American Opera Projects Inc

TO DEVELOP AND PRESENT NEW AND INNOVATIVE WORKS OF LYRIC THEATER, PROVIDE A CREATIVE HOME TO EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED ARTISTS, AND ENGAGE CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITIES IN A TRANSFORMATIVE OPERATIC EXPERIENCE.

FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS, AOP HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF CONTEMPORARY OPERA THROUGH THE COMMISSIONING, DEVELOPING AND PRODUCING OF LYRIC THEATER PROJECTS, TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR EMERGING COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTISTS, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. DURING OUR 2020-2021 SEASON AOP OFFERED VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING TO OUR AUDIENCES, SUPPORTED THE CREATIVE TEAMS OF OUR WORKS IN DEVELOPMENT BY ARRANGING REMOTE AND DISTANCED WORKSHOPS, AND BROUGHT TOGETHER THE COMMUNITY OF OUR TRAINING PROGRAMS THROUGH VIRTUAL EVENTS. AOP WAS FORTUNATE AS A PERFORMING ARTS ENTITY TO NOT HAVE THE OVERHEAD COSTS OF A VENUE OR LOSS OF REVENUE THAT HAS CAUSED AN UNRESOLVABLE FINANCIAL CRISIS FOR SO MANY OF ITS DEAR COLLEAGUES AND PEER ORGANIZATIONS. AOP EXPERIENCED INCREASED PRODUCTION COSTS IN TERMS OF AUDIO/VISUAL EQUIPMENT AND STAFFING AS OUR PROGRAMMING WENT VIRTUAL. IT CONTINUED TO PAY FOR ITS OFFICE SPACE AT SOUTH OXFORD STREET IN BROOKLYN ALTHOUGH OUR STAFF WORKED (AND CONTINUES TO WORK) REMOTELY. WITH A STRATEGY IN PLACE AND THE BOLSTER OF PPP LOANS, GENEROUS COVID-19 RELIEF SUPPORT FROM FOUNDATIONS, AS WELL AS THE ADDITIONAL AID FROM OUR BOARD MEMBERS AND INDIVIDUAL DONORS AOP WAS ABLE TO MOVE THROUGH THE CHALLENGING SEASON WITH FINANCIAL SECURITY AND PREPAREDNESS FOR THE YEAR TO COME. AOPS FOCUS HAS BEEN ON MAINTAINING THE INTEGRITY OF OUR ARTISTS PROCESS, WHILE NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGES OF REMOTE AND DISTANCED CREATION. BY FINDING NEW WAYS TO ADAPT, OUR ONLINE PLATFORM ACTIVATED OUR ALUMNI COMMUNITY, PROVIDED PERSONAL AND INSPIRING CONVERSATIONS WITH ARTISTS, AND INTRODUCED SHOWS ADDRESSING SOCIAL CHANGE, SUCH AS: MUSIC AS THE MESSAGE, A LIVE, INTERACTIVE, VIRTUAL SERIES CREATED AND HOSTED BY EMMY-WINNING SOPRANO ADRIENNE DANRICH THAT DEBUTED IN NOVEMBER 2020. INSPIRED BY ADRIENNE'S PROGRAM HOLD ON: A VIGIL FOR BROKEN SPIRITS (HELD IN JUNE 2020, IN RESPONSE TO THE GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS), MAM CELEBRATES THE POWER OF MUSIC TO UNIFY AND INSPIRE HEALING, LOVE AND COMMUNITY. FOR EACH EPISODE, AOP PARTNERS WITH A CHARITY TO RAISE FUNDS AND INCREASE VISIBILITY FOR BOTH ENTITIES (I.E. UNLOCAL, PROVIDING LEGAL SUPPORT TO NYC IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES; GIFT-PASSION-PURPOSE PROJECT, PROVIDING MUSIC SCHOLARSHIPS AND MENTORSHIPS TO UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES). FOUR EPISODES, NOVEMBER 2020, FEBRUARY, APRIL AND JUNE 2021.BROOKLYN CULTURAL TOURS APP, OUR ANNUAL BROOKLYN CULTURAL DISTRICT TOUR HAS BEEN ADAPTED INTO COVID SAFE SELF-GUIDED PHONE APP, WITH NARRATION BY RESIDENT AND LOCAL HISTORIAN RON JANOFF, AND LOCATION-SPECIFIC SONGS SUNG BY CONTRALTO NICOLE MITCHELL. A LIVE PERFORMANCE BY JANOFF AND MITCHELL KICKS OFF THE APP LAUNCH AT THE OUTDOOR NEIGHBORHOOD FESTIVAL ART360. PRESENTATION AND BETA RELEASE MAY 2021.THE CREATION OF WORKING WOMEN: SONGS OF SUFFERING & SUFFRAGE, A PROJECT ACKNOWLEDGING THE COMPLEX HISTORY OF THE FIGHT FOR PROGRESS, PAIRED