NOA Lifetime Achievement Award

David Bamberger will be honored with NOA's highest award, a Lifetime Achievement Award, at the banquet on Saturday, Jan. 11.

DAVID BAMBERGER – director, educator, librettist, author, administrator – has staged over 250 productions with stars including Roberta Peters, Sherrill Milnes, and Jerome Hines. After co-founding Cleveland Opera, he was its General Director for over 28 years, growing it into one of America’s major regional companies. For its 25th Anniversary he secured José Carreras, Placido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti to perform in concert at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The opera he created for the 75th Anniversary of Anne Frank’s birth was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.  

From 2004 to 2018, he was Artistic Director of the Opera Program for the Cleveland Institute of Music. His students have appeared in major roles with companies around the world.  Mr. Bamberger’s staging has been enjoyed throughout America, from the New York City Opera to the Los Angeles Music Center. His international credits include the National Opera, Santiago, Chile, and the Israel Vocal Arts Institute, Tel Aviv.

In 1990, OPERA America selected him to represent the opera industry before Congress in the year’s successful effort to garner support for the National Endowment for the Arts. Bamberger’s many awards include honorary doctorates from Swarthmore College (his alma mater), Cleveland State University, and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

NOA Lifetime Achievement Award

Noted conductor Stephen Lord was honored with NOA's highest award, a Lifetime Achievement Award, at the banquet on Saturday, Jan. 5.

Stephen Lord has been chosen by Opera News as one of the “25 Most Powerful Names in U.S. Opera” (one of four conductors), and is continually praised for conducting both traditional and contemporary operatic works. For his debut with San Francisco Opera, conducting Rigoletto, one critic observed, “He partnered his singers perfectly and gave everything its proper weight – he was master of the score’s details and the orchestra played superbly for him.” He is currently principal conductor of the Michigan Opera Theater, music director for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and formerly was music director of Boston Lyric Opera. He has also served as artistic director of opera studies at the New England Conservatory, overseeing all aspects of the opera training program and conducting one main stage production a year.

"Lift Every Voice" Award

Soprano Harolyn Blackwell joined the esteemed ranks of recipients of NOA's Legacy Project's "Lift Every Voice" award at the banquet on Saturday, Jan. 5.

One of the brightest stars on stages in the US and abroad, charismatic soprano Harolyn Blackwell has been hailed by audiences and critics alike as a “model of agility, spunk, charm and silvery tone.” Recognized for her expressive and exuberant performances, as well as for her radiant voice, she is making a wide and varied career on opera, concert and recital stages of the world.

Keynote Speaker at Opening Lunch

Michael Ballam, Founder and General Director of the Utah Festival Opera Company

Michael Ballam has received critical acclaim with the major opera companies of the USA and a recital career in the most important Concert Halls of four continents. His operatic repertoire includes more than 600 performances of over 70 major roles sharing the stage with the world's greatest singers. At the age of 24, Dr. Ballam became the youngest recipient of the degree of Doctor of Music with Distinction in the history of Indiana University. An accomplished pianist and oboist, he is the Founder and General Director of the Utah Festival Opera Company, which is fast becoming one of the nation's major Opera Festivals. He is the author of over 30 publications and recordings in international distribution and serves on the Board of Directors of four professional Arts organizations.