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