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50 years of opera

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Members wrote an impressive set

of bylaws and became a 501(c)(3)

company. On November 30, 1973 they

kicked off their new company’s season

with another contemporary American

opera, Street Scene by Langston Hughes,

Elmer Rice, and Kurt Weill. As the house

lights dimmed on performance night,

the audience quieted while 40 local

singers took their positions behind the

curtains, eager to step into their roles

in the opening scene which depicts life

in a New York apartment building. Boise

responded with enthusiasm and Boise

Civic Opera was off and running.

Grand Opera comes with a grand price

tag, but this new company had an able

fiscal manager in Esther Simplot, a

musician herself, who also performed

in numerous productions. Under

her (fiscal) watch, the new company

managed to strike a balance between

production costs and the income from

ticket sales, donations and grants,

including one from the Boise Arts

Commission. The first season finished

without going into debt. In fact, by the

season’s end, they had $21 dollars and

some change to spare in the bank.

The company had not forgotten its

mission to educate and inform. It

continued to present regular lectures

focused on the upcoming production,

but which also included operatic history

and discussions of the composers. That

was not all the company did to extend

understanding. They also placed young

promising student musicians beside

experienced musicians so that the

youngsters could learn from those who

had mastered their musical craft.

The company wanted the community

to become familiar with the music

and stories of numerous operas. In

the spring 1974 season, they chose to

present a program they called Bits and

Pieces featuring an evening of scenes

from five different operas. Bits and

Pieces was so successful that similar

Bits’N’Pieces productions became the

offering of subsequent spring seasons.

Selecting the right opera requires the

magic of anticipating the audience

response before the work is produced

and finding an appropriate venue. The

Boise Civic Opera chose well in fall of ’74

when they selected a perennial favorite,

Bizet’s beloved, highly emotional

tragedy Carmen for the season opener.

This is an opera which has been

2

Carmen, 1975

produced seven times in the company’s

history, the most of any opera.

Well-known local and regionally known

musicians filled the main roles with local

members of the community providing

the adult chorus and also a children’s

chorus when needed. The production

would be staged at Capitol High School’s

auditorium. John Eichmann provided

theatrical direction with the Maestro

Dan Stern at the podium. Stern was

also conducting Boise’s Philharmonic

Symphony Orchestra at the time. In

the future he would conduct numerous

operas with Boise Civic Opera.

Long before opening night, a veritable

storm of activity took place in

preparation for Carmen. Everyone in

the company pitched in doing whatever

was needed, literally working in concert

building sets, creating lighting schemes

and engaging in rehearsal sessions.

Needles flew as costumes were fitted,

and props assembled. Finally, when

music began to fill the theater, the

audience was transported to another

century in a distant country and the tale

of romance and treachery began. The

house was filled to capacity on both

nights of performance and rave reviews

followed.

Sponsorships were increasing. That was

important, as the budget for the next

season’s opener, The Marriage of Figaro,

was not small. Within the production

budget of $12,500, funds were allocated

for sharing parts of the opera with

students at area schools. Cast members

visited schools prior to the opening

performance and presented scenes from

Figaro for the kids.

Hard work is required in the world of

opera, but there should always be time

and opportunity for fun. With Shannon

Fish’s leadership, a Guild for members

took shape. They christened their

organization La Scala in honor of the

famed Italian opera house. The Guild

provided both support for the Opera

and added that extra element—fun. La

Scala members traveled to enjoy operas

presented in other cities, returning to

Boise with new ideas and delightful

shared memories. They also created

a vocal scholarship offered via annual

auditions to one fortunate aspiring

vocal musician intending to study

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