Induction ceremony will be July 29 in Central City
By Peter Alexander Feb. 2 at 2:16 p.m.
The Central City Opera (CCO) will be inducted in the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, in the Hall’s first “destination induction,” to be held in Central City on Saturday, June 29.
In addition to the company, opera singer/professionals Cynthia Lawrence and Keith MiIller, and CCO’s late conductor/artistic director John Moriarty will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Under the title “Opera in the High Country,” the ceremony in Central City will be hosted jointly by CCO and the City of Central, and will take place in conjunction with the opening night of a CCO production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.
Scott Finlay, CCO’s president and CEO commented in a news release, “We are deeply honored to be receiving this recognition. Central City Opera’s 92 years of rich musical heritage is a testament to the dedication of our supporters, volunteers, artists, and staff who have made this milestone possible. This distinction is a tribute to their commitment.”
Interior view of Central City Opera’s historic opera house
Officials from the Hall of Fame and the City of Central also released statements. Karen Radman, executive director the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, wrote: “Colorado Music Hall of Fame is honored to be presenting an opera-themed induction class for the first time, recognizing the important contributions that opera has made in music while expanding to a new musical genre for our inductees. Opera in the High Country, focused around the impressive and historic Central City Opera and those whose careers were influenced by it, also expands The Hall of Fame’s reach into the Colorado mountains.”
Central City Mayor Jeremy Fey wrote: “It is a great honor for Central City to host Colorado Music Hall of Fame. We are especially proud as Central City Opera, a pillar of Colorado’s cultural landscape for 92 years, leads the 2024 class of inductees.”
VIP tickets that include a reception, dinner and seating for the induction ceremony, as well as the CCO performance of Pirates of Penzance, are available through the CCO box office.
Founded in 1932, Central City Opera is the fifth oldest opera company in the United States. With major performances in the Central City Opera House, a National Historic Landmark that predates the opera company by 54 years, the company offers an annual of summer festival of opera and classic music theater, as well as smaller events in Central City. CCO’s Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program, founded by Moriarty in 1978, contributes to the professional development of young artists, many of whom go on to major operatic and musical theater careers.
Summer 2024 Festival calendar has been set, and the new CEO is thinking ahead
By Peter Alexander Dec. 7 at 10:45 a.m.
Things are definitely back on track at Central City Opera (CCO).
Opening Night at Central City Opera. From “Theatre of Dreams, The Glorious Central City Opera- Celebrating 75 Years.“
The labor unrest from last summer has been settled, and the summer season for 2024 has been officially set and announced. A new CEO is in place, and a search is underway for a new artistic director, replacing Pelham (“Pat”) Pearce, who led the company for more than 20 years. And with things on an even keel, the CCO administration and artistic staff are looking to the future.
The 2024 season will comprise three major productions. As announced previously, the three shows will be Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, one of the most popular of the G&S operettas; Puccini’s American frontier fable Fanciulla del West (Girl of the Golden West), transported from the California gold fields of 1849 to the Colorado Gold Rush days in Central City a decade later; and Street Scene, a hybrid opera/musical by Kurt Weill about New York tenement life, based on Elmer Rice’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, with lyrics by Langston Hughes.
Since the three productions were announced last summer, CCO has established the full schedule for the summer’s performances, which is listed below. Subscription sales for the summer will begin Jan. 1, and single tickets will go one sale April 1.
Scott Finlay
In the meantime, new CEO Scott Finlay “sees blue skies on the horizon” for the company, he says. “There’s a lot of support out there for CCO and folks are very excited on the future here, and that feels good.”
Finlay came to CCO in 2010 as a grant writer and later associate director of development. After a stint as senior director of development at the CU College of Music, he returned to CCO as vice-president for development, the position he held until he was selected CEO last summer.
Everyone on the artistic side of the company that I have spoken with was enthusiastic about Finlay’s appointment. Coming after a period of uncertainty, his experience as the company’s development officer, together with his background both as a singer and as a fundraiser, is the kind of reassuring presence that CCO needs.
Ken Cazan, who has stage directed numerous productions at CCO, wrote in an email, “I am happy that someone as positive and supportive as Scott Finlay will be the new CEO of CCO. Scott has been a stalwart fundraiser for CCO on and off for years and a friend to all of the artists who have worked there. I hope and believe that he will be able to lead CCO into a new and adventurous era, free and clear of the baggage that was left behind.”
Ashraf Sewailam, who has both sung and stage directed for CCO, is very clear about his feelings. “I think he is the perfect choice,” he says. “He already has established relationships (with CCO’s supporters) and he can only stand to improve on that. And he’s a good person. He wants to serve well the art form as well as the establishment that he works for.”
Finlay says that all the feedback he received after his appointment was positive. “I’ve received a lot of e-mails and calls and facebooks posts from artists, and they are optimistic that we are moving in the right direction,” he says.
