Hawaii Opera Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Hawaii Opera Theatre (HOT) is an opera company located in Honolulu, Hawaii, which became active in 1961. The company typically performs three opera
s during February and March in Blaisdell Concert Hall
. A summer production of a comic opera
by Gilbert and Sullivan
or a musical
was added beginning in 2004.
which was performed in McKinley High School auditorium in Honolulu in 1961. For the next two decades the company was part of the Honolulu Symphony
. In 1980 it became an independent tax-exempt corporation. The first independent season was in 1981 and consisted of three productions: La Bohème
, Lucia di Lammermoor
, and Carmen
. Supertitles were introduced in 1987, and 1989 was the first year in which all available seats were sold before opening night. By 1993 HOT membership had exceeded 2,000 individuals. The current General and Artistic Director, Hawaii-born Henry G. Akina, joined the company in 1996.
The year 2002 saw HOT's "Bad Girl Season" with productions of La Traviata
, Salome
, and Carmen
. Sets and costumes for Salome were designed by artist Thomas Woodruff. The 2007 production of Madama Butterfly, a co-production with Opera Omaha
, featured set and costume designs by the visual artist Jun Kaneko
.
The Summer Season was launched in 2004 with Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado
, followed by The Pirates of Penzance
(2005), The King and I
with Richard Chamberlain
(2006), South Pacific
(2007), and A Little Night Music
(2008). The summer production for 2009 was cancelled for budgetary reasons. Charity Navigator
has awarded the company its top "4-star" rating for responsible fiscal management since 2007.
's College of Continuing Education in 1983. HOT now has several educational programs, most notably its "Opera For Everyone" (OFE) program. OFE allows students to participate in all aspects of an opera production from technical crew to performing to simply watching an opera. The final dress rehearsal is opened up to students for a reduced price, usually on a Wednesday night. Other aspects of the show are assisted by OFE participants who can help in such aspects as set building, costuming and makeup, or performance. This is a rare opportunity offered to students who may pursue careers in opera in the future, and is one of the programs that makes HOT unique.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s during February and March in Blaisdell Concert Hall
Neal S. Blaisdell Center
The Neal S. Blaisdell Center in downtown Honolulu, Honolulu CDP is a community center for the City & County of Honolulu. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Ward Estate and originally called the Hawaii International Center, the center was renamed after Mayor of Honolulu Neal S. Blaisdell...
. A summer production of a comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
by Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
or a musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
was added beginning in 2004.
History
The first opera to be presented was Puccini's Madama ButterflyMadama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
which was performed in McKinley High School auditorium in Honolulu in 1961. For the next two decades the company was part of the Honolulu Symphony
Honolulu Symphony
The Honolulu Symphony, also known as the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. The Honolulu Symphony is the oldest symphony orchestra in the USA west of the Rocky Mountains. Originally housed in a clubhouse on the slopes of Punchbowl, the Honolulu Symphony now plays from the Neal S...
. In 1980 it became an independent tax-exempt corporation. The first independent season was in 1981 and consisted of three productions: La Bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, and Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
. Supertitles were introduced in 1987, and 1989 was the first year in which all available seats were sold before opening night. By 1993 HOT membership had exceeded 2,000 individuals. The current General and Artistic Director, Hawaii-born Henry G. Akina, joined the company in 1996.
The year 2002 saw HOT's "Bad Girl Season" with productions of La Traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, Salome
Salome
Salome , the Daughter of Herodias , is known from the New Testament...
, and Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
. Sets and costumes for Salome were designed by artist Thomas Woodruff. The 2007 production of Madama Butterfly, a co-production with Opera Omaha
Opera Omaha
Opera Omaha is an opera company in Omaha, Nebraska. It is well known for premiering Wakonda's Dream, a contemporary opera about Native Americans set in the Niobrara....
, featured set and costume designs by the visual artist Jun Kaneko
Jun Kaneko
is a Japanese ceramic artist living in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. In 1942 he was born in Nagoya, Japan, where he studied painting during his high school years. He came to the United States in 1963 to continue those studies at Chouinard Institute of Art when his focus was drawn to...
.
The Summer Season was launched in 2004 with Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
, followed by The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
(2005), The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
with Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare .-Early life:...
(2006), South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
(2007), and A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
(2008). The summer production for 2009 was cancelled for budgetary reasons. Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is an independent, non-profit organization that evaluates American charities. Its stated goal is "to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities."-About:...
has awarded the company its top "4-star" rating for responsible fiscal management since 2007.
Educational programs
A classroom-based education program was begun in 1981 and was expanded to more elementary and high school grade levels in 1984. A program called "Opera Highlights" became part of the curriculum of the University of HawaiiUniversity of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
's College of Continuing Education in 1983. HOT now has several educational programs, most notably its "Opera For Everyone" (OFE) program. OFE allows students to participate in all aspects of an opera production from technical crew to performing to simply watching an opera. The final dress rehearsal is opened up to students for a reduced price, usually on a Wednesday night. Other aspects of the show are assisted by OFE participants who can help in such aspects as set building, costuming and makeup, or performance. This is a rare opportunity offered to students who may pursue careers in opera in the future, and is one of the programs that makes HOT unique.