Regional Opera Company of the Week: Florentine Opera Company

BroadwayWorld.com, the largest theatre site on the net, continues its expansion into other areas of entertainment with our latest feature -'The Regional Opera Company of the Week'.

This week's featured Opera Company is Florentine Opera Company in Wisconsin!

Milwaukee Wisconsin’s Florentine Opera Company is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in the state and the sixth oldest opera company in the nation.  Founded in 1933 by John-David Anello, the company was first called the Italian Opera Chorus.  In 1942, the group became the Florentine Opera Chorus because director Anello wanted to “honor the birthplace of opera as we know it.  The craft originated in the Italian city of Florence, which has been known as a bustling center for the arts for many centuries.”  As the name suggests, their focus was on operatic choral performances and had grown to a group of 100 members with a waiting list just as long.  By 1950, however, the Florentine Opera Chorus ventured out of the choral performances and began producing complete operas.  This brought upon the second and final name change to the Florentine Opera Company.

The company now presents three fully staged productions each season.  Performances take place at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Milwaukee.  The Marcus Center is home not only to the Florentine Opera but also to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Ballet, as well as Broadway and Off-Broadway touring productions.  The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra serves as the orchestra for all Florentine Opera Company productions.

As a leader in the Wisconsin arts community, all programs of the Florentine Opera Company are driven by the mission to present productions reflecting the highest musical and theatrical standard and are designed to fulfill the Company’s vision to expand the experience of patrons with memorable, outstanding and exciting performances.  Audiences enjoy beautiful main stage productions that include first-rate vocal artistry brought to life by established and emerging local, national and international opera stars. 

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Scott Frost is a Production and Stage Manager and a Freelance Costume Designer. In addition to being a theatrical manager and designer he currently works for Music Theatre International, the leader in the theatrical licensing industry, specializing in Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End musicals.