FACT SHEET

 

The Nevada Opera Association (NOA) was incorporated in January 1968 by Ted & Deena Puffer. The Opera is the oldest professional performing arts organization (and the only professional opera company) in Nevada and has produced more than 140 operas, operettas and musicals over the last 38 seasons.

NOA's mission is to Educate, Enlighten, Enrich and Entertain the people of Nevada and the Sierra Nevada region by producing live opera performances of the highest quality, contributing to the local economy, and reaching out to students, artists and targeted audiences with educational opportunities.

The Opera has an annual operating budget just under $1 million dollars and four full-time employees on the business side of the house. The company hires between 30 and 150 singers, musicians, artists, directors and technical crew members for each production. All of this adds up to a substantial contribution to the regional economy.

The Opera produces three fully-staged opera performances each season featuring artists and directors from around the country, the Nevada Opera Orchestra and Chorus, along with local technical and production crews and extras!

While keeping the focus on the people who make it all possible, Nevada Opera continually strives for achievements usually reserved for much larger companies. The company has staged one world premiere (Mark Me Twain), two American premiers (Doktor Faust, Joan of Arc), and contemporary American works (Susannah, Of Mice & Men). Ted & Deena Puffer's translations are still in use today, and our artists grace opera stages the world over.

Our educational programs are as strong as our artistic programs. NOA has long had a reputation for launching young artists, Dolora Zajick, the world's reigning dramatic mezzo-soprano, is the most notable. Evelyn De La Rosa, John Ames, Monica Harte, and John Baril also began their careers in Reno. We are delighted to have Michael Borowitz as our Artistic Director knowing he will one day be nationally recognized as well. In 2005, the company revived the Nevada Opera Youth Chorus to offer voice training to students from 3rd through 8 grades ~ one of them is sure to be a rising star.

Viva Kids! is a 12 week program designed to reach at-risk students and help kids express themselves and nurture their cultural intelligence. Each semester, the program is offered to up to 100 elementary students who write, produce and perform their own opera.

Opera in Blue Jeans is a fun outdoor summer concert, and Discover the Arts - Opera is a hands-on experience for families. NOA also offers programs for student/senior/special needs
audiences (mentally and physically challenged), plus dress rehearsal tickets, internships, mentoring relationships and scholarships.

For more information, please contact Dick Wilson. President, or William Russell, Executive Director, at 775-786-4046, or visit our website at nevadaopera.org.