Boston Lyric Opera

Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) is New England’s favorite opera company. Founded in 1976, BLO is recognized for its artistically excellent productions of a diverse repertoire that entertain and inspire audiences and feature emerging operatic talent. Each season, BLO produces three mainstage productions at the Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre in Boston and a fully staged, one-hour English language version of a popular opera for school children and families at venues throughout New England. BLO’s programs are funded, in part, by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The mission of Boston Lyric Opera is to produce artistically excellent productions of a diverse repertoire that entertain and inspire audiences; to feature emerging operatic talent; and to engage and educate the community of all ages about opera. By achieving its mission, BLO ensures the future of opera in Boston and New England for generations to come.

BLO regularly invests in co-productions with other U.S. companies including New York City Opera, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Houston Grand Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera.

Recent Historical Highlights

In recent years, the Company has seen several important historical milestones including its leadership role in Egypt in Boston, a citywide thematic season celebrating Egypt with complementary programs and activities at several of Boston’s leading cultural institutions in 1999-2000. In the summer of 2002, BLO’s community outreach initiative, Carmen on the Common, attracted an audience of more than 140,000 through a summer-long education series reaching each Boston neighborhood and culminating in a weekend of two free, fully staged outdoor performances of Bizet’s "Carmen" on the Boston Common.

Opera for School Children and Families

Each year, Boston Lyric Opera’s season includes a fully staged (no hyphen), one-hour version of a popular opera sung in English for school children and families. The productions are staged in schools and performance venues throughout New England. BLO provides complimentary study guides and In-School Previews to accompany each production which enhance the overall experience for school children, educators and families. The programs are tied to Massachusetts and Connecticut Learning Standards and the teacher development course is accredited by the Massachusetts Department of Education.

Adult Education Programs

Boston Lyric Opera also offers several free and low-cost education programs for adults. Lectures are held at Pine Manor College, and talks with short musical performances are given at Boston Public Library. An opera education course for adults is presented twice a year in six-week periods each, covering the history of opera and focusing on the works of great composers such as Verdi, Wagner and Mozart. Before every mainstage performance, preview lectures on the upcoming performance are held at the Shubert Theatre for audience members. Additionally, BLO frequently partners with other cultural institutions, such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Museum of Science, Boston, and the French Library, to present integrated education programs. Study guides for every production are made available for download on BLO’s website and include a synopsis, cast and production information, historical background, and general information about the art form.

ee also

*Opera Company of Boston

External links

* [http://www.blo.org/ Boston Lyric Opera website]