Opera Wilmington

Makes its debut
Susan Hance, ,
Within two months of a meeting around the dining room table, NANCY KING, opera singer and associate professor in the music department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington along with WENDY and JERRY FINGERHUT, transplanted New Yorkers and avid Metropolitan Opera fans, have started a grassroots effort to ensure Wilmington has its own performing opera company.

 

 

Their words fly across the table, attaching to the ends of each other’s sentences, as they tell how their dreams fell in place.

The dynamic trio created the nonprofit company OPERA WILMINGTON and has raised $20,000 with support from such organizations as the Arts Council of Wilmington & NHC. The nonprofit status is secure in North Carolina, and once the IRS gives final approval, the group anticipates more corporate sponsorship.

“This is a local company for local citizens … We are hoping to bring the entire arts community together,” says King, who serves as artistic director and lead performer for the company, which stages its first performance this month.

Opera Wilmington, King says, brings together two local groups: Those who love to perform opera and those who love to support and enhance awareness of the unique art form. The company is devoted to offering live performances and outreach programs to nurture a new generation of opera lovers.

“Auditions were beyond thrilling,” Wendy Fingerhut, says of the turnout in May. “The talent that came out in this town was just extraordinary.”

Wendy Fingerhut serves as president and executive director of the group, and her husband, Jerry, serves as financial director.

Calling the lovers of opera “Opera Angels,” organizers intend for Opera Wilmington to provide an opportunity for them to promote the art form through lectures, dinners, travel, and sponsorship of student scholarships.

King has experience in attracting audiences of all ages. She has taught voice, vocal studies, and opera at UNCW for fifteen years and lectures in the community about opera. She also holds outreach programs as a part of UNC-WOOP! (UNCW’s Opera Outreach Project).

A soprano, she presents programs with pianist Patricia Ainspac and frequently tours with her Duo Sureño partner, Robert Nathanson. Her recent performances include Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the Wilmington Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem with the UNCW Concert and Chamber choirs, and a Southeastern North Carolina tour of Bach concerts with Chamber Music Wilmington.

King earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Western Ontario, a master’s degree in voice performance from Boston University, an opera diploma from the Longy School of Music, and completed her doctoral residency in vocal performance at the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Jean del Santo.

The group’s co-founders, the Fingerhuts, came to Wilmington on a golf vacation and retired in the area, but only after determining that live streaming of the Metropolitan Opera was available at UNCW.

After forty years of going to the Met, they believe passionate fans like themselves will attend Opera Wilmington – locals and visitors alike.

Wendy Fingerhut exudes nonstop energy for the project. Coming from a family that appreciates music, she is a serious pianist herself. Her background is as an orthoptist, someone who specializes in the muscles of the eye. She enjoyed working with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders and taught residents at three hospitals in New York City. But opera is her first love.

“I don’t ever remember a time not hearing opera,” she says.

“I won’t give up opera,” she told Jerry Fingerhut when they met. It wasn’t a problem – he loves it as much as she does.

His background as a CPA in large accounting firms in New York and later as CEO and CFO for private companies helps on the numbers side for Opera Wilmington.

Adding to the artistic team are several UNCW instructors, including Mark Sorenson, costume designer at UNCW and designer for the opera workshop every spring. Assistant professor Max Lydy manages set design, and Nancy Carlson choreographs the productions. Principal conductor is Steven Errante, a UNCW music professor and conductor of the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra since 1986. He is also the founding conductor of the Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Opera Wilmington’s first production, The Merry Widow, will be performed in English July 25-27 on the main stage of UNCW’s Cultural Arts, where 300 seats are available. King will be featured in the role of Hanna Glawari, and Michael Rallis in the role of Count Danilo Danilovitsch. One production per summer is scheduled for now, with plans for future growth.

 

THE MERRY WINDOW

Opera Wilmington's debut starts July 25 with a champagne reception before the 8 p.m. show July 26, and a 3 p.m. matinee July 27. Tickets are $10 for students and children and $20 for the general public. Tickets for the reception and show are $60. Info: www.opera-wilmington.org/tickets

 

To view more of photographer Mark Steelman's work, go to www.marksteelmanphoto.com.