Annapolis Opera

Annapolis Opera will present an innovative 2008-2009 season, including two concerts featuring the Annapolis Opera Chamber Orchestra and widening the scope of its popular December candlelight concert beyond an all-Mozart repertoire. To steer this new course, the Annapolis Opera board has elected a new president, Greg Stiverson. Stiverson succeeds Leah Solat, who presided over the most successful season in Annapolis Opera's 35-year history: the only one to celebrate two sold-out presentations of its fully staged opera (Carmen)

The gypsy sorceress Carmen sauntered into Annapolis over the weekend to shatter 35-year-old box-office records with the company's first-ever sold-out performances for both Friday and Sunday. Most opera fans who attended should not have been disappointed by what they heard in a fully staged production that brought together the talents of the Annapolis Opera, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra the Ballet Theatre of Maryland, and a lively children's chorus along with an adult chorus to support the stellar singers in leading roles.

The Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition might be called the hometown version of American Idol, except here all of the opera contestants displayed fine voices -- and the trio of tough judges required them to sing in at least two languages. The 20th annual Vocal Competition finals concert on Sunday was free, through a grant from the Helena Foundation. The audience at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts matched Idol audiences in enthusiasm, and had the edge in classical music knowledge. Unlike Idol, no contestant left empty-handed, each receiving cash prizes of at least $500 with the top prize $2,500 awarded to encourage further study.

The next Pavarotti or Domingo might perform at the Annapolis Opera's 20th Annual Vocal Competition Finals on Sunday at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. Emerging opera singers will compete for study awards and cash prizes. The judging panel includes renowned sopranos Carmen Balthrop and Marianna Busching, as well as Annapolis Opera music director Ronald Gretz. The audience will pick the recipient of the Audience Choice Award. The event starts at 2 p.m. The venue is at 801 Chase St., Annapolis.

At the opening event of Annapolis Opera's 35th anniversary season, President Leah Solat announced that it also was marking the start of the 25th season for the company's artistic director, Ronald J. Gretz. Her remark inspired me to delve into the history of the company, with the help of Jean Jackson, who began the first of three terms as president when Gretz was chosen as director in 1983. The opera was founded in 1972 when Martha Wright brought The Medium to the Annapolis Hilton, followed by The Beggar's Opera at the Naval Academy and Madama Butterfly at St. John's College's Key Auditorium.

Annapolis Opera celebrated its 35th anniversary last week with a program of arias from many of the productions it has presented over the years. In 1972, Martha Wright, the company's first president, decided with a small group that Annapolis should have its own opera company. She returned for "Bravo 35" on Oct. 27 to accept the good wishes and proclamations of the city of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. Congratulations, wine-sipping and hors d'oeuvres-sampling preceded the main event at the Unitarian Universalist Church, a concert featuring four fine singers who are audience favorites and rising young stars, all under the direction of Annapolis Opera artistic director Ronald J. Gretz.

Four veteran county police officers were promoted Friday to sergeant. "You'll not only be the backbone [of the agency], you'll be our shoulders and legs. Your success as a leader will be placed squarely in your hands," Col. James Teare, the Anne Arundel County police chief, told the officers at a ceremony at the Southern District. The ceremony provided insight into the aspirations of one of the officers. Deputy Chief Emerson C. Davis recalled a training academy exercise in which Sara Schriver, then a recruit, told her peers that one day she would be police chief.

The upcoming 35th season of Annapolis Opera will be the last of Dennis Monk's presidency - four years of growth that moved the company from a shaky financial status to relative security. In a note to subscribers that accompanied the 2007-2008 season announcement, Monk lamented that classical music is not as accessible on radio and television as it was in decades past when opera luminaries such as Jan Peerce and Robert Merrill were frequent guests on popular radio and television shows. Concerned about the many people never exposed to opera, Monk said, "It is the company's mission to bring the best of opera close to home at affordable prices.

Annapolis Opera brought its capacity audiences a comfortably traditional production of Gioachino Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) last weekend at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. With the downbeat to the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra for the world's most famous overture, musical director Ronald J. Gretz signaled the spirited performance to follow. The comedic opera is a 19th-century musical adaptation of Beaumarchais' 1775 play about the rapscallion Figaro's efforts to help lovestruck Count Almaviva in his pursuit of wealthy and lovely Rosina, the ward of lecherous Dr. Bartolo.

Think of Annapolis Opera's Vocal Competition as a hometown version of American Idol - except the tough judges are never rude in evaluating contestants. A record number of 90 aspiring singers from the Mid-Atlantic region auditioned last weekend for a trio of judges: sopranos Jean Carter and Charlotte Wesley and Annapolis Opera music director Ronald J. Gretz. Victoria Waidner, an Annapolis Opera spokeswoman, said the organization was thrilled with the turnout. "We put the announcement on our Web site this year, and that helped.