Opera Shots is our annual series of casual pop-up concerts throughout the community, held in unexpected places and designed to break down the stereotypes of opera. Opera Shots concerts feature members of the Opera Birmingham Chorus and surprise guest artists presenting an open-mic-style concert of the greatest hits of opera and musical theatre.
Pianist – Sebastian Black
Layla Tajmir, mezzo – Seguidilla (Carmen)
Lowri McGown, soprano – Vissi d’arte (Tosca)
Cathy Spence, soprano – Un bel di (Madame Butterfly)
Keith Wolfe-Hughes, tenor – Nella fantasia (by Ennio Morricone)
Jessica Johnson Brock, mezzo – Voi lo sapete (Cavalleria rusticana)
Erica King, soprano – Porgi amor (The Marriage of Figaro)
Katie King, soprano – Poor Wondering One (The Pirates of Penzance)
Adreanna Pulliam, soprano – What Good Would the Moon Be (Street Scene)
Bianca Fasanelli, soprano – O Had I Jubal’s Lyre (Joshua)
Shonda Devine, soprano – Someone to Watch Over Me (by George Gershwin)
accompanied by John Q. Lennard (tenor sax)
and Valerie Harris (piano)
Betsy Pate, mezzo – La vie en rose
Annabelle King, soprano – Fly Me to the Moon
Noel Fendlason, tenor – Try to Remember (The Fantasticks)
Christa McCrory, mezzo – The Wizard and I (Wicked)
The student in the Opera Birmingham Studio at Samford University is sponsored by Michael J. and MaryAnne Freeman.
Founded in 1955 as the Birmingham Civic Opera, the present day Opera Birmingham came into being due to efforts of a voice teacher at Birmingham-Southern College, Martha Dick McClung. The first production of the company was a fully-staged performance of The Bartered Bride by the Czech composer Smetana. The Bartered Bride was quickly followed up with a production of Madame Butterfly by Puccini.
Through the early years, the company continued to produce both unusual works and acknowledged standards of the repertoire. Among the more unique contemporary works staged by the company were Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley, Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, Gian-Carlo Menotti’s The Consul, and Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe. These works joined the popular masterpieces of Puccini (La Bohème, Tosca), Mozart (The Marriage of Figaro, Così fan tutte), Verdi (La Traviata, Rigoletto) and Bizet (Carmen) in making up the company’s more than sixty seasons.
In 1986, Birmingham Civic Opera and Southern Regional Opera merged to form Birmingham Opera Theatre. Birmingham Opera Theatre continued the Annual Vocal Competition started by Southern Regional Opera. The Competition continues to play an important role in the mission of the company. Not only has it fostered continued opera education, but it has also served as an important stepping stone in the careers of three generations of American opera singers. Many of our recent winners – sopranos Leah Partridge and Melinda Whittington, mezzo Alyssa Martin, tenor Bryan Hymel, and baritone Corey McKern – have performed substantial roles in recent seasons.
The company’s Education Outreach Program expanded in 2000. Seymour Barab’s Little Red Riding Hood was performed to over 26,000 area schoolchildren in some 70 performances in 2001 and 2002 using a cast of professional young singers from Birmingham, Knoxville, Montgomery, Jacksonville and Tuscaloosa. Opera Birmingham’s commitment to education has continued with programs for adults and college students. New programs, such as their Opera Shots pop-up concerts, provide unique ways for people to try opera in fun environments.
Opera Birmingham is a member of 
.
T. Brooks Proctor
President
Tom Barnett
Treasurer
Mary K. Jackson
Recording Secretary
Martha Pezrow
Corresponding Secretary
Dr. Andrew Duxbury
Immediate Past President
Tracey Morant Adams
David P. Donahue
Sherri Hickman
Heyward C. Hosch III
Nicole King
Kathryn Ottensmeyer
Matthew Penfield
Keith Rogers III
Lee L. Woehle
Life Members
Jane M. Hinds
Dr. Julius E. Linn, Jr.
