OPERA WESTERN RESERVE

Press Release

YOUNGSTOWN, OH (April 26, 2023): On Friday, November 17 at 7:30 pm, Opera Western Reserve will present Carmen in the Edward W. Powers Auditorium at the DeYor Performing Arts Center.

Almost 20 years ago, encouraged by the success of Madama Butterfly at Youngstown State University and a dinner theater production of La Traviata presented by the Youngstown Opera Guild in Stambaugh Auditorium’s Grand Ballroom, a dedicated group of opera lovers decided to create Youngstown’s own opera company. Invited by Stambaugh Auditorium to present their productions on the Concert Hall stage, Opera Western Reserve made its debut with a fully-staged production of I Pagliacci on November 12, 2004.

Now, after nearly two decades at Stambaugh Auditorium, Opera Western Reserve will present their 20th annual fall opera production at the DeYor Performing Arts Center.

“The Henry H. Stambaugh Auditorium Association (HHSAA) and Opera Western Reserve (OWR) was were the beginning of the partnership started that now includes the Youngstown Symphony Society (YSS) / DeYor Performing Arts Center (DeYor) as well as the Youngstown Playhouse. It is exciting to see the HHSAA / OWR partnership of nearly 20 years now grow closer with the YSS / DeYor part of the partnership by presenting OWR’s fall 2023 production in Powers Auditorium. Opera Western Reserve has grown and thrived at Stambaugh Auditorium, but now the opportunity for additional growth is available to OWR. By staging this year’s production on a stage that is fully able to support the artistic direction that OWR has been moving towards, this fall’s production is expected to bring an additional level of detail and excitement”, said Chief Executive and Operating Officer, Matt Pagac.

Youngstown is blessed with two fantastic large performance venues,” says Production Director, Scott Skiba. “ The majestic Stambaugh Auditorium and the beautiful Powers Auditorium. Stambaugh was a wonderful home for the first 20 years of OWR to grow and thrive. Now that company support continues to expand we are able to offer more robust and spectacular productions. The beautiful 2,300 seat Art Deco venue is a theater and provides some important elements that Stambaugh Auditorium, a concert hall, did not. With amenities such as an orchestra pit, wings, fly space, and dressing rooms, we’re excited for the increased production capacity and artist experience that the venue will provide, and also looking forward to the enhanced overall experience that we can offer the audience in this venue!”

Carmen is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalized its first audiences.

Tickets for Carmen will go on sale Monday, July 3 and will be available Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM by calling 330-259-9651 or in person at the DeYor Performing Arts Center Box Office. Tickets will also be available 24 hours a day online at operawesternreserve.org.