For 50 years, Dayton Opera has been providing the region with traditional grand opera, new operas like Mark Adamo’s Little Women and innovative versions of old favorites like Jun Kaneko’s Madame Butterfly.
Live orchestral music, elaborate sets, costumes and incomparable voices have become the hallmarks of this grand art form which was invented in the latter half of the 16th Century when Italian poets, scholars and musicians during this time revived the ancient Greek art of storytelling through largely sung or chanted drama.
The art of opera has continued through the ages and for centuries considered the pinnacle of a composer’s artistic career. Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, Puccini are all associated with the best of this great art form. The talent and beauty of opera is today considered a flourishing global art form and has recently enjoyed a resurgence in attendance and interest.