NOA Opera Production Competition

2023-2024 Production Competition Winners

The winners of the 2023-2024 Opera Production Competition have been announced. Due to the vast range of resources available to producing organizations, the 84 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

Gallery: 2023-24 Opera Production Winners

Division I

1^st Place

Oklahoma City University:
Iolanthe, by Sir Arthur Sullivan & W.S. Gilbert

David Herendeen, Director
Charles Koslowske, Music Director
Erys Joos, Lighting Designer

2^nd Place

San Francisco Conservatory of Music:
Meow & Forever, by Jodi Goble & Basil Considine

Jodi Goble, Composer/Artist-in-Residence
Rhoslyn Jones, Director
Kyle Naig, Conductor

3^rd Place

Baylor University:
Speed Dating Tonight!, by Michael Ching & Michael Ching

Jen Stephenson, Director
Jeffrey Peterson, Vocal Coach and Pianist
Riley Winterton, Assistant Director
Olivia Gorrell, Pianist

Honorable Mention

Shenandoah University:
Caged Birds, by Santa Ratnice, Julius Eastman, Missy Mazzoli, Meredith Monk & Ella Marchment, Maya Angelou, Matthew Zapruder

Ella Marchment, Director, designer and writer
Timothy Roblee, Conductor 1
Karen Keating, Conductor 2
Lindsay Browning, Choreographer

Division II

1^st Place

University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music:
Le nozze di Figaro, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Lorenzo DaPonte

Amy S. Johnson, Director, Co-Producer
Kenneth Shaw, Co-Producer, Scenic Designer
Brett Scott, Conductor
Susan Moser, Choreographer, Intimacy Coach

2^nd Place (tie)

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

Marc Callahan, Director
Clara Cheng, Music Director
Janet Kao, Music Director
Carina Holley, Costume Designer

2^nd Place (tie)

Western Washington University:
The Anonymous Lover (L'amant anonyme), by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges & Libretto based on a play by Stéphanie Félicité de Genesis, Adapted for opera by François-Georges Fouques Deshayes

Heather Dudenbostel, Director
Mark Davies, Music Director, Pianist, Diction Coach
Mark Kuntz, Scenic and Lighting Designer
Marie Wildfield, Costume Designer

Honorable Mention

Baldwin Wallace Conservatory:
Taking Up Serpents, by Kamala Sankaram & Jerre Dye

Heather Dennen, Choreography
Dean Buck, Conductor
Brittany Merenda, Projection Design
Steve Shack, Lighting Design

Division III

1^st Place

Samford University:
Dragon's Breath, by Evan Mack & Joshua McGuire

Kristin Kenning, Stage Director
Brian Viliunas, Conductor
David Glenn, Scenic Designer
Alex Felts, Lighting Designer

2^nd Place

Chapman University:
From the Towers of the Moon and Il Sogno di Scipione, by Robert Moran and W. A. Mozart & Michael John LaChiusa and Pietro Metastasio

Marc Callahan, Director
Danko Drusko, Conductor
Saori Mitome, Costume Designer
Tesshi Nakagawa, Set Designer

3^rd Place

UCO Opera:
Orfeo ed Euridice, by Christoph Willibald Gluck & Ranieri de' Calzabigi

Rob Glaubitz, Director
Douglas Newell, Conductor
Alexander Olivieri, Choreographer
Tina Kambour, Choreographer

Division IV

1^st Place

Oklahoma City University:
Pieta/Suor Angelica, by Pieta: Giacomo Puccini Suor Angelica:Jack Landau & Jack Landau and Andrea DelGiudice

Andrea DelGiudice, Director
Jan McDaniel, Music Director
Halcyon Piper, Lighting Design
Alyssa Couturier-Herndon, Costume Design

2^nd Place (tie)

Michigan State University Opera Theatre:
A Little Night Music, by Stephen Sondheim & Hugh Wheeler

Melanie Helton, Producer/Director
Katherine Kilburn, Conductor
Ranae Selmeyer, Scenic Designer
Brent Wrobel, Lighting Designer

