★  Advisory Board
Dame Felicity Palmer  · Opera Singer  — Dame Felicity Palmer is one of Britain's most distinguished and enduring vocal artists   ✦   Sarah Bowden  · Performer  — Australian actress, singer, and dancer Sarah Bowden has built an international career of…   ✦   Kent Nagano  · Conductor  — Kent Nagano is among the most respected conductors of his generation, admired for the in…   ✦   Richard Danielpour  · Composer — Opera  — Richard Danielpour is an American composer whose work spans a wide range of forms — from…   ✦   David Shire  · Composer — Broadway  — David Shire is an American composer, pianist, and arranger whose career has encompassed …   ✦   Michel Van der Aa  · Composer — Opera  — Michel van der Aa is a Dutch composer, director, and multimedia artist whose work consis…   ✦   John Corigliano  · Composer — Opera  — John Corigliano stands among the most acclaimed and distinctive voices in American class…   ✦   Richard Maltby, Jr  · Composer — Broadway  — Richard Maltby Jr   ✦   Betty Buckley  · Performer  — Betty Buckley is a Tony Award-winning actress and singer whose artistry has graced virtu…   ✦   Alyson Cambridge  · Opera & Broadway Singer  — Alyson Cambridge is one of the most versatile and captivating voices in the music scene …   ✦   Sinéad O'Neill  · Stage Director  — Sinéad O'Neill is a critically acclaimed, award-winning director whose productions are r…   ✦   Danielle de Niese  · Opera Singer  — Dubbed "opera's coolest soprano" by The New York Times Magazine, Danielle de Niese has f…   ✦   John Cameron Mitchell  · Performer, Stage Director & Songwriter  — John Cameron Mitchell is a singular creative force at the intersection of rock, theater,…   ✦   Jason Graae  · Performer  — Jason Graae is one of American musical theater's most beloved performers — a consummate …   ✦   Andrew Lippa  · Tony-Nominated Composer & Lyricist  — Andrew Lippa is a Tony-nominated composer, lyricist, and performer whose work spans Broa…   ✦   Francisco Araiza  · Opera Singer  — Francisco Araiza is one of the most admired lyric tenors of the late twentieth century —…   ✦   Maria Guleghina  · Opera Singer  — Maria Guleghina is widely recognized as one of the defining dramatic sopranos of her era   ✦   Nikki Renée Daniels  · Broadway Actress & Concert Soloist  — A versatile performer with more than two decades on stage, Nikki Renée Daniels has built…   ✦   Peter Sellars  · Stage Director  — Peter Sellars occupies a singular place in contemporary opera as a director whose work c…   ✦   Jean Philippe Lafont  · Opera Singer  — French baritone Jean-Philippe Lafont is one of his generation's finest interpreters of t…   ✦   Peter Volpe  · Opera Singer  — American bass Peter Volpe has built one of the most admired careers in contemporary oper…   ✦   Sir Antonio Pappano  · Conductor  — Sir Antonio Pappano CVO is one of the most celebrated conductors of his generation, reno…   ✦   Stephen Schwartz  · Composer — Broadway & Musical Theatre  — Stephen Schwartz is one of Broadway's most celebrated composer-lyricists, whose work has…   ✦   June Squibb  · Performer  — June Squibb's career in American performance spans more than six decades — a testament t…   ✦   Sylvie Valayre  · Opera Singer  — Sylvie Valayre is a soprano of uncommon breadth and theatrical intensity whose path to t…   ✦   Sona Ghazarian  · Opera Singer  — Sona Ghazarian is a Lebanese-Austrian soprano and Kammersängerin of the Republic of Aust…   ✦   Dame Felicity Palmer  · Opera Singer  — Dame Felicity Palmer is one of Britain's most distinguished and enduring vocal artists   ✦   Sarah Bowden  · Performer  — Australian actress, singer, and dancer Sarah Bowden has built an international career of…   ✦   Kent Nagano  · Conductor  — Kent Nagano is among the most respected conductors of his generation, admired for the in…   ✦   Richard Danielpour  · Composer — Opera  — Richard Danielpour is an American composer whose work spans a wide range of forms — from…   ✦   David Shire  · Composer — Broadway  — David Shire is an American composer, pianist, and arranger whose career has encompassed …   ✦   Michel Van der Aa  · Composer — Opera  — Michel van der Aa is a Dutch composer, director, and multimedia artist whose work consis…   ✦   John Corigliano  · Composer — Opera  — John Corigliano stands among the most acclaimed and distinctive voices in American class…   ✦   Richard Maltby, Jr  · Composer — Broadway  — Richard Maltby Jr   ✦   Betty Buckley  · Performer  — Betty Buckley is a Tony Award-winning actress and singer whose artistry has graced virtu…   ✦   Alyson Cambridge  · Opera & Broadway Singer  — Alyson Cambridge is one of the most versatile and captivating voices in the music scene …   ✦   Sinéad O'Neill  · Stage Director  — Sinéad O'Neill is a critically acclaimed, award-winning director whose productions are r…   ✦   Danielle de Niese  · Opera Singer  — Dubbed "opera's coolest soprano" by The New York Times Magazine, Danielle de Niese has f…   ✦   John Cameron Mitchell  · Performer, Stage Director & Songwriter  — John Cameron Mitchell is a singular creative force at the intersection of rock, theater,…   ✦   Jason Graae  · Performer  — Jason Graae is one of American musical theater's most beloved performers — a consummate …   ✦   Andrew Lippa  · Tony-Nominated Composer & Lyricist  — Andrew Lippa is a Tony-nominated composer, lyricist, and performer whose work spans Broa…   ✦   Francisco Araiza  · Opera Singer  — Francisco Araiza is one of the most admired lyric tenors of the late twentieth century —…   ✦   Maria Guleghina  · Opera Singer  — Maria Guleghina is widely recognized as one of the defining dramatic sopranos of her era   ✦   Nikki Renée Daniels  · Broadway Actress & Concert Soloist  — A versatile performer with more than two decades on stage, Nikki Renée Daniels has built…   ✦   Peter Sellars  · Stage Director  — Peter Sellars occupies a singular place in contemporary opera as a director whose work c…   ✦   Jean Philippe Lafont  · Opera Singer  — French baritone Jean-Philippe Lafont is one of his generation's finest interpreters of t…   ✦   Peter Volpe  · Opera Singer  — American bass Peter Volpe has built one of the most admired careers in contemporary oper…   ✦   Sir Antonio Pappano  · Conductor  — Sir Antonio Pappano CVO is one of the most celebrated conductors of his generation, reno…   ✦   Stephen Schwartz  · Composer — Broadway & Musical Theatre  — Stephen Schwartz is one of Broadway's most celebrated composer-lyricists, whose work has…   ✦   June Squibb  · Performer  — June Squibb's career in American performance spans more than six decades — a testament t…   ✦   Sylvie Valayre  · Opera Singer  — Sylvie Valayre is a soprano of uncommon breadth and theatrical intensity whose path to t…   ✦   Sona Ghazarian  · Opera Singer  — Sona Ghazarian is a Lebanese-Austrian soprano and Kammersängerin of the Republic of Aust…   ✦  
Field Notes

