Tonight, we are in one of Boston’s most iconic locations to hear live music, watch compelling drama, and enjoy being together. Opera is bringing together a community, and we’re glad to welcome you here.
This production of Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet marks the start of our 46th Season and our return to the Boston Common after 20 years. I cannot imagine a better way to open the season than by enjoying a summer evening with you.
Our bold interpretation of this classic tale of star-crossed lovers, told under a starry New England sky and created in partnership with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) -- with support from the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and Boston Parks and Recreation -- brings the legacy of this 19th century opera into a modern context.
What excites me most about this production is how our collaboration with CSC combines the distinctive strengths of our two organizations to produce a vibrant, unique performance for our city. What you see on stage tonight demonstrates the creative collaborative potential of the performing arts in Boston and the importance of coming together as a community.
More programs like this are on the way. BLO recently completed a strategic plan, including a new mission statement that centers on expanding our programming and strengthening our community. The plan calls on us to focus more on being a good neighbor, building on public programs like this one tonight, and inviting more people into the creation of our work.
Keep in touch with us at BLO.org for updates on our strategic work and all we have in store this Season. I welcome you to our work enthusiastically and encourage you to share your feedback along the way.
Thank you for being here with us – in fair “Boston,” where we lay our scene tonight!
- Bradley Vernatter, Acting Stanford Calderwood General & Artistic Director
On behalf of the Boston Lyric Opera Board of Directors, welcome to Romeo & Juliet!
Tonight, you will play your part - that of an engaged audience member - as one of literature world’s most famous rivalries play out to its tragic end. Beyond the action on the stage, behind the scenes and throughout the Common right now, you are seeing and hearing the magic that comes from collaboration and community support.
This production is the result of two of Boston’s best-known arts groups coming together to create something that neither could have accomplished on its own. We are grateful to the leaders of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company for their generosity in sharing their newly acquired stage and infrastructure. Not to mention sharing their very own Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler to helm tonight’s show.
Support from the City of Boston was critical in bringing this event to life. BLO thanks both Mayor Michelle Wu and Chief of Arts and Culture Kara Elliot-Ortega for their vision and leadership.
From personal experience, we know how the power of music, the human voice and onstage spectacle can transform lives. At BLO, we know too that access to opera and other art forms can be out of reach for many. That’s what makes free performances, open to everyone, so vital. During rehearsals on the Common this week, we watched as hundreds of people – including families and children – watched, listened and were mesmerized by the power of opera.
Boston Lyric Opera’s commitment to free live performances gives me hope that children who dream of singing on stage, and the young artists working their way through Boston’s music and performing arts schools, can imagine themselves here one day, inspired by diverse performers they admire. Boston Lyric Opera strives to deliver great performances like Romeo & Juliet, and to be an essential element of the fabric that makes this city great.
Michael Puzo, Chair
Boston Lyric Opera Board of Directors