Olga Correll, President of the Board, thanking Dianela for her invaluable and impactful contributions to Boulder Opera over the past 10 years at our 10th Anniversary Gala Concert.
Marketing Manager, Lydia Arnhart, recently sat down with the talented and delightful Dianela Acosta to find out why she is so excited to be celebrating Boulder Opera Company’s 10th Anniversary Season, what’s coming up next, and where Dianela hopes to take Boulder Opera in another decade.
LYDIA: Can you share more about your background as an opera singer and why you decided to start Boulder Opera 10 years ago?
DIANELA: I have a master’s degree in Voice Performance from Denver University, and a BA in music from Hunter College, NY. Back in NY I sang with several local companies and I was a Resident Artist with Dicapo Opera where I sang for Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, and the title role of Cenerentola by Rossini. I also taught voice lessons and at different after school programs.
Boulder Opera was launched with the desire to bring the age-old art form of opera to all audiences and give it a modern spin. Kids were our first focus - if we could produce opera that resonated with a young audience and their families, we knew that we could build a culture of opera lovers in Boulder. Our first production of La Cenerentola (by Gioachino Rossini) in 2012 was a huge success with three sold out shows. The key to making opera fun and accessible to kids has been presenting abridged operas with narration. With this formula, we have produced a family opera each season since 2012, with a total of 12 productions so far...but that was just the beginning for Boulder Opera Company. We also have extended our youth programs, working with dozens of schools and thousands of students with programs where kids become the opera producers, actors, set designers, and more!
Of course, since 2012, we have grown our audiences and our annual opera season which includes a small gala concert in the fall, our beloved family series, and a full production in the spring. Most recently, we started an Artist-in-Residence program to help support the careers of singers in the Boulder area. Always looking for ways to infuse opera into our community, you might find us at Dagabi Cucina or Caffe Sole singing classic opera, at the library singing new repertoire never heard before, or performing free Opera in the Park at the Boulder Bandshell!
Free Opera in the Park during Boulder Opera’s 9th season.
LYDIA: What makes you so excited to celebrate Boulder Opera’s 10th Anniversary?
DIANELA: It took a lot of work, patience, resources, and faith to get to this moment. With the help of a dedicated board, the support of many donors and grants, many sold out shows, talented singers, great staff and a creative team that consistently delivers high-quality work, we have made it to the 10 year mark! Even when there was a pandemic too!
Boulder Opera’s 10th Anniversary Season is a milestone to celebrate, and we have planned the best of programs to share with our different unique audiences. This season there’s a program for everyone! - some Italian, some French, and a Spanish opera!
In August, our 10th season started with Free Opera in the Park, a much awaited live outdoor performance at the Boulder Bandshell. Then we threw a fundraiser party at the Dairy Arts Center: our Gala Concert 2021. We are immensely grateful for the many donations from local businesses who supported our Silent Auction which helped us raise crucial funds for the season.
In December we will present our popular Family Series with a French Opera by Maurice Ravel: The Child and The Spells (L'enfant et les sortilèges). This production kept getting postponed because of the pandemic, and we are ecstatic to finally perform this magical opera for kids. There will be a singing sofa, tree, and clock, plus some squirrels, and cats!
In the Spring of 2022 we will present more serious repertoire with the Bel canto opera of Il Trovatore by Verdi at the Dairy Center for the Arts. And lastly, in April and May, we will be touring our Spanish opera of Puss in Boots (Gato con Botas) to elementary and middle schools in the Boulder area. We plan on reaching at least two thousand students with our outreach programs!
Two young “fairies” participating in Boulder Opera’s educational outreach programs.
LYDIA: What has been the most impactful moment or performance for you over the past 10 years?
DIANELA: Hmm…it’s hard to choose one moment or performance…Our programs are designed for different audiences and each one of them is so special.
Just this summer we performed our Free Opera in the Park to a full house - an audience of families, opera lovers, young professionals; and everyone seemed so eager and excited for some live music after a long and lonely year of the pandemic. It was a much awaited event and really wonderful to see.
In 2017, our Family Series show was Little Red Riding Hood which attracted our youngest audiences - families with children ages 3 to 7 years old. Our former board member Nadia Artman sponsored the costumes and sets which created a magical world for the fairytale…It was a sight to see the audience filled with little ones making noise and waiting in anticipation for the show to start, then the curtains opened and they were all wowed!
LYDIA: Where do you hope Boulder Opera Company will be in 10 more years?
DIANELA: In ten more years, I hope to see the company continuing to explore all types of Opera, especially contemporary works. Opera is very much alive and thriving all over the world, and we want to be part of this growth. Our goal is to reach a 10% audience growth every season, and to continue reaching new audiences by performing in unexpected spaces.
My dream is to have an opera house one day where we keep our offices, perform shows, hold rehearsals, store costumes, house sets and props, and even create a voice training program for middle school and high school students. We are so ready to have an opera house in Boulder!
LYDIA: Why do you think Boulder Opera is so essential to the Boulder community?
DIANELA: Opera truly brings together all the arts into one big grand work where we tell stories through singing, music, orchestra, dancing, and theatre. It lightens up our communities - and brings us together with a common and powerful experience.
The singers at our 10th Anniversary Gala concert in October 2021.