'Back to the Future'--an interview with Haymarket Opera

America’s modern operatic marketplace has recently and informally segregated into regional ‘specialties’. Los Angeles Opera has become known for its daring world premieres of contemporary works each season, while in New York, the Metropolitan Opera is seen as the ‘old guard’ of the classic bel canto repertoire. When one thinks of ‘early music’, Boston is generally the city that overwhelmingly comes to mind; the city teems with companies that preserve and produce historic works. It might surprise one then to learn that Chicago actually houses the most-active early opera company in the United States—Haymarket Opera Company, to be precise. This regional company, located in the heart of urban Chicagoland, has quickly made a name for itself by exclusively performing works dating back to the 17th- and 18th-centuries. Everything about Haymarket Opera reflects their commitment to uncover and reproduce historic operatic works, both familiar and (more often) neglected. They utilize period instruments, apply historically-informed vocal practices and use stylized staging conventions to carefully re-create these works as closely to their inception as possible. Even their name is reflective of their dual mission to serve both the city of Chicago and the music of the Enlightenment era, as it is pulled from two separate historical sources: Chicago's Haymarket Riot and the King Theatre in London's Haymarket District in 1705 are interbred to create ‘Haymarket Opera’.

I recently sat down with Artistic Director, Mr. Craig Trompeter, to discuss Haymarket Opera’s role in the Chicagoland area, its national presence and its upcoming 2018 season.

Please tell us a little about your opera company-- who you are, what you do/specialize in, etc.

Haymarket Opera Company is now in its 7th season. We specialize in repertoire from the 17th and 18th centuries and use period musical instruments and staging conventions.

Chicago houses several large opera companies, and a multitude of smaller 'store front' opera companies. What do you believe defines Haymarket Opera from the other companies in the region?

It’s really our repertoire focus that makes us different. The most modern piece we have done to date is Haydn’s L’isola disabitata--a work which has had only a few productions since its 1779 premiere. There is a vast amount of 17th- and 18th-century music which never receives any air time. It’s exciting for us to bring this music to Chicago for the first time in history. The other thing that makes us different is our commitment to period acting styles, dance, costumes, and lighting. Ideally, these staging conventions illuminate each work in a way that draws the audience more deeply into their own imaginations.

As audiences tastes change, age, and fluctuate, many singers are concerned that operatic audiences are disappearing. Tell us a little about your audiences. Do you find that, within the region, you have a strong following?

We have a very loyal audience that is growing at an exciting rate. I believe audiences will always want to hear great performances-- that won’t change. Perhaps the audiences for standard repertoire are dwindling, but I feel that what we are doing is a bit like contemporary music-- it’s always fresh and new, even though the repertoire is hundreds of years old. The classic mythological stories and religious stories resonate as strongly as ever with modern-day people.

In your opinion, what does the future of opera look like? What role does Haymarket Opera hope to play in the advancement of opera as an overall art form?

I actually think the future of opera is quite exciting. So many companies are adapting and trying new things to keep audiences engaged and growing. It’s thrilling for HOC to be a part of this expansion of ideas. By reaching backwards in time from the standard 19th century repertoire, we are offering audiences a new perspective. One of the ways people enjoy art is by comparing one work to another or one artist to another. It’s so wonderful for me to go to hear a standard work and hear how modern it sounds in relation to our earlier repertoire. The opera landscape teeming with life and creativity! I love to see many of the new works being created by living artists, as well.

'Accessibility' is a buzzword within the classical music communities these days. How does Haymarket Opera practice accessibility?

In my opinion, reaching minority populations is very difficult, but incredibly necessary. It’s part of a much larger problem in the world. It doesn’t help that our repertoire is exclusively drawn from works by dead white European men! There are many things that we can do to make a difference. We make a point of engaging minority artists whenever possible. We also perform in neighborhoods that have diverse populations; this is something we have done from our debut. Our first performances took place at a small venue in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, which has historically been the home to a large segment of Chicago’s minority population. All of our performing venues are close to public transportation and are wheelchair accessible. We offer a range of ticket prices to enable people of diverse incomes to enjoy our performances. We have recently begun an initiative to make our performances accessible to people of low vision by offering sound files of our program notes, pre-concert talks with our creative team and hands-on experiences of the costumes. We feel very strongly about forming personal bonds with our audiences. After every performance, the artists-- in full costume-- join the audience in the lobby for photos and conversation. It’s wonderful to greet the audience and allow them to express their own joy at what they have experienced.

