Austin Opera Announces Opera ATX Residency for Latinx Creatives; Application Deadline June 1, 2023

 

(via Austin Opera)Austin Opera announces the latest development for Opera ATX – the company’s boundary-pushing series championing innovative operatic experiences and the artists and creative teams that bring them to life. Beginning in the 2023- 2024 Season, the Opera ATX Residency for Latinx Creatives will provide a unique workshopping space for Latinx composer/librettist teams to advance projects that will ultimately extend the scope of operatic storytelling. Austin Opera is now accepting applications for this residency.

“Opera ATX has given us a glimpse of the many ways in which the operatic experience can evolve to reach more people,” said Annie Burridge, Austin Opera General Director and CEO. “Through immersive experiences, unexpected performance sites, and genre-defying works, we’ve been able to engage an entirely new group of experience-seeking Austinites. The Opera ATX Residency for Latinx Creatives will serve as an important next step in supporting the creative teams responsible for driving these works and will ensure that our storytelling reflects the community that we serve.” “Furthermore, there is an essential demand throughout the industry to expand the operatic canon with Spanish-language operas or works inspired by the literature and history of Latin America. It is fitting that Austin Opera play a role in contributing to this new repertoire that, over time, the company hopes will reach communities all over the country.”

In 2022 Austin Opera announced the Butler Fund for Spanish Programming, a $3 million endowment funded by Austin philanthropists Sarah and Ernest Butler to support Spanish- language programming at the company in perpetuity. The historic gift also funded the appointment of Claudia Chapa as the company’s first-ever Curator for Hispanic and Latinx Programming. “The past few months have been a whirlwind of discovery as we engage artists and program works from Latin America. We’re excited to get this residency program off the ground to bolster support for the development process of this repertoire,” says Chapa.

Over the course of a season (September – May), a Latinx composer and collaborator will have the opportunity to work with the Austin Opera artistic staff on the development of anoperatic project, including monthly meetings via zoom and an intensive 7-10 day period in Austin TX to work in-person with up to 10 artists selected from the Austin Opera Orchestra, Austin Opera Teaching Artists, and Austin Opera Chorus. “Timothy Myers (Sarah and Ernest Butler Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor) and Nathan DePoint (Chief Producing Officer) arrived at Austin Opera with considerable experience in new works development. Timothy has workshopped and conducted several world premieres, and Nathan has years of experience leading the commissioning process. I’m thrilled that we will be able to put this expertise to use in support of this residency,” said Burridge. Each residency will be tailored to fit the needs of the creative team and their project, which may be a completely new work or a work already in progress.

The ultimate goal of the Opera ATX Residency for Latinx Creatives is to broaden the storytelling of the operatic canon to better include the experiences and perspectives of the Latinx community, which for the purposes of this program includes individuals with heritage from Latin America, South America, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. For the inaugural season of the residency (September 2023 – May 2023) Austin Opera is seeking applications from composers who identify as Latinx and one additional collaborator who also identifies as Latinx. The second collaborator may be a librettist/writer, filmmaker, or another creative partner. Both creatives should have a demonstrated interest in opera as a storytelling medium. Applications are available now at AustinOpera.org (CLICK HERE). The deadline to apply for this residency is Thursday, June 1, 2023.

In addition to the workshopping resources and use of the Opera’s digital media studio, the composer and librettist will each be provided with a $5,000 stipend and all travel/housing expenses for the Austin residency.

Timeline for the 2023-2024 Season Residency:

  • March 15, 2023: Applications released at austinopera.org

  • June 1, 2023: Application deadline

  • August 15, 2023: 2023-2024 Creative Teams announced

  • September 2023 – May 2024: residency period, including an onsite workshop

    About Austin Opera

    Serving Central Texas since 1986, Austin Opera inspires audiences with its trademark blend of innovation and artistic excellence. With the leadership of General Director & CEO Annie Burridge and the Sarah and Ernest Butler Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor
    Timothy Myers, Austin Opera presents a curated season of grand opera productions at the Long Center, the crown jewel of Austin performing arts venues. Combining the finest

American and international stars with the outstanding local talent of our Orchestra and Chorus, Austin Opera’s productions include accessible takes on classic operas as well as challenging new works that reinforce the continuing relevance of opera.

Opera ATX, powered by Austin Opera, brings groundbreaking new works, emerging artists, exciting composers, and dynamic directors to Austin. By tapping into the city’s live music DNA, Opera ATX reflects the spirit of the city and the pioneering image it is known for. The Company creates the conditions for operatic experiences completely new to Austin—and perhaps completely new to the art form—by exploring alternative venues and unique local partnerships. Driven by Austin Opera’s love of opera, love of audiences, and love of Austin, Opera ATX shows how Austin is shaping its opera company and inspiring innovative experiences.

Live from Indy Terrace, Austin Opera’s digital channel is the home of original content free to patrons and includes recitals, interviews, fan-favorite programs like Conductor Cues and Opera Overtures, and broadcasts of the company’s new series Concerts at the Consulate. Concerts at the Consulate, programmed in partnership with the Consulate General of Mexico in Austin, spotlight Latinx composers and performers and celebrate Hispanic culture.

Austin Opera is also a force in hundreds of classrooms across Central Texas, nurturing the next generation of opera audiences through its award-winning education programs. Austin Opera works directly with educators, community leaders, students, and parents to make opera relevant, educational, and entertaining for students of all ages.

In 2020, Austin Opera was voted “Opera Company of the Year”—and Timothy Myers was named “Conductor of the Year”—in the BroadwayWorld Opera Awards.

To learn more about Austin Opera, visit austinopera.org or follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter at @austinopera.