Stephanie Chee and Benjamin Beckman perform at the Park City Gardens Greenhouse. (Photo courtesy Lena Goldstein/Park City Opera)
Lena Goldstein, Lisl Wangermann and Benjamin Beckman share a vision for inspiring passion and appreciation for classical music in all ages. Upon recognizing their collective love for opera and drive for making the performing arts more accessible, these three Yale graduates quickly founded the nonprofit Park City Opera.
“It’s rare in life to meet people who you enjoy working with, where you can play off each other,” said Wangermann.
Goldstein, Wangermann and Beckman wanted to bring opera to a city culturally rich but underserved with classical music. However, there was a challenge that local residents and visitors might be aware of. There is no opera house in Park City.
Park City Opera embraced this challenge.
“The best part of our work is to conceptualize how classical vocal arts fit into venue types like libraries, greenhouses and restaurants,” Goldstein said.
Park City Opera’s venue flexibility allows for the co-founders to reimagine an art form into community gathering hub spaces. In addition to venue flexibility, Goldstein believes allowing events to be artist-led are two of the main aspects making their nonprofit model for Park City Opera unique.
“Almost every event is sponsored or co-presented with a community-based organization,” Goldstein said.
Park City Opera relies on cultivating relationships with local community organizations and musicians. Partly because all three co-founders split their time between their own professional careers across the country.
“The most fulfilling aspect in Park City Opera is to provide employment opportunities for peers and emerging artists,” said Goldstein. “We are creating the performance opportunities we wish were the norm.”
Part of that norm they are working to change include the pay scales. Park City Opera has been able to provide well-paid, high-visibility opportunities to strong emerging artists within the first 15 years of their careers.
“We have total proof of concept that we can sell out a show and there is a market for opera in Park City with room to grow,” Wangermann said.
Park City Opera is entering its third performing season with three newly announced operatic productions. Striving to make opera more accessible for all, David Conte’s “The Gift of the Magi” was carefully selected. The performance runs 75 minutes instead of a usual 3-to-4-hour opera, which Park City Opera feels makes it more approachable for all ages.
“‘The Gift of the Magi’ is a good first opera because the scale is much smaller (with four singers) for real intimacy that you don’t find in a large opera house,” Beckman said.
“It’s gorgeous,” Beckman said. “There are really special moments in the architecture of the music by David (Conte).” In fact, because he is living in the Bay Area, he will be flying in for a special Q&A session after the inaugural performance on Dec. 17 at Clubhouse SLC.
The following performances of “The Gift of the Magi” will feature Q&A sessions with the local orchestra musicians, singers, performing artists and production team members as well: Dec. 19 and Dec. 20 at the Park City Community Church.
“We lean on the support and partnership with 16 different community organizations,” Goldstein said. “We want to provide opportunities for high-level opera with an affordable ticket price,” Beckman added, noting $25 tickets.
Park City Opera is planning a handful of summer events including performances of “The Tender Land” by Aaron Copland (in celebration of the 250-year birthday of the USA) and “Roméo et Juliette” by Charles Gounod in August. Park City Opera is eager to find volunteer ushers for each of their upcoming performances. For more information about Park City Opera, including volunteering and ticket sales, visit www.parkcityopera.org.