Opera

Opera makes your heart sing.

That’s great, because BU’s extensive Opera program has launched the careers of the leading stars of today, and moved thousands of audience members over the years.

Dark Sisters, opera by Nico Muhly presented by BU Opera Institute & School of Theatre — Dark Sisters *(2024)*

The Loudest Voice in the Room

Tenor Clay Hilley (CFA’11) is in rare company playing German opera heroes

A rehearsal scene with musicians and vocalists. In the foreground, Boston University assistant professor of music, voice, David Guzmán, wears glasses and a blue shirt and is standing near two singers. The singer to his right (stage left) is mezzo-soprano student Juliette Kaoudji who is seated and smiling. The other singer, standing on the opposite side of David, is soprano Michelle Johnson, who is singing while holding sheet music. In the background, an orchestra with string players and a harpist rehearses.

How a BU Researcher Found and Revived a Long-Lost Operatic Masterpiece

Cuban composer Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes’ opera El Caminante, rediscovered after more than a century, had its world (re)premiere at Boston University

Una Voz/One Voice

Mario Arévalo (CFA’09) realized his dream of becoming an opera singer. Now he’s focused on helping the next generation of Latin American musical talent.

Opening Doors: Missy Mazzoli

Missy Mazzoli (BUTI’89, CFA’95) is one of America’s preeminent composers, and she’s fighting to improve the path for women in classical music

The Future of Opera

Chicago Opera Theater Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya (CFA’10) is one of America’s few women conductors and a force for change

Mapping an Opera

How composer Nico Muhly (BUTI’96,’97) gets from a blank page to the Met.

Annual Fringe Festival

The Boston University Fringe Festival, now in its 26th season, is a collaboration between the School of Music’s Opera Institute and School of Theatre. The festival’s mission is to produce new or rarely performed significant works in the opera and theatre repertoire, bringing performances and audiences together in unique theatrical settings.

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25th Annual Fringe Festival features new opera written by CFA alum

Proving Up, based on a short story by Karen Russell, is the work of composer Missy Mazzoli (BUTI’98, CFA’02) and frequent collaborator librettist Royce Vavrek. Proving Up is the story of the Zegners, a family of homesteaders trying to make it on the dry Nebraska plains in the 1860s. Also on the 2021 Fringe stage was The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace, composed by Kamala Sankaram and Rob Handel. The opera captures Ada Lovelace, often referred to as the world’s first computer programmer, as she assists on a friend’s mathematical project—a pursuit that was unheard of for high-stature women in the 19th century.

CFA’s Annual Fringe Festival Offers Sex, Picasso, and Verdi

“Fringe” means new or edgy work, and this year’s festival includes two operas: After Life, about Pablo Picasso and Gertrude Stein, composed by Tom Cipullo (GRS’85), with a libretto by David Mason, and one of the most famous operas ever written, Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata.