2021-2022 Production Competition Winners
The winners of the 2021-2022 Opera Production Competition have been announced. Due to the vast range of resources available to producing organizations, the entrants are first divided into Undergraduate and Graduate levels (based on predominant age group or training level of the cast) and then each level divided into three divisions according to production size and budget. A total of 17 awards have been given by the judges.
Gallery: 2021-22 Opera Production Winners
Division I
Winner
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:
Ordo Virtutum, by Hildegard von Bingen and Allen Anderson & Hildegard von Bingen
Marc Callahan, Director and Designer
Tama Hochbaum, Projection Artist
Allen Anderson, Composer
Kelli Smith-Biwer, Technical Manager
Division II
First Place
University of Alabama:
Thérèse Raquin, by Tobias Picker & Gene Scheer
Paul Houghtaling, Director and Producer
Jamie Reeves, Conductor and Music Director/Coach
Brittany Merenda, Projections Designer
Jacob Olson, Lighting Designer
Second Place
Western Washington University:
Slow Dusk & Suor Angelica, by Carlisle Floyd, and Giacomo Puccini & Giovacchino Forzano
Heather Dudenbostel, Director
Mark Davies, Music Director/Pianist
Third Place
Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University:
Rinaldo, by George Frideric Handel & Aaron Hill and Giacomo Rossi
Steve Sanders, Stage Director and Scenic Designer
April Golliver-Mohiuddin, General Director
Megan Barth Argo, Music Director/Opera Coach
Thomas Dickey, Conductor
Division III
Winner
University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music:
The Threepenny Opera, by Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht
James Haffner, Director
Eric Dudley, Conductor & Music Director
Carl Pantle, Vocal Coach & Asst. Music Director
James Gonzales, Production Manager
Division IV
First Place
Miami University:
Hydrogen Jukebox, by Philip Glass & Allen Ginsberg
Benjamin Smolder, Director, Conductor
Tiffany Lusht, Camera Director
Christina Haan, Vocal Coach
Thomas Hase, Lighting Designer
Second Place
Michigan State University Opera Theatre:
Albert Herring, by Benjamin Britten & Eric Crozier
Melanie Helton, Producer/Director
Katherine Kilburn, Conductor
Kirk Domer, Set Designer
Third Place
Lawrence University Conservatory of Music:
Suor Angelica & Curlew River, by Giacomo Puccini & Giovacchino Forzano, and, Benjamin Britten & William Plomer
Copeland Woodruff, Director
Kristin Roach, Conductor & Music Director
Honorable Mention
San Jose State University:
La Curandera & Trial by Jury, by Robert Xavier Rodriguez & Mary Medrick, and W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan
Sandra Raquel Bengochea, Stage Director
Simona Snitkovskaya, Music Director
Fred Cohen, Conductor
Division V
Winner
University of Wisconsin-Madison:
Two Remain (Out of Darkness), by Jake Heggie & Gene Scheer
David Ronis, Director
Oriol Sans, Conductor
Greg Silver, Scenic and Lighting Design
Thomas Kasdorf, Vocal Coach
Division VI
First Place
Moores Opera Center, University of Houston:
The Bartered Bride, by Bedrich Smetana & Karel Sabina
Nicole Kenley-Miller, Director
Raymond Harvey, Conductor
Macy Lyne, Costume Designer
Lauren Pastorek, Choreographer
Second Place
University of Florida - School of Music / Opera Theatre:
The Golem of Prague, by Paul Richards & Sidney Homan
Anthony Offerle, Director / Producer
Paul Richards, Composer, Recording Engineer, Audio Editor
James Oliverio, Executive Producer
Darius Brown, Director of Cinematography
Division VII
First Place
University of Wisconsin-Madison:
Sweeney Todd, by Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) & Hugh Wheeler (book)
David Ronis, Director
Oriol Sans, Conductor
Hyewon Park, Costume Designer
Thomas Kasdorf, Vocal Coach
Second Place
Eklund Opera at University of Colorado Boulder:
La Traviata, by Giuseppe Verdi & Francesco Maria Piave
Leigh Holman, Stage Director
Nicholas Carthy, Conductor
Peter Dean Beck, Scenic and Lighting Designer
Ann Piano, Costume Designer
Division VIII
First Place
University of Maryland:
Later the Same Evening, by John Musto & Mark Campbell
Craig Kier, Conductor
David Lefkowich, Director
Second Place (tie)
Turner-Fischer Center for Opera at LSU/Louisiana State University:
Orphée, by Philip Glass & Philip Glass, adaptation based on the film by Jean Cocteau
Dugg McDonough, Artistic Director/Stage Director
Michael Borowitz, Music Director/Conductor
Manhattan School of Music:
Le nozze di Figaro, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Lorenzo Da Ponte
George Manahan, Conductor
Lawrence Edelson, Director
Frank J. Olivera, Scenic Designer
Coby Chasman-Beck, Lighting Designer