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Anchorage Opera was one of the first major performing arts institutions established by Americans in the Circumpolar North. The company has it roots in the vision of opera singer Marita Farrell and philanthropist Evangeline Atwood. Farrell and Atwood worked together to produce grand opera in Anchorage. They secured financing, assembled performers and coordinated with the Anchorage Symphony for an orchestra. After Farrell left Alaska, other opera enthusiasts and performers helped to keep the venture alive. The company was officially incorporated as Anchorage Civic Opera in 1962.
In the early 1960s, the company put on a series of cameo presentations including Rigoletto and Faust, which were all performed on the stage of the old Sydney Lawrence auditorium (the current site of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts). Later within this time frame, the company, under the auspices of the Community College (now the University of Alaska, Anchorage), recruited Willard Straight to direct and help lead operations. Under Straight’s guidance, several full-length operas (including Cosi Fan Tutti, The Elixir of Love, and Carmen) were presented in Anchorage.
During the mid 1960s, the directors of AO recruited Elvera Voth (then director of the Anchorage Community Chorus) to take the helm. Voth inherited a company with a large coterie of singers, dancers, musicians and production personnel along with a very energetic Board of Directors.
Voth was a tireless advocate not only for AO, but for all the performing arts organizations in Anchorage. During Voth’s time with the company, several prominent Alaskans such as Jan Ingram (the company’s first full-time professional manager) and Gloria Allen (opera singer, producer and administrator who moved to Anchorage from New York City in the mid 70s) helped make the company successful.
In 1979, the company, still under Voth’s leadership, recruited Michael More, a 3rd generation Alaskan and trained operatic tenor with a burgeoning career, to help guide the company through its next phase of growth. By 1985, AO had become recognized as one of the nation’s leading regional opera companies and was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts as one of the six most promising Opera Companies in the United States
Since 1985, AO has had a succession of committed leaders including Jim Wright (now serving as General Director of Vancouver Opera, BC.). During the summer of 2006, after a nationwide search, AO’s Board of Directors elected Torrie Allen as the new General Manager.
Today, AO stands as one of Alaska’s most vigorous arts institutions and ranks among America’s leading regional opera companies. Each year, the company serves thousands of adult and youth residents and visitors through multiple community and education partnerships, mainstage performances, and a content-rich website.
From free student dress rehearsals to active partnerships with a wide variety of Alaskan organizations and an ever-expanding list of patrons and supporters, all of Alaska reaps the benefits. And, as it was in the beginning, generous individuals and institutions from all parts of the community including the members of AO’s Board of Directors, a dedicated core of volunteers, the Anchorage Opera Guild, AO’s Advisory Council, and many others give of themselves and their resources to ensure that AO’s grand tradition of enriching Alaskan life continues undiminished.
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