Nickel City Opera

The Nickel City Opera (also known as NCO) is an American opera company based in Buffalo, New York.^[1][2][3][4]

History

The opera company NCO,^[5] was founded in 2004 by opera singer Valerian Ruminski, composer Persis Vehar, and pianist William Hicks.^[6][7][8][9] The NCO has commissioned operas, and has staged some world premieres of notable musical works.^[10] The NCO has produced a wide range of works from different periods.^[11]

It produced its first opera, Rossini's The Barber of Seville,^[12] in June 2009 at the Riviera Theatre, followed by a production of Verdi's Rigoletto.^[13][14][15] The NCO has collaborated with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and musicians from Buffalo.^[16][17]

Other productions include Il trovatore,^[18] La Bohème,^[19] La Traviata,^[20] Carmen,^[21] I Pagliacci,^[22] Don Pasquale,^[23] Rigoletto,^[24] Tosca,^[25] Il tabarro,^[26] Der Schauspieldirektor,^[27][28] Le Nozze di Figaro,^[29][30] La Traviata,^[31] The Barber of Seville,^[32] Amahl and the Night Visitors,^[33] Shot by Persis Vehar^[34] and The Music Shop by Richard Wargo.^[35]

Productions

In 2010 and for the subsequent four years, the NCO presented Gian Carlo Menotti's Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors at the Riviera Theatre and in the Westminster Presbyterian Church (Buffalo, New York).^[36]

In 2011, as a special cultural event, NCO presented a production of Il tabarro by Giacomo Puccini, directed by Henry Akina on board the United States Navy warship USS The Sullivans (DD-537), a decommissioned Fletcher-class destroyer and one of Buffalo's landmarks, which serves as a museum ship and is anchored at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York.^[37] The USS The Sullivans (DD-537) has served as an integral part of the staging.^[38][39]

For the premiere production of Shot!, in 2016, the role of President William McKinley was sung by Valerian Ruminski, the role of Ida McKinley was sung by Marieterese Magisano with John Packard as Leon Czolgosz, Michele Capalbo as Emma Goldman and Fred Furnari as Buffalo Police Superintendent Bull, the Nickel City Opera Chorus and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.^[40] The sets re-created scenes from the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, with 40-foot projections of original 1901 Edison footage of the exposition, and rare historic photos.^[41][42][43]

In 2017, Matthias Manasi was appointed new music director and principal conductor of the NCO.^[44] The same year he conducted a production of Der Schauspieldirektor by Mozart, with particular attention to historically informed performance practice which was appreciated by critics.^[45]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCO was unable to produce opera at Shea's Performing Arts Center as of March 2020.^[46] A production of Aida planned for August 7 to 29, 2021 at Artpark at Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.^[47] In June 2023 NCO reprised its inaugural production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville.^[48]

The NCO produced a range of works from 18th-century Baroque and 19th-century Bel canto to the Minimalism of the 20th century and to contemporary operas of the 20th and 21st centuries.^[49] These operas have been presented in staged productions which ranged in style from those with elaborate traditional decors to others that feature modern conceptual designs.^{[50][51][52][53][54][55]}

Opera singers who have performed at the NCO include Michele Capalbo,^[56] Victoria Livengood,^[57] David MacAdam,^[58] Eric Fenell,^[59] Eduardo Villa, Adam Klein,^[60] Marc Freiman,^[61] Ray Chenez,^[62] Zulimar López-Hernández,^[63] John Packard,^[64] James Wright,^[65] Marieterese Magisano and Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs.^[66]

The locations at which NCO staged operas included Shea's Performing Arts Center (3,019 seats),^[67] Riviera Theatre (1.140 seats),^[68] Artpark Amphitheatre (4.400 seats), and Nicholas Flickinger Performing Arts Center (460 seats). Shea's Performing Arts Center was designed by the Chicago firm Rapp and Rapp. It is a European-style opera house. The original number of 4.000 seats was reduced to the current number of 3.019 seats in the 1930s. The interior was designed by designer/artist Louis Comfort Tiffany using elements that are mostly still present today.

World premieres

In June 2016, the NCO produced the world premiere of Shot! composed by co-founder Persis Vehar with libretto by her daughter Gabrielle Vehar, about the assassination of President McKinley, which was staged at Shea's Performing Arts Center, with the involvement of Michael Ching, as a conductor, and David Grabarkewitz, as a stage director.^{[69][70][71][72][73]}

In June 2021, Sotto Voce Vocal Collective presented in cooperation with the Nickel City Opera the world premiere of the opera The Second Sight composed by Jessie Downs.^{[74][75][76][77]}

Opera America Service Award

In May 2017, Opera America awarded Valerian Ruminski, artistic director of Nickel City Opera, its annual Service Award which recognizes those who "promote opera in their communities and work tirelessly to ensure the highest possible artistic quality and community service." Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of Opera America said in the ceremony, which took place in Dallas:“On behalf of the staff and membership of Opera America, please accept my congratulations and thank you for your exceptional contribution to the field of opera.”^[78][79]

Music directors

Michael Ching has been the music director of Nickel City Opera from 2004 to 2017 and its principal conductor from 2012 to 2017.^[80][81] Matthias Manasi has been appointed as a music director and chief conductor of NCO from 2017 to 2021.^[82][83][84] Since 2021, the NCO has been collaborating only with guest conductors.

Stage directors

International NCO stage directors have included David Grabarkewitz, who has directed the New York City Opera's production of Madama Butterfly for Public Broadcasting System (PBS), which received an Emmy award in 2008,^[85][86] and Marc Verzatt, awarded Outstanding Stage Director of 2006 by 'Classical Singer' magazine.^[87][88]