HOT Celebrates World Opera Day on October 25^th 

In celebration of World Opera Day, Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre (HOT) is excited to announce tickets for the 2022 season are now on sale as HOT prepares to welcome audiences back to live performances at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in February.

World Opera Day is celebrated annually on this day, the birthday of Georges Bizet and Johann Strauss II, composers of possibly the world’s most famous opera and operetta. It is a day when opera companies, along with artists, opera lovers, and opera professionals show and celebrate the value of the art form. Like many opera companies around America, Hawai‘i Opera Theatre has embraced the spirit of metamorphosis as opera returns to the stage. HOT’s commitment to creating a captivating season which is artistically satisfying, yet scaled to be adapted to current safety protocols, continues their legacy of engaging the brightest rising stars of the opera world.

Enjoy all of the drama and passion of the opera at a price you can afford—single tickets start at just $30 for any of our mainstage performances. Plus, the more opera you see, the more you save! Hawai‘i Opera Theatre season subscribers have access to the best seats at the lowest prices. In addition to guaranteed savings of up to 21% over individual ticket prices, subscribers receive exclusive benefits like a 25% discount on additional single tickets, unlimited ticket exchanges, priority access to HOT events and productions, and much more. Season subscriptions start at just $81 for all three performances and go up to $318 for premium seats. Click here to learn more.

Single tickets are on sale now at Tickets.HawaiiOpera.Org. Season subscriptions are available by calling the HOT Box Office at (808) 596-7858. 

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2022 Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre Season

The Tragedy of Carmen
February 18 & 20, 2022

Peter Brook’s gripping adaptation brings Bizet’s opera back to its origins of sexual intrigue, power, and complexity. In this distilled 90-minute production, Carmen’s embrace of her dark fate is elevated from an act of submission to an assertion of power. Karen Tiller returns to direct the HOT debuts of Ashley Dixon as Carmen, Kyle van Schoonhoven as Don José, Christian Pursell as Escamillo, and Maria Valdes as Micaëla, with Emily Senturia conducting.

Re-Emerging: HOT Live in Concert
March 11 & 13, 2022

HOT’s one-act exploration of change, renewal, and hope is told through your favorite arias, duets, and ensembles from opera and musical theater. Directed by HOT Artistic Program Officer Jamie Offenbach, with musical direction by Timothy Shaindlin and narration by award-winning recording artist Aaron J. Sāla, this inviting program will take audiences through the journey of a day and the metamorphosis of a butterfly in this return to live opera.

Madame Butterfly
April 8, 10 & 12, 2022

In a grand return to the stage, Hawai‘i Opera Theatre closes the season with a full-scale production of the opera that started it all for HOT, Madame Butterfly. Puccini’s iconic work will be directed by Gregory Keller with conductor Benjamin Makino. Audiences will be treated to a visual masterpiece of Japanese-inspired costumes by local designer Anne Namba.

Ticket buyers with questions or concerns can contact the HOT Box Office by phone or email at HOTTickets@hawaiiopera.org. Current audience guidelines to safely welcome patrons back to the theatre can be found on the HOT website at hawaiiopera.org/plan-your-visit.

Have you seen our Mele Video Series on HOT Digital? 

If not, click here and start watching the very talented performers from our Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio as they sing some of Opera’s Greatest Hits!

Enjoy for Free on HOT Digital!

The Butterfly Emerges

Saturday, March 26 at the beautiful Sheraton Waikiki

Alison Bhattacharyya, Chair

It’s time to celebrate!  

You will not want to miss the cultural event of the spring, featuring a cocktail reception and silent auction, gourmet dinner crafted exclusively for us by the Sheraton’s culinary team, and musical performances by HOT artists.   

Opera Ball is the most important fundraising event of Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre’s year, providing vital support for our award-winning education programs which serve more than 22,000 students and their families statewide, and our mainstage productions seen by more than 12,000 patrons annually. 

Our theme this year looks ahead to the final production of our 2022 mainstage season, Puccini’s beloved opera Madame Butterfly, featuring costumes designed by Anne Namba.   

