Opera
  • Home
  • CHQ Assembly
  • 2025 Season
        • La bohème
        • Lincoln in the Bardo
        • Ida by Lamplight | Sitcom
  • About
        • History
        • Past Productions
        • Leadership
        • Performance Venues & Accessibility
        • Opera in the Schools
  • Young Artists
        • Young Artist Program
        • Audition FAQs
  • Alumni
  • Opera Conservatory
  • Media
  • Opera Guild
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets
Theater
  • Home
  • CHQ Assembly
  • 2025 Season
        • The Real James Bond…Was Dominican
        • Execution of Justice
        • The Witnesses
  • About
        • Past Productions
  • Conservatory
        • Acting Conservatory
        • FutureNow Stage Directing Fellowships
        • Design Fellowships
        • FAQ
  • New Play Development
        • New Plays at CTC
        • Young Playwrights Project
  • Your Visit
  • Get Involved
  • News
        • Blog Posts
        • In The News
        • The Chautauquan Daily
        • Alumni in the News
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets
Give
  • Home
  • CHQ Assembly
  • Make a Donation
        • Chautauqua Fund
        • Boundless
        • Endowment
        • Monthly Giving
  • Ways to Give
        • Appreciated Securities
        • Capital Support
        • Chautauqua Fund
        • Endowment/Naming
        • Gift Planning
        • Honor Your Host
        • Honorary/Memorial
        • Matching Gifts
        • Monthly Giving
        • Program Sponsor
        • Scholarships
  • Donor Recognition
        • 1874 Society
        • Bell Tower Society
        • Bestor Society
        • Daugherty Society
        • Lewis Miller Circle
        • NOW Generation
        • Foundation Membership
        • Honorary and Memorial Tree Program
  • Foundation
        • History & Mission
        • Board of Directors
        • Foundation Staff
        • Foundation Publications
        • Contact
  • Advancement
        • Institution Board of Trustees
        • Advancement Staff
        • Advancement Publications
        • Contact
        • Foundation Membership
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets
Foundation
  • Home
  • CHQ Assembly
  • Mission
  • Board of Directors
  • Staff
  • Publications
  • Membership
  • Endowment/Naming
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets
  • About Us
    • News & Announcements
    • 150 Forward Strategic Plan
    • Boundless
    • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) at Chautauqua
    • Media Resources
    • Staff Directory
    • Washington, D.C. Office
  • Employment
  • Resources
    • FAQs
    • CHQ FAQ Google Group
    • Safety & Security Department
    • Shared Promise
    • The Smith Memorial Library
    • Post Office
    • Services & Amenities
    • Business Center
    • Chautauqua Institution Policies
    • AED Locations on Grounds
    • The Chautauquan Daily
    • Chautauqua Lake Conservation
    • Chautauqua Institution Archives
  • CHQ Assembly
  • Community Portal
  • Giving
    • Donate Securely Online
    • Boundless
    • Donor Recognition
    • Ways to Give
    • Chautauqua Foundation
    • Advancement
  • Visit
        • Plan Your Visit
          • 2025 Season
          • Visit Must-Dos
          • Experience Planner
          • Accessibility at Chautauqua
        • Eat, Drink & Shop
          • Dining
          • Heirloom Restaurant
          • Shopping & Services
          • Chautauqua Bookstore
        • Places To Stay
          • Athenaeum Hotel
          • Private Accommodations
          • Denominations and Religious Organizations
          • Nearby Accommodations
        • Explore the Grounds and Gardens
          • Maps and Directions
          • Bus and Tram Tracker
          • Plaza Cam
          • Chautauqua Lake Conservation
        • Group Travel
          • Chautauqua Travels
          • Book a Group Visit
          • Tour Operators
          • Road Scholar
          • Chautauqua on a Budget
          • Tour Chautauqua County
  • Things to Do
        • Events
          • All Events
          • Event Calendar
          • Weekly Themes
          • Experience Planner
          • Grid Calendar
        • Classes
        • Performing & Visual Arts
        • Education
        • Recreation
        • Chautauqua Cinema
        • Religion
        • Youth & Family
        • Experience Community
        • Discover CHQ
  • Gate Passes, Tickets & Registrations
        • Buy Gate Passes and Parking
          • Long-term Gate Passes & Parking
        • Buy Single Event Tickets
          • Concert Tickets
          • Lecture & Afternoon Tickets
        • Register for a Youth Program
        • Register for Special Studies Classes
  • Festival Schools
        • School of Music
          • Conducting Fellowship
          • Instrumental Program
          • Opera Conservatory
          • Piano Program
        • School of Dance
        • School of Art
        • Theater Conservatory
        • Alumni
        • Chautauqua Connections
  • Buy Tickets
  • Give
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets

looking for something?