Dorinda Smith
Opera Birmingham acknowledges that we are on the traditional land of the Kosati speaking Mvskoke (Muscogee/Creek) People. Alabama has been home to the Alabama, Biloxi, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Mobile Tribes—including the Abihka, Alabama-Coushatta, Coosa, Tallapoosa, and the Yuchi Peoples—and is home to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama, the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama, the Machis Lower Creek Tribe, the Mowa Band of Choctaw, and the Star Clan of Muskogee Creeks. We honor and thank the Indigenous peoples connected to this territory and give gratitude to this land.
Your donation will help us:
- Provide tickets for students through our Seats for Students program
- Expand partnerships with schools and universities throughout Alabama
- Continue our Opera Shots concerts in neighborhoods, bars, and parks near you!
Please consider making a gift to Opera Birmingham, and help us create another successful year of amazing opera!
To find out ways to give, visit www.operabirmingham.org/give.
+ Giving for ten or more years
ANGEL
Anonymous +
Mrs. Dorinda Smith +
Mr. and Mrs. Brent Uptain +
FOUNDER'S CIRCLE
Martin Jeiven
Drs. Sandra Gianturco and William Bradley +
Lee McKinney
The Hon. and Mrs. J. Scott Vowell +
Lee Woehle
IMPRESARIO CIRCLE
Ms. Tracey Morant Adams
Mr. Tom Barnett
Mrs. Robert Bauman
Dr. William Baxley +
Dr. Tommy Bice and Ken Northrup
Mr. and Mrs. Gene Bone +
Babs Buchanan +
Mrs. Nanci Chazen +
Barry and Cathy DeLozier
Dr. Samuel Cherry III and Mr. Christopher Gagliano
Mr. David Donahue
Mr. Gregory Doody
Dr. Andrew Duxbury +
Ms. Wanda Elkourie +
Dr. and Mrs. Fred Elsas +
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Freeman +
Ms. Lois Gaeta
Charles Gaston III
Miller Gorrie
Ms. Sherri Hickman
Mrs. Jane Hinds +
Mr. Heyward Hosch
Mrs. Mary K. Jackson +
Mr. and Mrs. William T. Johnson, Jr.
Drs. Amy and John Johnstone +
Dr. F. Cleveland Kinney +
Mrs. Mary Wills LeCroy +
The Alex W. and Sue A. Newton Foundation
Dr. Emily Omura +
Mr. Hobson Presley and Mrs. Kathryn Ottensmeyer +
Matthew and Emily Penfield
Teresa B. Percy
Mrs. Patricia Pritchett
Mr. T. Brooks Proctor
Mrs. C. Lee Reeves +
Mr. and Mrs. Steve Reich +
Liz Saunders
Steve and Amy Schreiber
James T. Stephens
Keith and Kevin Wolfe-Hughes
OPERA CLUB CIRCLE
Mr. and Mrs. Victor Adamo
Rebecca Adams
Mr. Kelly Allison
David Anderson
Mrs. John Anderson +
Ms. Lynn Ault +
Ms. Sue Bates-Watkins +
Mr. Thomas Bloetscher
Larry and Louise Brasher
Dr. and Mrs. James A. Briley +
Anne Brisendine
Laura Brooks Rice
Jessica Brooks Lane
E.T. and Caroline Brown
Sallie Bryant
Dr. and Mrs. G. William Bugg
Will Butler
Mrs. Anne Carey +
Mr. Patrick Cather +
Jim and Joyce Cauthen
Sheila Chaffin
Ms. Teresa Chandler
Marilyn Chiaramonte
Dr. and Mrs. Brian Christine
Peter Casten and Cecil Clark
Jon and Frances Clemmensen
Naomi Coffey
Mark and Lynn Cohen
Mr. Andrew J. Collins
Ms. Anna Cooper Cox +
Jill Crawford
Eddie and Sharon Dailey
Yolanda Davis
Katherine DeCola
Zak Dye
Jo Ann Eberlein
Mr. and Mrs. James Emison +
Mrs. Barbara G. Fant
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas H. Fox, Jr.
