Round Table on Opera in the 21st Century

For the final class of my course on Opera in the 20th Century, I put together a Round Table Discussion on the topic of Opera in the 21st Century: The Business of Opera. We invited a panel of three Washington musicians, all of whom have had significant life experience in the production of operas:

• Maurice Saylor, composer, authority on American opera, and Head of the Catholic University Music Library
  
• Dr. Andrew Simpson, professor of composition and composer of the opera trilogy Oresteia, which had its first opera premiered in a fully staged production at Catholic University in 2003
  
• Dr. Elaine Walter, professor of musicology, former dean of the School of Music, and Founder and General Manager of the Summer Opera Theatre Company here in Washington, D.C.

The discussion gave us a lot to think about as far as the future of this art form we love so much. With that, I have pretty much closed up shop on the course Weblog: although I and the students continue to be able to post, I am inclined to believe that it will lie dormant until I get the chance to teach the course again.