Opera & its artists wil be inducted by Music HOF

Opera & its artists wil be inducted by Music HOF By Don Ireland

nation’s most notable opera profes- sionals, including fellow inductees Cynthia Lawrence and Keith Miller.

Senior Reporter

When the Colorado Music Hall of Fame conducts its first-ever “Opera in the High County” this summer, the spotlight won’t solely shine on the historic Central City Opera (CCO). The HOF will also induct several of the opera’s singer-pro- fessionals and its late conductor/ music director during the June 29 ceremonies.

The Hall event, at its first “des- tination” induction, will celebrate the CCO’s history and three indi- viduals who have helped contribute to the organization’s success over the years. They include Cynthia Lawrence, Keith Miller and the late John Moriarty.

Moriar- ty passed on Jan. 5, 2022, at the age of 91. “While much of his pro- fessional career was spent at Cen- tral City Opera, his impact on the opera industry is far-reach- ing,” said General/Artistic Direc- tor Pelham “Pat” Pearce. “He was an exceptional teacher and helped develop the careers of some of the most renowned opera performers.”

This winter Central City Opera House in tranquil, but come June 29 it will be the place to be, because the Opera will be inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of

bachelor’s degree and an honorary doctor of music from the New Eng- land Conservatory of Music, Mori- arty has two named opera scholar- ships at the Conservancy: The John Moriarty Presidential Scholarship and the John Moriarty Encourage- ment Award. In his adopted town of Central City, the John Moriarty Award of the Central City Opera is named after him. He was also the recipient of the National Opera Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

Moriarty’s first professional opera position was with Santa Fe Opera, where he also founded an artist training program. He also worked as the training director and conductor at Wolf Trap Opera, in addition to several other notable opera companies. He led the opera departments at the Boston Con- servatory of Music and the New England Conservatory. Among his publications is the widely assigned education instruction manual Dic- tion . According to the CCO, train- ing future opera stars was always at the core of his work. Holding a

John Moriarty

Inductee photos courtesy CCO

John Moriarity The late conductor/artistic direc- tor for the CCO, Moriarty, created the CCO’s Bonfils-Stanton Founda- tion Artists Training Program in 1978. The program is considered a national model for the professional development of young singers. With only 30 artists selected from 1,000 applicants yearly, the competitive program has trained many of the

To honor his 30th anniversary with Central City Opera, a street next to the opera house in Central City was renamed Moriarty Lane.

Keith Miller

Keith Miller Miller is from one of Colorado’s smallest towns, Ovid, with a population of less than 300. A star football player at the University of Colorado Boulder, Miller went on to play professional football before shifting his career to opera. Once an Apprentice Artist at Central City Opera, Miller has had an impressive musical career across the U.S., from Colorado, where he served as the Crested Butte Music Festival Opera Director for six years to the iconic Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He performed in New York as a principal artist for 18 years.

Cynthia Lawrence

Karen Radman, executive direc- tor of the Hall, said, “Colorado Music Hall of Fame is honored to be presenting an opera-themed induction class for the first time, recognizing the important contribu- tions that opera has made in music while expanding to a new musical genre for our inductees. Opera in the High Country , focused around the impressive and historic Central City Opera and those whose careers were influenced by it, also expands The Hall of Fame’s reach into the Colorado mountains and out of the metro area. This June 29 event in Central City will be the first of many destination inductions that The Hall plans to host statewide. With all it has to offer, we really hope that folks from across the state and out- of-state tourists come out and cel- ebrate opera with us in Central City for a summer weekend this year.”

Cynthia Lawrence Lawrence serves as the Endowed Chair for Voice and Opera at the University of Kentucky School of Music. An alumna of the University of Colorado Boulder, the soprano became a principal artist with doz- ens of opera companies across the globe and in Colorado, including Central City Opera, Colorado Opera Festival and the Fort Collins Opera. Boasting over 70 performances with Maestro Luciano Pavarotti, Law- rence has taken on some of opera’s most iconic parts. As a dedicated music educator, Lawrence con- ducts Master Classes and serves as a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Opera & its artists wil be inducted by Music HOF

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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Opera & its artists wil be inducted by Music HOF

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