Contrary to Timothée Chalamet’s beliefs, the opera is more alive than ever. In fact, the time-honored art form has secured a place in the heart of Charlottesville. The Charlottesville Opera is in the heart of its 49th year-long season with performances held at venues around Charlottesville. The organization recently wrapped up its performance of “Cinderella” in June and “The Barber of Seville” in July, and future plans remain to expand the opera’s local presence with a key focus on the introduction of and education in opera for younger audiences.
Charlottesville Opera General Director Dr. Leanne Clement was a trained professional opera singer before pursuing a career in the production side of the industry. After 20 years as an industry professional in Louisiana, she returned to her home state of Virginia, where she said she quickly admired Charlottesville’s affection for collaboration.
“The thing that makes Charlottesville Opera distinct is the fact that we have these great artists who come from all over the country, but also we have this core group of individuals here,” Clement said. “It's really a combination of professionals locally and professionals nationally, supported by this incredibly hospitable community of Charlottesville.”
Alongside Clement, the members of Charlottesville Opera’s full-time staff work year-round in the opera’s artistic, education and marketing fields. However, when the Opera is in the midst of its performance season — such as during the summer — the staff expands to 140 people working to realize a single artistic vision. Working within both their leadership roles and as a collective, the team aims to reconstruct a harmful narrative surrounding the treatment of creatives in the industry by advocating for artists' rights.
“There's an unfortunate history in the opera and the arts in general [of the artists] being taken advantage of … not thinking of artists as people,” Clement said. “One of the things we've really tried to do is make this an artist-focused company … We're checking in on [the artists] to make sure they're comfortable.”
Ethan Vincent, who played Figaro in the opera’s July performance of “Barber of Seville,” said the artistic and administrative staff were incredibly supportive throughout his undertaking of the challenging role.
“They have a fantastic team that encourages creativity and allows an artist to bring their very best to the stage,” Vincent said. “I found everyone at Charlottesville Opera to be enthusiastic about sharing great art with the community.”
With opera’s rich history also comes a long-standing stereotype about interest in opera largely restricted to an older audience which threatens to undermine the contemporary appeal of the art form. Students may assume they are not within the opera’s target audience and avoid the theater, which Clement said is harmful to the reputation and performance of the medium.
“People have this pejorative perspective on opera,” Clement said. “They think ‘opera is not for me,’ ‘I'm not going to understand it, it's in a foreign language’ [or] ‘it's just for old people.’”
Recognizing this bias, Charlottesville Opera sets out to increase audience accessibility to their performances, promoting its relevance in the arts scene. Clement said many of the team’s initiatives involve selling tickets at various price points and offering free admission for kids and students. By creating more opportunities for audiences to attend shows, the organization promotes a supportive and diverse community.
“I'm really proud of how the age level of our audience has changed over the years, and how it's getting younger,” Clement said. “I've been thrilled with some of the diversity we're seeing, and we're making more efforts towards improving so everyone feels welcome at our performances.”
Clement also said Charlottesville harbors an exceptionally generous community, where residents even offer housing to traveling opera artists. However, a large part of the team is local, including the orchestra, chorus and some of the production team. This past June, Clement organized the opera’s collaboration with other local organizations such as the Charlottesville Symphony and the Charlottesville Ballet to present “FestivALL,” a family-friendly music festival.
“In Charlottesville, we have a really unique situation, and because of the great leadership at these different organizations, we're able to do [FestivALL] and present it free for the community,” Clement said.
Through these partnerships, the Charlottesville Opera is able to educate a younger audience about the medium. In 2022, the organization introduced “Sing Me a Story,” a six-week partnership with The Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Virginia — where kids had the opportunity to produce and perform their own musical pieces for their peers. Additionally, the opera provides “KidsFest”, an educational outreach program where students can enjoy a live musical theater or opera performance.
“It was such a wonderful opportunity to meet the next generation of opera-goers and introduce them to the art form,” Vincent said. “Charlottesville Opera struck me as a company that's very dedicated to the future of opera, including training new singers, reaching new audiences and sharing exceptional performances.”
Beyond its initiatives for the younger generation, the opera offers a range of educational opportunities and programs throughout the year to enrich the local arts scene. Every summer, the organization offers an emerging artist program featuring a six-week intensive masterclass with career professionals. Clement said over 650 people apply, and some take the next step by later applying for a role as an artist for the upcoming season.
Moreover, Clement said that the opera offers paid summer internships for those passionate about pursuing a career in the arts. These opportunities help aspiring artists break into a challenging industry while gaining hands-on experience, all the while strengthening the opera itself.
“[The interns] all bring their own talent and vision and ideas, and it keeps our company fresh,” Clement said. “It keeps things moving forward … because otherwise, opera gets kind of stuck.”
Already anticipating their upcoming 50th season, Clement said that the opera is looking to expand its educational programs. For the first time, Charlottesville Opera will hit the road to perform “Hansel and Gretel” for several surrounding rural counties in Virginia, recalling how Clement herself discovered the opera as a child.
“I want to have that opportunity to give back to these more rural schools who maybe can't afford to have buses bring kids in [to see the opera],” Clement said.
In an increasingly digital and remote age, Charlottesville Opera provides an outlet not only to support art and those who create it, but to engage with a medium that may be unfamiliar to many in the community. Clement said she encourages any interested students to take advantage of the organization’s various volunteer opportunities and internships.
Looking forward to the months ahead, Charlottesville Opera is holding its fundraising gala Oct. 16, as well as its “Great American Songbook” concert at the V. Earl Dickinson Center for the Performing Arts Oct. 30. Tickets and more information are available on Charlottesville Opera’s website.
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