New Jersey Opera Theater unveils a new season at inaugural gala
By: Christian Kirkpatrick
In just two years, New Jersey Opera Theater has done much to celebrate. It has built an effective organization and staged two successful summer seasons, the first at Princeton University’s Hamilton Murray Theatre and the second at the Berlind Stage at McCarter Theatre.
So when more than 100 supporters gathered Saturday evening at the Doral Forrestal in Plainsboro for NJOT’s first gala benefit, they not only heard some fabulous singing, they were humming a happy tune themselves.
"This is sort of a break out for us tonight. It ends our second year of operation," said Robert Teweles of Princeton, president of the board of trustees. "The terrible two’s treated us very well."
The three’s promise to be even better.
According to Steven Mosteller, music director, NJOT is on its way to becoming a regional company that will bring opera to the whole of New Jersey, staging concerts everywhere from high school auditoriums in Cape May to NJPAC in Newark.
The key to the plan is education.
Beginning this year, NJOT will be offering free training to young artists. About 25 will become apprentice-level singers with the company, performing in the chorus during SummerFest performances and in NJOT’s educational outreach programs during the school year.
About another 20 singers will become festival artists, singing leading roles with the company and performing in the many concerts NJOT puts on throughout the year. Masterclasses occur throughout the year. Auditions will begin in New York and Philadelphia next month.
While training its company, NJOT will also be educating its audience.
Peter Hoyle, director of education, is taking opera to New Jersey’s grade schools, spending a month at a given school to stage a 35- to 40-minute version of such classics as "Carmen" and "The Magic Flute." The apprentice-level singers with the company perform the leading roles, and the children sing the rest. Even the audience participates. Thus the singers gain stage experience, the children begin to appreciate opera, and their parents learn about NJOT.
Mr. Hoyle has staged "The Magic Flute" at Princeton’s Riverside School. He has also worked with many schools in Morris and eight other New Jersey counties.
"We reach 10,000 kids each year," said Scott Altman, artistic director and co-founder, proudly.
With its school programs and concerts, NJOT has positioned itself as a year-round company. And with the summer season of 2006, the company will officially launch the name "SummerFest" to incorporate the true festival atmosphere of all NJOT’s summer offerings.
Drum roll, please NJOT’s SummerFest was announced Saturday night. Opera Theater will stage Mozart’s "Cosi Fan Tutte," Donizetti’s "L’Elisir d’Amore" and a double bill of Puccini’s "Gianni Schicchi" and the New Jersey premiere of Michael Ching’s "Buoso’s Ghost" (1996). The operas will be fully staged, with orchestra, and feature English surtitles.
Naturally, NJOT’s guests expected singing with their supper Saturday night, and they were not disappointed. Between courses, they heard a concert’s worth of arias and ensemble pieces, drawn in part from operas that the company performed in 2005 or will perform in 2006.
Among the artists singing was soprano Elizabeth Futral, who appeared with the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Donizetti’s "Lucia di Lammermoor." (The New York Times praised Ms. Futral’s performance as "vocally splendid.")
"New Jersey Opera Theater seems to be doing great things," the soprano commented. "I’m happy to be a part of it."
Honorary gala chair Phyllis Marchand, better known as the mayor of Princeton Township, was also glad to be part of the evening’s festivities.
"New Jersey Opera Theater has been extremely generous with its time and talents," the mayor said. Members of the company have performed at Pettoranello Gardens, the Princeton Public Library and the Suzanne Patterson Center, she said.
Princeton Township Committeman Bill Hearon said he very much enjoyed last season at the Berlind, particularly the company’s acting, which he found exceptionally good.
But perhaps their favorite memory is of Princeton High School graduate Matthew Curran’s performance last summer as Dr. Bartolo in "The Barber of Seville." His parents, Frank and Barbara Curran, were at the gala and were happy to report that Matthew would be in NJOT’s February performance of "Falstaff."
"The opera company is such a wonderful entity," said Mrs. Curran, "with such good, forward-thinking ideas. It’s bringing opera to the people. And it’s proving that opera can be elegant and financially sound."
NJOT is the "brainchild" of Scott and Lisa Altman, both of whom were at one time affiliated with the now-defunct Opera Festival of New Jersey. Mrs. Altman served as OFNJ’s artistic administrator for three seasons, while Mr. Altman, a bass-baritone, performed in seven operas over the course of four OFNJ seasons.
Upcoming NJPT performances include a concert of arias and ensembles that will be sung Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton and on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Marasco Center in Monroe Township.
On Feb. 26 at 2 p.m., NJOT will begin its 2006 season with a semi-staged performance of Verdi’s "Falstaff" at Richardson Auditorium on the Princeton University campus. The cast will include singers with national and international reputations.
For more information about New Jersey Opera Theater call (609) 799-7700 or visit www.NJOT.org.