If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about the way the opera industry functions, what would it be?

I’m not sure what to change in the opera industry, but I believe funding arts programs in the public schools would benefit our world immeasurably. Art is what makes life worth living.

Where do you see your company in five years? What are some of the major goals you'd like to achieve in this time frame, both artistically and financially?

I’m astounded on a daily basis at how far we have come in just six years! I believe that what we are doing is necessary and extraordinary and valued in our community. In the next five years we will continue to grow our audience base, offer more performances of each work we prepare, and do more touring. Handling all of that from a business perspective means hiring a few administrators and offering them competitive salaries, so we need to bump up our fundraising considerably. Each year we grow our budget and funding by about 30%.

Tell us a little about your upcoming season. What operas are you producing, and why did you choose them? Is there an overall theme to your season, or do you choose productions that stand independent of each other?

The rest of this season is thrilling! In March we’ll perform what is probably the earliest setting of the Passion story, Oratorio per la settimana santa attributed to Luigi Rossi. I came across this work in my research about two years ago and am delighted that we will give the Chicago premiere. Our spring gala, the Early Opera Cabaret, is a fundraising event but also a wonderful concert. It’s when our artists get to sing their favorite arias with a small chamber orchestra. Last year we had some

breathtaking performances of Handel arias, so I’m looking forward to this year very much! In June we’ll give the Italian language premiere of Cesti’s L’Orontea. This comedy was one of the top two most-performed operas of the 17th century (the other was Cavalli’s Giasone) and it’s a really fun piece to hear and see.

As far as choosing repertoire, it’s an interesting mix of things. In any given season I look to offer the widest possible range within our chosen limits. That means music in different languages (with a heavier weighting on Italian repertoire, because there is so much more of it!), comedy vs. tragedy, cast and orchestra size (from the budget perspective), and 17th vs. 18th century. Some upcoming seasons have clear themes (anniversary years, mythological threads, etc.). I always try to choose pieces of extraordinary quality that will have audience appeal.

What was a production from your past seasons that you were particularly excited about or proud of? What do you believe this production helped your company to achieve, financially, artistically or otherwise?

I would say one of our crowning achievements would be the modern-day world premiere of Ariane et Bachus by Marin Marais. This was an enormous undertaking and it came off very well. It was a “first” for us in numerous ways: our first French tragedie en musique, the debut of the Haymarket Opera Ballet, our biggest cast and orchestra to date, and it was our first show at our new home, the Studebaker Theater in Chicago’s Loop. On top of all that excitement, new advertising and social media initiatives grew our audience by 40%! So, it was a huge success.

I see that you personally have a background in performance. What drew you to arts administration/producing? Could you tell our readers a little about your personal pathway to where you are now?

I think of myself primarily as a performer, even today. The world of “early music” is full of innovators and “go-getters” because we have to create everything-- from our repertoire to our audiences. There is a lot of sleuthing involved in performing music from earlier epochs, and I really enjoy that aspect of the work. I don’t call myself a musicologist because I know what a rigorous field that is, but I am certainly a big lover of history. I started HOC because I felt there was a real need for early opera in Chicago. Opera involves so many people, so it’s a big challenge to develop a team that works well together. Some days it can be overwhelming, but the end product is always worth the struggle.

Many of our readers are professional singers, and are curious about your company. Please tell us a little about the singers Haymarket Opera tends to engage. What is the ideal artist that your company would like to feature, and how do you go about finding them?

We are always looking for well-rounded musicians who are great actors and singers. We do have a core of repeat-offenders, but I make a point of trying to mix in new blood to each production. Generally we look for artists who have a passion for early repertoire and who are flexible performers who enjoy period styles of acting and gesture. We do hold auditions every so often, but many times singers will write to me at just the right moment when I’m looking to fill a particular role. Some voice types are not well-represented locally, so we have to go looking for them. I have learned that a live audition is almost always necessary.

What is one piece of advice you would give to singers preparing for auditions the 2018-19 season?

Work on perfecting your foreign languages! This is an area that I feel is sorely neglected by most training programs and it is crucial to excellent performance. It’s also fun!

Information on upcoming Haymarket Opera performances can be found here: http://www.haymarketopera.org/opus20/

Haymarket Opera's Facebook page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/HaymarketOpera/

For more information on Haymarket Opera, please visit: http://www.haymarketopera.org/