is the name of an actual living human being, a video production company, or video editor who can in any way be connected to you or your institution.
  • The video should be “unlisted”, rather than “public” or “private”, and should not require a password to view.
• If this is your first time submitting, and are confused about how to create an anonymous YouTube account, committee member Marc Reynolds has created this video to help guide you through the process: View tutorial video

Competition Divisions

The Opera Production Competition is divided into multiple divisions so that competitors are fairly judged against similarly cast and budgeted productions. The committee will determine division assignments after all applications have been submitted. Entries will first be divided into undergraduate and graduate levels. In the case of casts of mixed age/training, the committee will determine into which level the production will be placed. Each of these levels will then be further divided into divisions based on production size and budget.

• Undergraduate Level – for productions whose principal cast members are predominantly undergraduate in age or training level.
  • Up to 4 divisions
• Graduate Level – for productions whose principal cast members are predominantly graduate or adult singers in age or training level.
  • Up to 4 divisions

Please note that the NOA Opera Production Competition is for student-centered operas produced at academic institutions. While we do see an occasional faculty member or professional in a cast list, if a production has a faculty member or professional singer in a leading or featured role, that production may be placed in the graduate category even if the rest of the cast is predominantly undergraduate. Two or more faculty/professional singers in leading roles may lead to disqualification, depending on the opera and the roles. Final determination of which division a production is placed in is at the sole discretion of the NOA Opera Production Competition Committee.

Final determination of which division a production is placed is at the sole discretion of the NOA Opera Production Competition Committee.

Judges and Judging

Judges for the NOA Opera Production Competition are opera professionals and educators. The committee endeavors to recruit judges who are actively working in the field as singers, directors, producers, conductors, composers, coaches, or artist managers. NOA board members, members who are past winners in the competition, and Opera Production Competition Committee members are often invited to judge, but NOA membership is not a prerequisite to judge. At the time of publication, the committee works to curate a judging panel that does not include Competition Committee members to maintain the strictest anonymity possible.

For this year's competition, judges will sign their names to comments. Our panel includes artists who have worked at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, San Diego Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Bregenzer Festspiele, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Oper Stuttgart, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Israeli Opera, Royal Danish Opera, and Zürich Opera among others.

Entries will be judged in the following categories:

1. Musicianship (accuracy and musical integrity)  
2. Quality of singing (as appropriate to the style)  
3. Diction (clarity and accuracy)  
4. Dramatic credibility and characterization  
5. Production concept, staging and execution  
6. Quality of the production (relative to the budget)

Each Division will be assigned a 3-judge panel which will judge every entry in that Division. Judges will be provided with copies of the director’s note (if submitted). Again, to preserve anonymity and avoid disqualification, these materials should contain no identifying information. The judges and the committee reserve the right to limit the number of awards in a category if, in their professional opinion, there are insufficient entries deserving of recognition.

Winners will be notified by November 15, and a complete list of winning entries, along with production photos, will be posted on the NOA website. Awards will be presented at the National Conference. NOA may also use submitted video and production photographs for publicity purposes.  

Pastiche Operas

What is a Pastiche?

To cite the basic dictionary definition:

Pasticcio (It.: ‘jumble’, ‘hotch-potch’, ‘pudding’; Fr. pastiche) An opera made up of various pieces from different composers or sources and adapted to a new or existing libretto.

Price, C.  Pasticcio. Grove Music Online. Retrieved 11 Mar. 2022, from https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000021051

For the purposes of the NOA Opera Production Competition, a pastiche should be an opera pieced together from different composers and sources to create a new story. The story, dialogue, or recitative connecting the arias and ensembles may be newly created, or it may be recycled, but the pieces should be brought together to create a new, cohesive production.

Can we include art song?

Yes, but there should be operatic repertoire included, as this is an opera production competition. We would prefer that the bulk of the repertoire be drawn from opera or operetta, as this will help ensure that pastiche operas are more fairly judged against the operas and operettas in the same division.

What about this song cycle – the composer indicates it is operatic in nature…?

Because this is a competition for opera productions, we do not allow song cycles.

We put together a show comprised of different opera scenes on a similar theme. May we enter it as a pastiche?

That depends. Did you present the scenes as stand-alone scenes from these different operas? Or did you create a new story and characters that continue from scene to scene? If you merely presented different scenes on a theme, we cannot accept that as an Opera Production. However, you are welcome to submit your scenes for the NOA Robert Hansen Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition!  If your pastiche pieced these scenes into a new, cohesive storyline and production, it is likely to be allowed.

Questions?

Please see our FAQ!

 

 

Opera Production Competition

View past winners of the OPC