CHAUTAUQUA, NY — The Chautauqua Opera Company and Conservatory, the resident opera company and conservatory of Chautauqua Institution, today announced the first season of its newly unified program under the leadership of General and Artistic Director Steven Osgood and Conservatory Director Marlena Malas. The company and former Chautauqua Voice Program unified in fall 2021. The Chautauqua Opera Company’s three 2022 productions will be Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca; Kamala Sankaram and Susan Yankowitz’s chamber opera Thumbprint; and The Mother of Us All, by Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein. The Opera Conservatory will produce Don Giovanni by Lorenzo Da Ponte and Wolfgang Amadeus...
CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. — Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced its return to Bratton Theater in 2022, with three fully produced productions: Indecent by Paula Vogel, Animals Out of Paper by Rajiv Joseph, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee, as well as three New Play Workshops. The 2022 season will be Andrew Borba’s final season as the company’s artistic director. “After two seasons away, returning to that sacred theater with a full conservatory and these extraordinary plays will sure make it harder to say goodbye,” shares Borba. “This is a huge...
Olga Sanchez Saltveit to Join as Director of New Work Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced the appointment of Olga Sanchez Saltveit as Director of New Work, an inaugural position for the company. Sanchez Saltveit’s hire is the next step in CTC’s initiative to expand New Play Workshop programming and residencies. It also aligns with the overall efforts of Chautauqua Institution to amplify important and diverse American voices in the arts, fostering new work and catalyzing the creative process. As Director of New Work, Sanchez Saltveit will build and maintain connections to playwrights,...
Dear Chautauquans: Yesterday we announced internally that we will require all Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua Hotel Company and Chautauqua Foundation staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 31, 2022 (or by start date for new employees). Now that the FDA has approved vaccines for individuals age 16 and older, following months of emergency approval, we think this is the natural next step for us to take as responsible stewards of community health and safety. The vaccination policy will apply to all employees, including those ages 14–16 who are authorized to receive vaccines under an Emergency Use Authorization. To be...
Chautauqua Institution President Michael E. Hill today announced the Institution’s 149th Summer Assembly will return to its normal schedule and cadence, June 25–Aug. 28, 2022. This decision follows a two-day meeting of the Institution’s Board of Trustees Nov. 5–6. The Board reviewed updates on initiatives stemming from the strategic plan 150 Forward, including outcomes for the 2021 season, which exceeded projections for both attendance and revenue. “We were delighted and heartened to see that, even amid the continuing pandemic and our corresponding need to modify programming and enforce health and safety regulations, that patrons returned to Chautauqua in numbers nearing the...
Institution to Launch National Search for His Successor Chautauqua Institution today announced the retirement of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson as Vice President of Religion and Senior Pastor, effective Dec. 31. Details of a national search for his successors in both roles will be shared shortly. Robinson joined the Institution staff in 2017, following a career in Episcopal Church leadership that culminated with service as bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. An internationally recognized interfaith leader and former fellow of the Center for American Progress, he continues to serve as a Senior Fellow at Auburn Seminary. Robinson is...
Institution Launches National Search for Vice President of Performing and Visual Arts Chautauqua Institution today announced the appointment of Deborah Sunya Moore as permanent Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer, responsible for the programmatic life of the Institution, effective immediately. The role of Chief Program Officer was created to align staffing and organization with the Institution’s strategic plan, 150 Forward, which calls for Chautauqua to optimize the Summer Assembly and expand programming beyond the summer months and outside of the grounds of Chautauqua. Moore has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer in an interim capacity since...
New Trustee Class Begins Term Today CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. — Chautauqua Institution’s Board of Trustees elected Paul Hagman, Jesse Marion and Gwen Adams Norton to four-year terms of service at the final meeting of the body’s 2020–21 cycle on Aug. 28. Additionally, members of the Chautauqua Corporation elected Rick Evans as the newest of the four trustees selected by Chautauqua property owners at the Corporation’s annual meeting on Aug. 14. The new trustee class officially begins its term today, Oct. 1. Hagman is a Youngstown, Ohio-based architect. After studying architecture and urban design in Florence, Italy, and Cleveland, he became the founder of RBF Colab Architecture,...
Dear Chautauquans, As some of you are aware by now, Chautauqua lost one of the most valued leaders in its history on Sept. 18, 2021. His funeral services will be held in Wisconsin on Monday. Dick Miller served as a Trustee of Chautauqua from 1966 to 1981, as Chair of the Board of Trustees from 1970 to 1978, and as President of the Chautauqua Foundation from 1971 to 1996. When Dick came onto the Board of Trustees by all accounts Chautauqua was in a period of decline and financial vulnerability. During his tenure, new executive leadership was put into place, Chautauqua received a challenge grant representing...
CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. — Chautauqua Institution is proud to announce the program lineup for Week Nine of its 2021 season. The week, which begins August 21 and concludes August 29, features events, lectures, and classes both in-person on the grounds and livestreamed through CHQ Assembly. Week Nine includes a spectacular lineup of popular entertainment, including the legendary, award-winning singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson; one of the best known and most respected hip-hop acts in the business The Roots in a unique double-bill show with jazz legend Trombone Shorty; four-time Grammy winner Jason Isbell and his band The 400 Unit; and Grammy Award-winning and...