History of Opera Western Reserve

During the Renaissance, a group of men gathered in a small room in Florence, Italy, to discuss a very exciting project. The great plays of the ancient Greek dramatists have just been rediscovered and these worthy gentlemen were determined to make them live gain on their "modern" stages. They knew that Greek drama was performed with verse, dance and instrumental accompaniment and this is what they attempted to recreate. Luckily for us, this group, known to us today as the Florentine Camerata after the city and room where they met, got it all wrong. What they really created is what we now know as Grand Opera.

A similar group began meeting in Youngstown in 2004 to discuss a similarly exciting project. The meeting places were not quite so exotic, as they were in the local library and museum restaurants. The group was comprised of Patricia Kavic, who had been very active in the guild of the Pittsburgh Opera, Carla Infante, president of the Youngstown Opera Guild, Jacqueline Bibo, a pianist and wife of the late Franz Bibo, who had been the conductor of the Youngstown Symphony for many years, and David Vosburgh, who had been Associate Director of the New York Lyric Opera for several years, a regular performer on Broadway and in small opera companies in the east and was now teaching at Youngstown State University. Should we call them the Youngstown Cafeteria?

They were inspired by the success of the spring opera performances by the Dana school of Music at Youngstown State University under the direction of Dr. Allan Mosher. Vosburgh had been serving as their stage director for several years and the Opera Guild had supported the Dana vocal students with the Giorgio Tozzi Scholarship fund and various study grants. The Youngstown Symphony had been presenting annual fall performances by Western Opera Theatre, the touring arm of the San Francisco Opera, but that group had been discontinued, leaving an operatic vacuum on Youngstown's main stages.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and opera lovers deplore an operatic one. What could be done to fill the void? Was a locally produced professional opera company possible? Fools (and opera lovers) rush in where angels (especially those that invest in theatrical productions) fear to tread. It was decided, after many lengthy discussions, to try a modest production. The Opera Guild, with much trepidation, agreed it would sponsor a small production of Verdi's La Traviata in the ballroom of Stambaugh Auditorium, with a chamber orchestra under the baton of pianist/conductor Randall Fusco, with the leading roles sung by Dr. Misook Yun, Dr. Allan Mosher (both on the faculty of the Dana School of Music) and Dr. Frank Cano, a local tenor. To help make the evening more attractive to the prospective audience, it was decided to present the opera as dinner theatre with a gourmet feast before the performance. That was the fall of 2003.

The evening was a success beyond their wildest dreams. Not only did the dinner for 200 sell out immediately, an additional 100 seats for "standees" had to be arranged on the sides of the room. Ticket sales had to be halted, as there was no more space in the ballroom!

There was only one way audiences could be expanded. That was to move upstairs to Stambaugh's main auditorium, with its large stage and world-class acoustics, a "quantum leap" of faith in the Youngstown opera audience. It was also decided that a formal professional opera company had to be created. The name OPERA Western Reserve was chosen to signify the company's dedication to the audiences and singers of the region. James Boyd became the company's first General Director, and the original quartet of founders became the steering committee that would guide the project through its infancy.

With the financial support of the Opera Guild, the Italian Scholarship League, and many other generous donors, a full production of Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci with orchestra, under the direction of Susan Davenny Wyner, was presented in Stambaugh Auditorium on November 12, 2004.It was met with great enthusiasm by the audience, and OPERA Western Reserve was fully launched.

Since then, the company has presented an opera each November on the Friday around Veteran's day: La Boheme (2005), Le Nozze di Figaro (2006), and the upcoming Rigoletto (2007). The performance is always preceded by the Opera guild's Giorgio Tozzi Scholarship dinner in the ballroom, its main fund-raiser and a marvelous kick-off for an evening of music. James Boyd moved on to become the General Director of the Salem, Oregon Chamber Orchestra, and Anthony Infante served as Interim General Director to guide the company through its salute to Mozart's birthday with Figaro.

The original foursome continues to work for and with the opera company. Carla Infante represents the Opera Guild on the board of trustees. Jacqueline Bibo also serves on the board and lends her musical and marketing expertise. David Vosburgh has served as Production Director, providing the scenic design and stage direction for each fall's production. Patricia Kavic became the first chairperson of the board of trustees and now also serves as Interim General Director. Susan Davenny Wyner continues as Musical Director/Conductor. Many wonderful and dedicated community members have come forth to serve as valuable volunteers and board members. Financial support continues to be forthcoming from local foundations, businesses and individuals.

Stambaugh Auditorium continues to welcome us on its stage, and we are thrilled to have moved into a first floor office off the main lobby. Many extremely talented singers, musicians, artistic and backstage personnel provide the vision that has made the opera company's productions outstanding musical and artistic successes. We look forward to providing first-class professional opera productions to the citizens of Youngstown and the rest of the Western Reserve for many years to come.