But it also represents HOT’s return to live performances and events, as we reemerge from the pandemic like the butterfly leaving its chrysalis, more beautiful than ever! With that in mind, we are encouraging festive attire that fits the theme, with optional black-tie. 

This year’s ball includes some new features, including design concepts by Riccardo Benavides of Ideas Events & Rentals based in San Francisco. 

He and his team will be working with our own Anne Namba of Anne Namba Designs to create a truly unique event that you will not want to miss! 

Click here to view a list of HOT Opera Ball Table Benefits.  To sign up for a table, please fill out the Opera Ball Table Form and submit.  Should you wish to make a Silent Auction Donation, please download the Silent Auction Donation Form and send to HOT. 

For more information or individual tickets, please call the HOT box office at 808.596.7858 or email hottickets@hawaiiopera.org. 

Note:

We are working closely with the Sheraton staff to ensure the safety of Opera Ball attendees, staff, volunteers, and artists.  

That starts with our decision to require all guests be fully vaccinated by the event.  

We’re also limiting the number of tables to allow for social distancing, and we’ll keep you informed of additional safety protocols as they evolve. 

We believe this will allow the greatest level of comfort and freedom of movement for you at Opera Ball.  

For Immediate Release

JULY 15, 2021 – Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, live performances are preparing to return, and opera, emerging from the pandemic, is also experiencing a metamorphosis. Hawai’i Opera Theatre’s (HOT) 2020-2021 Digital Season opened a new creative world, allowing the islands’ only opera company to share its story with a global audience from 115 countries outside of Hawai’i and the continental US. The digital platform is not just a passing fancy, but a unique method of delivery that can interact with and enhance live programming, which makes its return this Fall.

Many of the details required to craft a safe and successful return to live opera remain unclear: awaiting reopening plans from our longtime home, The Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall; rapidly changing safety protocols – and related expenses; the comfort level of audiences to return to indoor performances; and more. The schedule remains unchanged, but we have reimagined the first two productions to be performed without intermission and with minimal forces to ensure safety and fiscal responsibility.

In February, HOT presents The Tragedy of Carmen, Peter Brook’s gripping adaptation that brings Bizet’s opera back to its origins of sexual intrigue, power, and complexity. In this distilled 90-minute production, Carmen’s embrace of her dark fate is elevated from an act of submission to an assertion of power. All making their HOT debuts, Ashley Dixon stars as Carmen, with Christian Pursell as Escamillo and Maria Valdes as Micaëla. HOT favorite Karen Tiller returns to direct, with Emily Senturia conducting.

Originally scheduled as the grand opening, Re-Emerging: HOT Live in Concert will be a one-act program of beloved arias, duets and ensembles from opera and musical theater performed in concert, led by conductor Mark Morash, and staged by HOT Artistic Advisor Jamie Offenbach debuting this March. Alongside some favorite local talent, the program features soprano Elena Galván who captured our hearts as the charming Susanna in our 2019 production of The Marriage of Figaro, and New Zealand-born baritone Hadleigh Adams, in his HOT debut.

The company closes out the season as planned in April 2022 with a full-scale production of one of opera’s best-loved classics, Madame Butterfly. Puccini’s iconic work will be directed by Gregory Keller with conductor Benjamin Makino. Joining her creative team is local designer Anne Namba returning to HOT.

In addition to a full season of opera, Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre’s signature fundraising gala, Opera Ball, returns on Saturday, November 6 at the Sheraton Waikiki. This signature event raises much-needed funds to support HOT’s operations, which includes the award-winning education programs that serves over 20,000 students, families and teachers throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Opera Ball 2021: The Butterfly Emerges will feature designs by Riccardo Benavides, of Ideas Events & Rentals based in San Francisco, and local favorite fashion designer Anne Namba.

Accompanying the new additions to season programming, HOT is planning for changes in how opera is presented and experienced. To create an event that is safe and enjoyable, anticipate reduced capacities in the Fall – with the hopes of expansion for the Spring – along with social distancing, facemasks for attendees, and other measures that follow the latest guidelines from local and national officials. Changing protocols are being closely monitored and HOT will follow-up with detailed safety procedures closer to its first performances.

