UM juniors Holly Jacobs and Hannah Bondurant perform as Gianetta and Tessa in “The Gondoliers” during a 2016 performance.

University of Montana Opera Theatre receives national award

MISSOULA – The National Opera Association will honor the University of Montana Opera and UM Symphony Orchestra for their February 2016 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Gondoliers.” 

NOA will award “The Gondoliers” as the Opera Production Competition’s third-place winner during the national convention in Santa Barbara, California, in January. Similar-sized programs nationwide competed with shows produced during the 2015-16 season.

“We are thrilled to be honored by the National Opera Association for our production of ‘The Gondoliers,’” said UM Professor Anne Basinski, who directs the UM Opera Theater and served as a stage director for the production. “It’s a great opportunity to see how we measure up against our peers nationally.
“We had a ball working on this delightful show – our first venture into the wonderful works of Gilbert and Sullivan,” she said. “We knew we had something special and that our audiences had a great time, but it is gratifying to have such affirmation from this distinguished organization.”

In addition to Basinski, “The Gondoliers” creative team included UM faculty members David Cody, conductor and music director; and Luis Millan, UM Symphony Orchestra director; as well as UM graduate student Roxann Jackson, choreographer. The production was by MCT, Inc.

This is one of several awards for the UM Opera Theater. It received first prize in 2006 and 2014 and has won national prizes for operatic scene work.

For more information on the program or the award, call Basinski at 406-243-6889 or emailanne.basinski@umontana.edu.