The idea for Opera Breve was born out of necessity.  For over 20 years, I have been instructing singers in the field of Opera and Musical Theatre.  During these years, time and time again I would hear the same complaint: “I can’t get an audition for something until I have more on my resume and I can’t get more on my resume unless I get an audition”  A truly daunting task indeed.

I continued to see so many talented singers who needed stagecraft and general performance skills.  What to do?  So, feeling a little like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney (if you are old enough to remember), I thought, “Well, why don’t I put on a show!” The seed was planted.

The name for Opera Breve came from my dear friend and colleague David Dunbar who said he liked “just the good bits” from an opera and not the whole evening; Brief, with high standards became our goal.

In addition, I have felt for many years that opera was not accessible to the average person on the street.  Most of the public have no exposure to opera on a daily basis unless some family member has given them this gift. 

These ideas took action. In 2008, Opera Breve had our first production, “Loves, Lost and Found” – an evening of operatic scenes based on a central theme - LOVE.  The response was thrilling.  People found the uniqueness in our company and we saw the opportunity to open the door of opera to new audiences through innovative concepts and staging.

Since then, we have presented one other evening of scenes, “Dysfunction Junction”, an exciting condensed version of Orfeo ed Euridice by Gluck, a modern and wonderfully real depiction of Hansel & Gretel by Humperdinck, and in December 2010, a “Christmas Homecoming” in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Our company keeps growing. The inaugural season of the Opera Breve Vocal Intensive happened this past Summer 2011 in Wichita Falls, Texas.  Due to the success the second season is already in the works.  Stay tuned for dates and more information! 

The 2012 season in New York will be announced shortly.

STAY TUNED AND COME JOIN US!!

Lenora Eve
Artistic Director