Every year new theater and music companies spring up, like mushrooms after the rain. So why focus on another new group? Well, this one was started by a group of singers.
The New York Chamber Opera was founded in January of this year by Ben Schuman, Jennifer Shark, Kathleen Berger, and Jennifer Hoppe. I spoke with Schuman about founding the company, and what it’s been like building it from the ground up.
“We had all gone to an audition we didn’t feel good about. We were sitting on a very long downtown train, bemoaning the lack of good performance opportunities, and decided, ‘Why not do this ourselves? We have the talent, we’re smart people—why not just do something for ourselves?’”
The company may have originally been planned as a performance opportunity for the founders, but Schuman and his associates quickly realized it might have a much broader appeal. “We chose the repertoire based on our original complement—three singers and a pianist. ‘What opera is there that has roles for all three of us?’ So it was a bit arbitrary. It wasn’t until we started talking to other singers that we realized how starved people are for interesting opportunities—how tired they are of going to the same old auditions for the same old repertoire. Our company grew to have a life of its own, and we got the interest of some very important people (with far more experience than we have). After the first show was decided, it occurred to us how many operas there are outside the standard rep that deserve to be performed. There are maybe 100 operas generally performed today, and there are thousands of operas that no one would know! We think those are operas that people deserve to see—that deserve to be seen.”
The New York Chamber Opera will present its inaugural production, Handel’s Ariodante, fully-staged with costumes and Baroque orchestra, on May 28 and 29 and June 5 and 6, 1999, at Broadway Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. “Our plan for the future would be two shows per year, in the fall and spring. We’ll probably choose a modern piece in the fall, and Baroque or Classical for the spring. We’ll hold an open audition call in the fall for the whole season.”
So how do Ben and the others feel now that the performance is actually scheduled to take place? “Without sounding too much like a PR machine, I think it’s going to be fabulous. I’m so excited for the performances, for the whole rehearsal process. It was such a great idea, and a chance to work with all these people, to do great music. We went into it carefully, because we didn’t have any experience—but it has been such an enriching and positive experience that I’m just thrilled!”
Ben Schuman received a Master’s in Music from Peabody Conservatory before moving to New York this year. His performance experience includes roles in Falstaff and The Mikado, and solos in Handel’s Messiah and Mendelssohn’s “Lobgesang.” He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Dani.