2^nd Place (tie)

Portland State University:
The Merry Widow, by Franz Lehr & Leo Stein

Kelley Nasssief, Artistic Director
Dan Wallace Miller, Stage Director
Ken Selden, Conductor
Carey Wong, Set Designer

Division V

1^st Place

Temple University Opera:
Ariodante, by George Frideric Handel & NA

Ben Robinson, Stage Director
Jose Luis Dominguez, Conductor
Producer, Rose Freeman
Stage Manager, Sam Cashion

2^nd Place

University of Utah:
Amahl and the Night Visitors and Christmas Carol, by Gian Carlo Menotti/ Michael Leavitt & Gian Carlo Menotti/ Anthony Buck

Robert Breault, Director, Amahl and the Night Visitors
James Bobick, Director, Christmas Carol

3^rd Place

University of North Carolina Greensboro Opera Theatre:
Suor Angelica, by Giacomo Puccini & Giovacchino Forzano

David Holley, Stage Director
Jungho Kim, Conductor
James Bumgardner, Chorus Master

Division VI

1^st Place

Conservatory of Music/SUNY Purchase:
Hamlet, by Ambroise Thomas & Michel Carré and Jules Barbier

Jacque Trussel, Director
Hugh Murphy, Conductor

2^nd Place

Boston Conservatory at Berklee:
Voir Dire, by Matthew Peterson & Jason Zencka

David Gately, Director
Viswa Subbaraman, Conductor
Jean Anderson, Vocal Coach
Maja Tremiszewska, Vocal Coach

3^rd Place

University of Utah:
A.L.I.C.E, by Amy Scurria & Zane Corriher

Robert Breault, Director
Oswaldo Machado, Conductor
Melissa Bobick, Choreographer
Robin Farnsley-Becker, Costume Design

Honorable Mention

University of Oklahoma:
Orfeo ed Euridice, by Christoph Willibald Gluck & Ranieri de' Calzabigi

Nicole Kenley-Miller, Stage Director
Jonathan Shames, Conductor
Austin Hartel, Choreographer

Division VII

1^st Place

University of South Dakota Opera:
Notes on Viardot, by Michael Ching & Michael Ching

Tracelyn Gesteland, Stage and Music Director
Michael Ching, Composer and Conductor

2^nd Place

Boston Conservatory at Berklee:
L'Étoile, by Emmanuel Chabrier & Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo

Nathan Troup, Director
Andrew Bisantz, Conductor
Jean Anderson, Vocal Coach
Maja Tremiszewska, Vocal Coach

3^rd Place (tie)

Butler Opera Center (The University of Texas at Austin):
La bohème, by Giacomo Puccini & Illica & Giacosa

Elio Bucky, director
Douglas Kinney Frost, conductor
Daniel Ruiz Bustos, scenic designer
Zachary Young, lighting designer

3^rd Place (tie)

Michigan State University Opera Theatre:
Don Giovanni, by Mozart & Lorenzo da Ponte

Melanie Helton, Producer/Stage Director/Costume Designer
Katherine Kilburn, Conductor
Rachelle Jonck, Recitative/Italian coach
Thalia Lara, Scenic Designer

Division VIII

1^st Place

University of Toronto Opera Division:
Il cappello di paglia di Firenze, by Nino Rota & Ernesta Rota rinaldi

Russell Braun, Conductor
Jennifer Tarver, Director
Michelle Tracey, Set Design
Jason Hand, Lighting Design

2^nd Place

DePaul University:
Dark Sisters, by Nico Muhly & Stephen Karam

Sir Emanuele Andrizzi, Conductor
Amy Hutchison, Director
Nicholas Hutchinson, Vocal Coach

3^rd Place

University of Michigan:
Elizabeth Cree, by Kevin Puts & Mark Campbell

Kirk Severtson, Conductor
Gregory Keller, Director
Audrey Tieman, Scenic Designer
Christianne Myers, Costume Designer