Opera Memphis will soon offer more public performances throughout the year, expanding beyond its traditional schedule of three to four operas per year plus 30 Days of Opera, its month-long series of free shows throughout the city. The expansion is a result of a $500,000 grant from The Assisi Foundation of Memphis, Inc., and a dollar-for-dollar matching gift from Miriam and Charles Handorf.
The money will be used to endow the Handorf Company Artist Program, which brings emerging artists from across the country to Memphis to perform throughout the city. The opera company will continue to present its masterworks at venues like the Germantown Performing Arts Center, Playhouse on the Square, and the upcoming Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, but Opera Memphis can now present more performances annually and in additional locations as part of its effort to bring opera to every ZIP code in Memphis.
“At Opera Memphis, we pride ourselves on making opera that belongs to everyone,” said Ned Canty, Opera Memphis’ general director. “We know everyone can’t come to us, so we’ve committed to bringing opera to them – to every ZIP code in Memphis, and that requires singers with talent, charisma, and drive. The Assisi Foundation and the Handorfs are ensuring that we can always have access to singers who are true citizen-artists.”
Expanded opera performances will range from large-scale staged productions, to intimate chamber recitals, to free pop-up events in public spaces across the city. These community-focused activities fuel Opera Memphis’ goal, removing as many of the barriers to experiencing opera as possible, a process that began with the launch of its nationally recognized 30 Days of Opera series in 2012.
“Opera Memphis is an essential resource, not only in presenting professional operatic performances, but also in enriching people’s lives through music,” said Jan Young, executive director of the Assisi Foundation. “We’ve been amazed by how they’ve increased accessibility to the arts, especially during the past year, and we look forward to all the new creative and inspiring performances Opera Memphis will bring in the months to come.”
In addition to more performances, part of Opera Memphis’ expansion plans includes the company moving from its current headquarters, the Clark Opera Memphis Center at 6745 Wolf River Parkway, to a new, more centralized location in Memphis that is solely dedicated to rehearsal space and small performances.
The Assisi Foundation grant matches the first half of a $1 million matching pledge made by the Handorf family in 2019. The remaining pledge is yet to be matched, and opportunities for naming rights to various aspects of the program are still available.