Subscriptions are now available through the HOT Box Office. To subscribe to the season or learn more about these changes, please contact the HOT Box Office at 808.596.7858 or hottickets@hawaiiopera.org.

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For media questions and comments, please contact:

Kristen Lau-Grover / Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre / k_laugrover@hawaiiopera.org / 808.596.7372 ext. 211

ABOUT HAWAIʻI OPERA THEATRE

Opera has been part of island culture for more than a century. Its history in Hawaiʻi, which dates back to the 1850s, includes stories of Queen Emma singing in the chorus of Verdi’s Il Trovatore while her husband, King Kamehameha IV served as the stage manager! Today, Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre is known for its vibrant and creative productions and award-winning education programs.

Since 1961, Hawaii Opera Theatre (HOT), founded as a division of the Honolulu Symphony Society and incorporated in 1980, has served to enhance the quality of life in Hawaiʻi by presenting opera performances and education programs of the highest standards. With its upcoming commemoration of 60 years as the only professional opera company in Hawaiʻi, HOT is one of the largest performing arts organizations in the state with performances and education presentations on all of the major islands. In May, 2019, General Director Andrew Morgan became the company’s fifth executive leader, bringing over 25 years of experience as a non-profit leader, singer and stage director.

HOT’s year-round educational programs serve as both catalyst and active participant in the artistic education of Hawaiʻi’s youth, serving over 20,000 students, parents and teachers each year. Opera for Everyone provides access to a dress rehearsal for each of HOT’s mainstage productions for a large and enthusiastic audience of students. Opera Express takes opera into elementary and middle schools with special tours to all Neighbor Islands of an engaging and age-appropriate production. HOT’s Opera Residency program brings our education and production staff members into an elementary school to work with students and teachers to compose an opera production centered on curriculum components. Adult education offerings include Opera Highlights, a non-credit course at the University of Hawaii; Opera Previews, a lecture and Q&A with artists at the Honolulu Museum of Art; pre-performance Lanai Lectures on the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall lanai; and other presentations at venues throughout the state. During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the company adapted all of its artistic and education programs for online distribution through HOT Digital.

Though Covid-19 has impacted all of us in many ways, it couldn’t stop the HOT Education Opera Express from taking the show online this past Spring.

Enjoy Gilbert & Sullivan’s classic for free now!

Despite the adverse conditions of the past year, HOT Education has continued to work with the Young Voices Studio Members and we proudly present the 2020-21 Orvis Young Voices Recital.

Enjoy it for free on HOT Digital!

Hawai’i Opera Theatre will be holding its general membership meeting virtually on June 30th.

The following Board members are up for renewal for a three year term (2021-2024):

Auditions are currently open for the 2023-2024 Season!

Studio Members have the opportunity to receive world-class coaching, gain performance experience, and more.  Auditions will be online and are open through mid-July.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Do you know a talented young singer?  

The Orvis Young Voices Studio is also auditioning for new members!  This program is open to high school students, and auditions run through the end of June.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

I hope you’ve been able to enjoy some of the extraordinary operatic experiences that HOT has created over the past year in the face of an ongoing pandemic. From the many and diverse digital productions in our first-ever HOT Digital Season to the creative shifting of our award-winning education and outreach programs into online experiences, you should take pride in your Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre!

But we need your kokua more than ever as we approach the close of our current fiscal year, on May 31, and prepare to return to live opera and education programming in the fall. Your gift can make all the difference!

I want to share a special message from Quinn Kamakanalani Kelsey that he wishes to share with you, our HOT ‘ohana:

“Having started in the HOT Chorus at age 12, Hawai‘i Opera Theatre will always be my home base. My sister Blythe and I have been singing since we could walk, and loved it as a way to spend time with our parents.  I want to extend my Mahalo to you for your continued kokua, which will allow HOT to thrive.”

Please consider making a gift today! Mahalo nui loa,

Andrew Morgan

Don’t miss Laura Kaminsky and Kimberly Reed’s Hometown to the World! Click here for tickets.

Watch the trailer now!