Stages Without Walls: OperaUSA in Sicily

Why a company without a theater of its own went looking for stages among Sicily’s ancient theaters, and what it found there.

Winston Dan Vogel
 ·  6 min read
The ancient theater of Taormina, with Mount Etna and the sea beyond
The ancient theater of Taormina, with Mount Etna beyond. © Winston Dan Vogel

A company without a building

OperaUSA is based in New York, with a subsidiary location in Sicily, Italy. We do not have a performing theater of our own. That is a deliberate choice.

Owning a theater means maintaining and operating a building and paying overhead salaries to staff, a financial burden that can become enormous. Instead, we channel our resources directly to lyric theater artists. Our efforts go into giving these artists the opportunity to perform and to earn a living in the profession they have dedicated themselves to.

Not having a theater of our own also means we look for performance spaces everywhere: a wide range of venues, indoors and outdoors, wherever a performance can take place.

Our expedition to Sicily

We recently set out on an expedition to Sicily as a pilot for one part of our mission: finding rewarding places for our artists to perform. We are pleased to share that we discovered several exciting locations that could fulfill our vision.

The search took us a long way back in history.

Singing on stage, long before opera

Erice The view west from the ancient hilltop town. © Winston Dan Vogel

Opera in its current form was born in Italy at the end of the 16th century, and comic opera followed in the generations after. But did lyric theater really begin only then?

Anyone who studies the history of music soon realizes that singing and musical performance existed as far back as the time of the Hebrew Bible. We can safely assume it was common practice in other societies around the world as well.

Later periods have left us the remains of spaces that were clearly used for spectacles of many kinds, singing among them. The very term “Greek chorus” points to just that.

Ancient stages, new music

Sicily’s history is richly documented by its many archaeological sites, and some are still waiting to be discovered. Today, open-air theaters, arenas and temples from the Greek and Roman eras are being brought back to life as places for musical performance.

Across the island, music is already finding these spaces:

OperaUSA’s management has begun developing co-productions with interested partners.

What Sicily is asking for

Local expectations vary. Italian opera singers already perform the Italian repertoire, whole operas or excerpts from them. What we did not find is anyone presenting Broadway-style musical theater on a permanent basis, and Italian audiences are hungry for the genre.

Productions of every size

There are several ways to cast these performances, depending on budget. A production can begin with young talent looking for a first major exposure, and grow to feature well-known, sought-after performers.

The scale is just as flexible. A performance can be chamber-sized, or a full production with orchestra, full or partial staging, and scenery. Lighting and sound systems add substantially to the cost, but they are essential for performances in open-air archaeological theaters and arenas.

None of this means reinventing the wheel. It has been done before and is being done today. We simply want to add our presence, with our singers and our repertoire.

Funding the vision

OperaUSA will need funding to cover the costs of these performances. A detailed breakdown of the expected costs is available on request.

When we apply for financial support, we want to stress that every cost serves our company’s motto: democratizing access to performance opportunities for every worthy artist. Doing so amid natural beauty and some of humankind’s oldest creative achievements elevates each event and brings great prestige to everyone involved.

Through our team’s eyes

The photos below show what our team saw while visiting the sites described above.

Segesta The Greek theater, a stage open to the sky. © Winston Dan Vogel
Syracuse One of the largest theaters of the ancient Greek world. © Winston Dan Vogel
Taormina Among the ruins of the ancient stage building. © Winston Dan Vogel
Segesta The theater looks out over the hills toward the sea. © Winston Dan Vogel
Segesta The Doric temple. © Winston Dan Vogel
Agrigento The Temple of Concordia, Valley of the Temples. © Winston Dan Vogel
Selinunte Our team among the temple ruins. © Winston Dan Vogel
Archaeological museum A concert space among ancient Doric columns. © Winston Dan Vogel
Agrigento A colossal telamon from the Temple of Olympian Zeus. © Winston Dan Vogel
Noto Baroque balconies in the old town. © Winston Dan Vogel
Erice The stone streets of the medieval hilltop town. © Winston Dan Vogel
Scopello The coast near the old tuna fishery. © Winston Dan Vogel
Marsala The remains of an ancient Punic warship, Archaeological Museum. © Winston Dan Vogel

Beyond Sicily

There are, of course, other locations around the world to consider. One is an outdoor performance in front of the Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, Egypt.

We will discuss that and other potential locations in a future article.