James and Mary French
Lisa Paden Gaines
Robert M. Gambrell, Jr. +
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gibson
Mrs. Deane Giles +
Jim and Alison Gorrie
Michael Hamilton
Ms. Judith Hayes Hand
Francis and Martha Hare
Mr. Edward Hardin
Mrs. Tallulah Hargrove +
Andrea Harrison
Mrs. Martha Hastings +
Lucy Hicks
Elizabeth Hicks
Dr. and Mrs. T. H. Hiett
John and Virginia Hornsby
Ms. Jenny Hudson +
Lynne Hutton
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Ingram +
Kenneth Jackson
Mrs. Richardstein Jones +
Ms. Margaret Jones
Temperance Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Terrence Joyce +
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Keith
Margot Keller
Jaclyn Kirkpatrick
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Law
Daniel and Sharon Lawhon
Frances Lawlor +
Mrs. Mary Wills LeCroy
Randall and Mary Jean LaMay
Wayne and Joan Law
Robert and Joyce Lehmeyer +
Ms. Julie Levinson-Gabis
Dr. Walter L. Maddox
Merrill Mann
Lisa Maher
Carin Mayo
Jennie McQueen
Deborah Medenica
Cynthia Minnifield
Alexander Moomjy
Mrs. Dianne Mooney
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Mueninghoff
The Mure Family +
Marcos Marvaez
Daniel Neer
Mr. John Norris
Gary Northrup
Carol Nunnelley
Connie Nguyen
Lori Oswald
Kathryn Paras
Daisy Pardasani
Richard and Ninon Parker
Ms. Barbara Patterson
Mrs. Beverly Phillips
Mrs. Barbara Piper +
Cybill Powell
Patricia Powell
Susan Pretnar
Mr. and Mrs. Rick Price +
William and Carolyn Ratliff
Jacqueline Reed
Amy Gilbert Richardson
Sally Reilly
Bill Rigby
Madison Roberts
G. Keith Rogers III and Laura Fore Rogers
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Rogers
Cantor Jessica Roskin
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Rossmeisl Jr. +
Alicia Russell
Mr. and Mrs. Scott Selman +
Ms. Leigh Sloss-Corra
Ms. Carol Ann Smith
Ms. Catherine Smith
Katherine Smith
Drs. Phillip Smith and Beverly Von Der Pool
George Solomon
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Sprague
Ann Steves
Mr. and Mrs. Cris Stone
Mrs. Beth Stukes +
Vivienne Talbert
Kimberly Tate
Dr. James Taylor
Ross Tortorigi
Diane Tucker
Mr. Edward R. Uehling
Matthew and Deb Valenti
Dr. and Mrs. Will Varnell
Pam Varner
Mr. Peter Walsh and Ms. Linda Vernon +
Deborah Warnat
Ms. Cornelia W. Watts
Ms. Aimee Weaver
Ms. Martha Weber +
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas A. Westfall +
Mrs. Joanne W. Weston +
Mr. and Mrs. Goodloe White
Mr. John T. Wideman +
Mr. Evan Williams +
Vaneta Windham
Lexie Wollums
Amanda Wright
JaneAnne Yager
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Yoder +
Ms. Janis T. Zeanah +
Esme Zupanick
Alabama Power Foundation
Alabama State Council on the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
AGAV
Alabama Media Group
Ameriprise
Borland Benefield
The Caring Foundation of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
Champion Mechanical and Automation
Cumberland Pharma Foundation
Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham
The Daniel Foundation
Dunn-French Foundation
EBSCO Industries, Inc.
