Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) is an American opera company based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1976.
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Company history
Recounted in Cowden, pp. 234 - 238
Productions
Each season, BLO produces three mainstage productions at the Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre in Boston and a fully staged, one-hour English language version of a popular opera for school children and families at venues throughout New England. BLO receives partial funding from a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. BLO regularly invests in co-productions with other U.S. companies including New York City Opera, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Houston Grand Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera.
BLO's community work has included participation in the "Egypt in Boston" thematic season that celebrated Egypt at several of Boston’s leading cultural institutions in 1999–2000. In the summer of 2002, BLO produced "Carmen on the Common", a community-outreach initiative of a summer-long education series which culminated in two free, fully staged outdoor performances of Bizet's Carmen on Boston Common. Similar plans were scheduled for Verdi's Aida in the 2005–2006 season, but were cancelled because of insufficient financial support.
Creative personnel
The conductor, John Balme served as general director from 1979 to 1989. Janice Mancini Del Sesto was general director of BLO from 1992 to 2008. During her tenure, the company's budget grew from $800,000 (USD) to $6 million (USD). Since 2008, BLO's general and artistic director of BLO is Esther Nelson. Stephen Lord was BLO music director from 1991 to 2008. In June 2010, BLO announced the appointment of David Angus as the company's next music director, as of the 2010–2011 season, with an initial contract of 3 years.
In 2010, BLO commissioned a work from composer Richard Beaudoin to precede its February 2011 performances of Viktor Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis. Beaudoin responded with a 20-minute work for singers and chamber ensemble.