OSU Opera Theatre wins third in National Opera Association competition

Thursday, December 1, 2022

Media Contact: Elizabeth Gosney | CAS Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-7497 | egosney@okstate.edu

The National Opera Association (NOA) recently announced that Oklahoma State University Opera Theatre’s 2021-22 production of Handel’s Rinaldo won third place in Division II of the NOA Production Competition.

The Opera Theatre program, part of the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music, will receive the award at the NOA’s 68th Annual National Conference in Houston in January.

“The production of Rinaldo was a huge undertaking,” said professor Megan Barth Argo, co-director of OSU Opera Theatre. “As music director, I started preparation in the summer of 2021 by recording diction and musical tools and cutting the opera down to 2 ½  hours. I started coaching students in August so they could learn an opera role in Italian and Baroque styles. All of the hard work paid off, and I believe it was the perfect show to educate and challenge our students in a style that isn’t often done in collegiate opera programs.” 

Professor April Golliver-Mohiuddin, co-director of OSU Opera Theatre, pointed to two attributes that make the program stand out.

“Our program is unique because we strongly emphasize giving undergraduates operatic opportunities,” Golliver-Mohiuddin said. “We pride ourselves on giving every enrolled opera student a chance to shine, whether in the opera scenes program or the MainStage production. Our second focus is community outreach. We enjoy performing for events such as Tiny Paws Kitten Rescue fundraisers and Wreaths Across America.”

Argo, Golliver-Mohiuddin and associate professor of voice Steve Sanders will attend the conference and hope to bring at least four students to accept the award. To achieve this, Golliver-Mohiuddin said they need approximately $5,500 in funding to attend the NOA Conference. For information on how to donate, send an email to april.golliver@okstate.edu.  

OSU Opera Theatre will perform the musical Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim on March 30-31 at the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts.

Story By: Kelli Leech, CAS graduate assistant | kelli.leech@okstate.edu