Mike and Gillian Goodrich Foundation
Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education
The Hugh Kaul Foundation
The Huisking Foundation
Independent Presbyterian Church Foundation
Jones Family Fund
Maynard Nexsen
Medical Properties Trust
Robert R. Meyer Foundation
Andrew W. Morris and Ingeborg M. Johnson Fund
Opera America
Pareto Health
The Pleiades Foundation
Protective Life Foundation
Regions
Renasant Bank
Renaissance Charitable
Securitech Group, Inc.
Simantel
The Solidarity Fund
UAB Health System
UAB Callahan Eye Hospital and Clinic
United Way of St. Louis
Viva Health aka Triton Health
VP Funds
Susan Mott Webb Charitable
David Baker
by Mrs. Lois Baker
by Ms. Margaret Jones
Dr. Robert and Dr. Edith Bauman
by Mrs. Jane Hinds
Dr. James Briley
by Mrs. Mary K. Jackson
Joyce Heslip
by Babs Buchanan
Charles, Catherine, and Frank Huisking
by The Huisking Foundation
Melva Jones
by Mrs. Jane Hinds
Elizabeth H. Jones
by Elizabeth Hicks
Kelli Karazim and Mark Karazim and Amy Karazim
by The Mure Family
Patty McDonald
by Stephen and Nanci Chazen
by Mr. and Mrs. James Emison
by Michael J. and Mary Anne Freeman
by Mrs. Jane Hinds
by Mrs. Mary K. Jackson
by Ben and Jessica Johnson
by Dr. Julius E. Linn, Jr.
by Martha Pezrow
Martha Dick McClung
by Ms. Jenny Hudson
Nan Werner Nash
by Dr. and Mrs. T. H. Hiett
Dr. John A. Smith
by Dr. Tom Broker and Dr. Louise Chow
by Mrs. Nanci Chazen
by Mr. Patrick Cather
by Mr. and Mrs. James Emison
by Alexander Feldman
by Mrs. Jane Hinds
by Mrs. Mary K. Jackson
by Amy and John Johnson
by Dr. Julius E. Linn, Jr.
by Martha Pezrow
by Mr. and Mrs. Steve Reich
Sara Sistrunk
by Wanda Elkourie
Mildred Allen Taub
by Mrs. Jane Hinds
by Dr. Edward Taub
Tommy Thompson
by Andrew Duxbury
Zachary Banks
by Charles Gaston III
Mr. Gene Bone
by Mrs. Tonie Bone
Andrew Duxbury, MD
by Mrs. Lois Gaeta
by Mrs. Mary K. Jackson
by Jessica Brooks Lane
by Martha Pezrow
by Bruce and Kim Rogers
Jim and Kathy Emison
by Beth Stukes
Dr. Julius E. Linn
by Liz Saunders
Kathleen Pelliteri
by Eddie and Sharon Dailey
Martha Pezrow
by Larry and Louise Brasher
Patricia Pritchett
by Mr. Edward Hardin
Allison Sanders
by Yolanda Davis
Dorinda Smith
by Amy and John Johnson
by Katherine Smith
Ellen and Elender Wall
by Jim and Joyce Cauthen
Lee Woehle
by Patrick Cather
Cameron and Scott Vowell
by Patrick Cather
Eleanor Walter
by Richard and Ninon Parker
Thank you for your support. This donor list represents gifts made to Opera Birmingham between March 1, 2022 and November 17, 2023. We want to reflect all giving accurately, and deeply regret any errors or omissions. Please contact Lynne Hutton, Director of Development, at lynne@operabirmingham.org or 205-322-6737 with any corrections. Thank you!
THERE IS ROOM FOR YOUR NAME TOO!