That’s important in the wake of last year’s labor issues. Addressing the fallout from those events, Finlay says “It’s no secret to anyone that we’ve gone through a couple of years of rocky starts and stops, especially with the AGMA (American Guild of Musical Artists union) negotiations that were going on at the beginning of the year. And I’m happy to report that we are on a different page and a different chapter with them now.
“I think that my relationships and my leadership and reputation will reinforce and shore up the trust that (the artists) have with this company.”
Looking to the future, Finlay sees the hiring of a new artistic director as the next milestone for the company. “We launched that search and it’s ongoing right now. I’m excited to see who the candidates are and where we might be moving forward.”
Of first importance is the artistic quality of the company, of course, but Finlay recognizes other attractions that make Central City Opera unusual. “We are known for artistic excellence, we put a fantastic product on the stage,” he says. “But the real juju for this company is the setting. . . . The location plays a large role in your experience of the art form.”
Looking farther into the future, Finlay knows where he wants CCO to be in five or 10 years. “We’ve got to explore alternative revenue streams, that’s one thing. Without financial stability we can’t do anything artistically. So my first job is to get us financially stable. The City of Central is going through somewhat of a renaissance right now, there are some businesses coming in, lots of construction, lots of renovation of the old buildings. I think that there’s some opportunity up there.”
Apart from the business side of his job, Finlay remains committed to opera, both as an art form and as a part of the community where it takes place. Engagement with the public around the themes of the operas being presented, is definitely part of his plan. “Community engagement is critical for us,” he says. “I really want to see that our work is meaningful.
“One of the things that I have been saying for a long time and I hope I get to say louder now, is that we as Central City Opera have a job. We hope that we can make people lovers of Central City Opera, but I think that we should try to make people lovers of opera. Opera matters, and we’re the ones who have to put that out there.”
Just one more thing: Finlay is committed to the health of CCO as an organization and the quality of the workplace. “We’ve gone through a couple of years, and we’ve lost a lot of staff, a lot of good people, and I’m excited to turn that tide and move things forward in a different kind of motion,” he says. “I want people to love working here, and I think I can do that.
“I want to make this the best place to work in the Denver area.”
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Central City Opera Summer 2024 Festival Season
Central City Opera House Interior
Sir Willam Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan: Pirates of Penzance
7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 29; Saturday, July 20; Saturday, July 27;
2 p.m. Wednesday, July 3; Friday July 5; Sunday, July 7; Saturday, July 13; Tuesday, July 16; Wednesday, July 24; Friday, Aug. 2
Giacomo Puccini: La fanciula del West (Girl of the golden West)
7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 6; Saturday, Aug. 3
2 p.m. Wednesday, July 10; Friday, July 12; Sunday, July 14; Friday, July 19; Saturday, July 21; Tuesday, July 23; Saturday, July 27; Wednesday, July 31
Kurt Weill: Street Scene
7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 12
2 p.m. Wednesday, July 17; Saturday, July 20; Friday, July 26; Sunday, July 28; Tuesday, July 30; Saturday, Aug. 3
Current subscribers may renew their subscriptions now through Dec. 8. Renewal packets will be sent by mail.
New subscriptions will go on sale Jan. 1, 2024, and may be ordered HERE, or call the box office at 303-292-6700.
Single tickets will go on sale April 1, 2024, through the CCO WEB PAGE, or call the box office at 303-292-6700.
Search for permanent Artistic Director to get under way
By Peter Alexander Oct. 6 at 12:50 p.m.
The board and leadership of Central City Opera (CCO) yesterday announced the appointment of Scott Finlay as president and CEO of the opera company.
Finlay has been with Central City Opera for 12 years, most recently as vice-president of development. In announcing Finlay’s appointment, the company said that they will now begin a national search for a new artistic director—a position that has been open since the resignation of Pat Pearce from CCO leadership in June, 2022. That search will be led by Management Consultants for the Arts, a longstanding consulting firm that has clients large and small throughout the United States, from the Chicago Symphony to the Napa Valley Opera House in California.
Scott Finlay
In CCO’s news release, Finlay wrote “I am deeply honored to assume the position of President & CEO at Central City Opera. This institution’s legacy is unparalleled, and I am committed to honoring its past while embracing the necessary changes to ensure a vibrant and sustainable future. I am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and the opportunity to lead CCO into a new era.”
CCO board co-chair Heather Miller writes, “[Finlay’s] dynamic leadership and tenure with the company make him the perfect fit for us. He brings a deep understanding of the organization from both the artistic and administrative sides. We are looking forward to seeing Scott, and the company flourish.”
Finlay succeeds former CEO Pamela Pantos, who was employed by the company from January, 2022, until she left the company last July, near the end of CCO’s 2023 summer festival. Pantos had overseen difficult and at times contentious negotiations for a new contract with the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), a union representing singers and apprentice artists at the company. That conflict was resolved with the signing of a new contract in May, 2023.
Sharps & Flatirons 