HANA HOU | JANUARY 2024
Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou!
The start of a new year is always exciting to me. It is a time for both reflection and dreaming; for examining the successes and challenges from the previous year – learning and growing from both – and making plans for the year ahead of us.
There’s a lot in store for your Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre in 2024 – Pagliacci at the Blaisdell Arena in February, La Bohème at the Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell in April, new adventures in Studio101, and engaging education programming that impacts keiki across the state. But I want to take a moment to look back at our many accomplishments from 2023.
The arts continue to struggle as we adjust to a “new normal” following the pandemic, and HOT is no different in that. But there is so much that gives me hope!
Although audience numbers continue to trail behind pre-Covid seasons, we have seen a tremendous number of first-time attendees. Indeed, over 60% of single-ticket buyers for our October production of An American Dream had never been to a HOT production before, and that is a trend that continues to build from Madame Butterfly in April 2022, which saw 50% new attendees.
We also created two new productions – The Elixir of Love and An American Dream – that were designed and built right here on Oahu. And even more, both operas spoke to our renewed commitment to being of Hawaiʻi, with Elixir set on the islands and Dream telling a story that was all too real for the many Japanese who were incarcerated in the days and weeks following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
We also continued to build interest in our Studio101 shows, all created by Artistic Director Jamie Offenbach, ending the year with sold-out performances of HOT Blue Hawaiʻi in Novem
ber and I’ll Be Seeing You in December – and again, with many new faces in the audience!
Our Education Department also had a banner year, with new schools partnering with us in our immersive Opera Residencies as well as Opera Express touring shows and other keiki-friendly programs. A personal highlight was the culmination of our first–ever joint residency featuring Kaʻaʻawa and Waiahole Elementary Schools. To see over 50 keiki from two schools come together to perform an opera they’d written and rehearsed with our dedicated staff before an auditorium packed with enthusiastic teachers and parents was exhilarating!
Truly, the power of opera is alive and well right here in Hawaiʻi! And that would not be possible without the dedication of our board, staff, patrons, volunteers, and so many more.
Mahalo nui loa for all you do. I am truly humbled to be a part of this amazing cultural institution.
A hui hou!
Andrew