  • Contact
  • Blog
    • CHQ Experiences
    • BOUNDLESS
    • Announcements
    • Arts Education
    • Institution News
    • From Our President
    • Chautauqua Theater Company
    • Chautauqua Opera Company
    • Chautauqua Foundation
  • Program Suggestions
  • Quick Reference Guide to Chautauqua
  • Request Information from Chautauqua
  • Donation Requests
  • Make a Donation
  • Send Programming Suggestions
  • Staff Directory
  • Media Resources
May 2, 2020 | Chautauqua Opera Company

Chautauqua Opera Company Update on 2020 Season

To Our Chautauqua Opera Community—

The Board of Trustees of the Chautauqua Institution met yesterday for its quarterly meeting with the primary agenda being to determine the Institution’s course of action for the 2020 Summer Assembly. Michael Hill, president of the Chautauqua Institution, has released a communication addressing the Board’s decision which includes the suspension of all in-person programming at the Institution this summer.

Thus, it is with a heavy heart that I write to announce that the Chautauqua Opera Company’s 2020 season will be canceled. For 90 consecutive summers, Chautauquans have gathered in Norton Hall to celebrate opera’s rich history, to hear our country’s great singers, and to catch first glimpses of promising young singers as they launch their professional careers. Our 2020 season of Tosca, Thumbprint and The Mother Of Us Allwas set to celebrate the centenary of the 19th Amendment, the central role Western New York played in the suffrage movement, and to give voice to three powerful women. Nevertheless, with the health and safety of our company and audience as the highest priority, it has become undeniably clear that the global COVID-19 crisis makes it impossible to proceed with this season’s productions.

Every June I find myself reflecting on what it means to be an opera company. While “the Chautauqua Opera Company” has existed since 1929, the true company is the dozens of individuals whose energy, talent, skill and devotion bring our productions to life each season. The Chautauqua Opera Company thrives on its mix of individuals whose tenure stretches into decades and those who join us for a handful of seasons. The company is in fact quite different every year, and I am saddened that the unique group of artists who were to make up our 2020 company will not have the chance to gather, to work together and to make opera.  

We have several tasks ahead of us as a company in the coming weeks and months:

  • SUPPORTING the artists and artisans who were to make up our company. These are challenging times for artists everywhere. Chautauqua Opera will do everything possible to support the over 50 individuals who have had their contracts with us canceled.
  • AMPLIFYING the voices of the 20 singers who were to make up our Young Artist Program this summer. Performing opportunities are only one, albeit critical, element in any Young Artist Program. We will find every way possible to introduce you to these 20 talented artists, and to help foster their growth even as we do not hold an on-grounds season.
  • CONTRIBUTING to the online Chautauqua experience. The arts are a vital part of the Chautauqua experience, and we will pour our energy into making Chautauqua Opera a vibrant participant in the global Chautauqua assembly this summer.

Much planning continues for this summer and next, and I look forward to sharing happier news with you in the coming weeks and months. It is our intention that Tosca, Thumbprint and The Mother Of Us All will come to life at Chautauqua in a future season.

If you have purchased tickets to one of our productions this summer, the Chautauqua Ticket Office will be in touch via email to offer you options for securing refunds, credits toward a future purchase, or transitioning your ticket value to a donation, should that be your desire. It is not necessary to contact the Ticket Office. They will reach out to you in the next 30 days.

Chautauqua is a unique and treasured place. For 90 years it has offered an immediate and vibrant connection between our artists, our audience and our community. The only bright spot I find in the decisions we make today is that the sole intention is to keep our company and community healthy so that we can gather again in the future, share a common space and experience great opera. Please stay safe, stay healthy, and stay connected with us over the coming months.

Sincerely,

Steven Osgood
General and Artistic Director

Save Your Trip

Fill out the form below to save your trip. You will receive a link to your saved list via email.

  • Hidden
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Save Your Favorites

Fill out the form below to save your favorites. You will receive a link to your favorites list via email.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Hidden

Notice!

You have now entered the season. Some website content may differ depending on the current season we are in: Summer or Fall/Winter/Spring. You can toggle between the two season options at any time.

Okay

Subscribe to Chautauqua Institution’s email newsletter

  • About
  • Resources
  • Sustainability
  • Contact
  • Whistleblower Policy
  • Employment
  • Ethics Point
  • Labor Law Notices
  • Privacy Policy
  • ADA Compliance
Chautauqua Institution
P.O. Box 28
One Ames Ave.
Chautauqua, N.Y. 14722

1.800.836.ARTS
Washington, DC Office
1150 Connecticut, Avenue NW | Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
202.480.2244
  • CHQ Assembly logo
  • Privacy Policy
  • ADA Compliance

© 2022 Chautauqua Institution. Chautauqua Institution is a not-for-profit organization, dependent upon your gifts to fulfill its mission. Gate tickets and other revenue cover only a portion of the cost of your Chautauqua experience.