4 MORE: Cincinnati Opera
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting Cincinnati People stories from throughout 2021.
We checked in with Evans Mirageas, the Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, about the 2021 season held at Summit Park.
The original interview from June is below.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2021?
This summer, since we were still concerned about performing indoors, we built an opera house in the middle of Blue Ash’s Summit Park. And not only did we build it (thanks to a Herculean effort by the Opera’s staff, stagehands, and partners), but crowds came and filled the Great Lawn for every performance. And we were able to showcase some of the finest singers working today! It was an experience I’ll never forget.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
While we have not returned to the old “normal,” it is exhilarating to be back among my colleagues face to face (with masks, of course) in our beloved Music Hall, planning for a summer season indoors (!) in 2022.
What did you learn about Cincinnati?
If you build it, opera fans will come (with apologies to Field of Dreams!). We were blown away by the enthusiasm and support the community offered us in this most unconventional year.
What are you looking forward to most in 2022?
I can’t wait to welcome back our audience and artists to Music Hall this summer and to hear those first notes—that burst of energy and youthful joy that is the beginning of our season-opening production La Bohème, played by the amazing Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
You never know where a road trip will lead you. For Evans Mirageas, the Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director at Cincinnati Opera, a visit to Cincinnati instilled a lifelong passion for summer opera.