SCENES FROM THE NEW OPERA LETTERS THAT YOU WILL NOT GET: WOMENS VOICES FROM THE GREAT WAR (COMPOSER KIRSTEN VOLNESS, LIBRETTISTS KATE HOLLAND, SUSAN WERBE) WITH THREE SONGS INSPIRED BY THE WOMENS SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT; TWO BY COMPOSERS JESSICA RUDMAN AND TONY SOLITRO (FROM AOPS 2019-21 CYCLE OF COMPOSERS & THE VOICE), WITH LIBRETTIST ALICE EVE COHEN JOINING SOLITRO, AND A NEW AOP COMMISSION FROM EMMY-NOMINATED COMPOSER KATHRYN BOSTIC. THE COMMISSIONED SONG, "HER SOVEREIGN BLACKNESS A BEAUTIFUL LIGHT, EXPRESSES THE INJUSTICE AND DISENFRANCHISEMENT BLACK WOMEN FACED DURING THE WOMENS SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT, COMPOSED FOR SOPRANO JASMINE MUHAMMAD, WHOSE LONGSTANDING RELATIONSHIP WITH AOP YIELDED THIS CONVERSATION, COLLABORATION, AND COMMISSION. IN JULY, LETTERS RECEIVED A VIRTUAL WORKSHOP, AND AT-HOME RECORDINGS WERE MADE BY ELEVEN PERFORMERS. IN AUGUST, THE SONGS OF SUFFRAGE WERE RECORDED AND FILMED IN BROOKLYN AS WELL AS CENTRAL PARK, AT THE SITE OF SCULPTOR MEREDITH BERGMANNS WOMENS RIGHTS PIONEERS MONUMENT. USING ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE ALONGSIDE DOCUMENTARY-STYLE MUSIC VIDEOS, BLACK FILMMAKER LESLEY STEELE SYNTHESIZED THE THEMES OF BOTH PROJECTS AND CAPTURED THE ARTISTS COMPELLING PERFORMANCES. THE WORKING WOMEN: SONGS OF SUFFERING AND SUFFRAGE VIRTUAL TOUR, EVENING PROGRAMS PROVIDING A UNIQUE AND IN-DEPTH EXPERIENCE WITH THE CREATIVE TEAM, AND DIVERSE AUDIENCES AT EACH LOCATION. ONLINE PRESENTATIONS WERE HELD AT REED COLLEGE AND LINFIELD UNIVERSITY (OR); N. COPERNICUS UNIVERSITY (TORUN, POLAND); BOSTON ARTS ACADEMY AND BOSTON ATHENAEUM; AND AOP, FOR TWO SPECIAL EDITION EPISODES (BROOKLYN, NY). IN TOTAL, WE HOSTED 479 ATTENDEES AND REACHED AN AUDIENCE OF OVER 2,000 UNIQUE VIEWS ON OUR VIDEO CHANNELS. IN NOV 2020 TRACKS FROM LETTERS WERE BROADCAST ON CAM FM RADIO, CAMBRIDGE, ON THE PROGRAM THERE WILL COME SOFT RAINS. AOPS RENOWNED OPERA DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FIRST CHANCE CONTINUED TO GIVE OPPORTUNITIES TO A WIDE RANGE OF ARTISTS TO WORKSHOP NEW WORKS OF LYRIC THEATER, HELD IN-PERSON UNDER COVID-SAFE CONDITIONS, RECORDED, AND RELEASED ONLINE FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT. OPERAS RECEIVING WORKSHOP DEVELOPMENT IN FY21 INCLUDED THE NIGHT FALLS, GA SHO, THE CHRISTMAS SPIDER, PRECIPICE, AND EAT THE DOCUMENT.AOPS TRAINING PROGRAMS ALSO CONTINUED WITH THE RECORDINGS AND ONLINE RELEASE OF SONGS WRITTEN AS PART OF THE 10TH CYCLE OF THE COMPOSERS & THE VOICE FELLOWSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM AND BEGAN ANOTHER SEMESTER OF THE NYU TISCH OPERA LAB, THIS TIME CREATING THREE 30-MINUTE OPERAS INTENDED FOR SHORT FILM RATHER THAN LIVE PERFORMANCE. OVER THE PAST PANDEMIC YEAR, AOPS AUDIENCE EXPANDED EXPONENTIALLY, WITH WEBSITE VISITS INCREASING OVER 200% AND PAGE VIEWS OVER 250%, LARGELY DUE TO ROBUST SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE AND THE PRODUCTION OF ENGAGING DIGITAL CONTENT DURING A TIME OF ISOLATION. THE INDIVIDUAL DONOR BASE HAS TRIPLED IN SIZE, WITH RECURRING GIFTS GROWING AS THE FISCAL YEAR COMES TO AN END. AOPS FOCUS HAS BEEN ON MAINTAINING THE INTEGRITY OF ITS ARTISTS PROCESS WHILE NAVIGATING REMOTE CREATION CHALLENGES. ITS ONLINE PLATFORM ALLOWS IT TO EXPAND AUDIENCE WITH NEW DIGITAL SHOWS ADDRESSING SOCIAL CHANGE, PERSONAL AND INSPIRING CONVERSATIONS WITH ARTISTS, AND AN ACTIVATION OF ITS ALUMNI COMMUNITY.