- Chattanooga Symphony and Opera
-
The Chattanooga Symphony and Opera is a combined symphony orchestra and opera company in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the only such combined organization in the United States.[1]
Contents
History
Chattanooga Symphony
The Chattanooga Symphony was established when students from Chattanooga High School, led by Melvin Margolin, gave a concert on November 5, 1933 with a few adult musicians from around town.
Borden Jones assisted Margolin in leading the group for its first four years. In 1938, Dr. Arthur Plettner from Juilliard became the conductor and would hold that post for the next 11 years.
Julius Hegyi was conductor from 1956 to 1965, when Charles Gabor took over on a temporary basis. He was succeeded by Richard Cormier, who was musical director through the 1983 season.[2]
Chattanooga Opera Company
The Chattanooga Opera Company gave its first performance in February 1943, a production of Il Trovatore. Founders were Dr. Werner Wolff and his wife Emmy Land Wolff, veterans of German opera who had escaped from Nazi Germany, and Dorothy Hackett Ward of the University of Chattanooga. The company consisted primarily of local singers, but the Wolffs were well-connected in the opera world and attracted a number of renowned performers to Chattanooga as guest artists. Guest artists included Beverly Sills, John Vickers, Norman Treigle, Phyllis Curtin, and Norman Scott.[3][4]
Merged organization
The Symphony and Opera merged in 1985, becoming the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association. Vakhtang Jordania became conductor and artistic director. He was succeeded in 1992 by Robert Bernhardt, current musical director.[2]
References
- ^ Carroll Van West, Opera, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, December 25, 2009; last updated February 23, 2011; accessed June 28, 2011
- ^ a b Roy C. Brewer, Symphony Orchestras, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, December 25, 2009; last updated February 28, 2011; accessed June 28, 2011
- ^ History, Chattanooga Symphony and Opera website, accessed June 28, 2011
- ^ Mildred Perry Miller, Don Giovanni, A Truly Majestic Opera, Chattanoogan.com, January 17, 2006
External links
Categories:- Symphony orchestras
- American opera companies
- Culture of Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Visitor attractions in Chattanooga, Tennessee
- American orchestras
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