Show your support:
Online: OperaBirmingham.org/give
Email: Lynne@operabirmingham.org
Call: 205-322-6737
GEORGES BIZET
Carmen 1957, 1973, 1981, 1989, 2002, 2012
GEORGES BIZET / PETER BROOK
The Tragedy of Carmen 2018
SIDNEY MARQUEZ BOQUIREN & DANIEL NEER
Independence Eve 2020
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Curlew River 1980
TOM CIPULLO
Glory Denied 2019
JOHN DAVIES
The Billy Goats Gruff, 2023
Little Red’s Most Unusual Day, 2022
The Three Little Pigs, 2021
GAETANO DONIZETTI
The Daughter of the Regiment 1990
Don Pasquale 1971, 1980, 1993
L’elisir d’amore 1977, 1982, 1995, 2005, 2017
Lucia di Lammermoor 2004, 2011
Rita 1986
CARLISLE FLOYD
Of Mice and Men 1988
Slow Dusk 1972
Susannah 1965
GEORGE GERSHWIN
Porgy and Bess 2008
GILBERT & SULLIVAN
HMS Pinafore 1984
The Mikado 1982, 1992
The Pirates of Penzance 2021
Trial by Jury 1961
CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK
Orfeo ed Euridice 2003
RICKY IAN GORDON
Green Sneakers 2016
Orpheus and Euridice 2016
CHARLES GOUNOD
Faust 1969, 1978, 2011
Romeo and Juliet 1972, 2018
JAKE HEGGIE
Three Decembers 2017
ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK
Hansel and Gretel 1967, 1981, 1982, 2023
Hansel and Gretel (children’s adaptation), 2018
SUSAN KANDER / ROBERTA GUMBLE
dwb (driving while black), 2023
FRANZ LEHAR
The Merry Widow 1966
RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO
I Pagliacci 1987, 2014. 2024
CARLA LUCERO / MARIANNA MOTT NEWIRTH
Touch, 2024 (World Premiere)
EVAN MACK / JOSHUA MCGUIRE
Lucinda y Las Flores de la Nochebuena (Lucinda and the Christmas Eve Flowers), 2019
PIETRO MASCAGNI
Cavalleria Rusticana 1964
GIAN-CARLO MENOTTI
Amahl and the Night Visitors 1976, 1979, 1985
The Consul 1969
Help, Help, The Globolinks! 1984
Introductions and Goodbyes 1972, 1974
The Medium 1974
The Old Maid and the Thief 1983
The Telephone 1987
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
The Return of Ulysses 1977, 1979
DOUGLAS MOORE
The Ballad of Baby Doe 1976
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
The Abduction from the Seraglio 1972, 1991
Cosi fan tutte 1960, 1994
Don Giovanni 1980, 1997, 2006
The Magic Flute 1990, 2002, 2013
The Marriage of Figaro 1961, 1985, 2001, 2010
CARLOTTO NICOLAI
The Merry Wives of Windsor 1970
JACQUES OFFENBACH
La Périchole 1979
THOMAS PASATIERI
La Divina 1972
GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI
La Serva Padrona 1983, 1984, 1985
GIACOMO PUCCINI
La bohème 1958, 1967, 1986, 2000, 2007, 2015, 2022
Madama Butterfly 1956, 1961, 1979, 1999, 2006, 2013
Tosca 1963, 1976, 1990, 2008, 2019
Il trittico 1962
Turandot 1987, 2009
Suor Angelica 2014
SIGMUND ROMBERG
The Student Prince 1982
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
The Barber of Seville 1965, 1981, 1985, 1993, 2000, 2008
La Cenerentola 1983, 2007
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Samson and Delilah 2006
BEDRICH SMETANA
The Bartered Bride 1955
JOHANN STRAUSS
Die Fledermaus 1988, 1996, 2006
AMBROISE THOMAS
Hamlet 2015
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Aida 1975, 2005, 2010
Un ballo in maschera 1966
Rigoletto 1964, 1996, 2004, 2014
La traviata 1959, 1978, 1994, 2002, 2009, 2016
Il trovatore 1980
RICHARD WAGNER
Tannhäuser 1974
The Great Wagner Concert 2011
KURT WEILL
Down in the Valley 1960