NEA opera honors

NEA

era

NORS

2008 INAUGURAL

National Endowment for the Arts

(pa/ufes

2008 Honorees of the Inaugural NEA Opera Honors

NATIONAL
ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS

Leettft/tte .Price

SOPRANO

Gar/is/e ffletfd

COMPOSER/LIBRETTIST

iffyf/iard Qaddes

GENERAL DIRECTOR

c yames Levitt e

MUSIC DIRECTOR/CONDUCTOR

October 31, 2008
Sidney Harman Hall
Harman Center for the Arts
Washington, D.C.

A great nation This inaugural event is made possible in part

deserves great art. through the generosity of joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long.

NEA

era

IONORS

vemeu

The National Endowment for the Arts
(NEA) is dedicated to bringing the best
of the arts and arts education to all
Americans. Established by Congress in
1965, it is an independent agency of the
federal government. The NEA is the
largest annual national funder of the arts,
bringing great art both new and estab-
lished to all 50 states, including rural
areas, inner cities and military bases.
Since its inception, it has awarded more
than 128,000 grants totaling more than
$4 billion. NEA-supported projects
range across all artistic disciplines and
include museum exhibitions, internet
initiatives, national tours, international
exchanges, theater festivals and historic
preservation. The NEA presents annual
lifetime honors in three categories: NEA
National Heritage Fellowships to master
folk and traditional artists; NEA Jazz
Masters Fellowships to jazz musicians
and advocates; and now the NEA Opera
Honors.

The NEA Opera Honors, celebrating
lifetime achievement and individual

excellence, is the first individual honorific
award established by the National
Endowment for the Arts in more than a
quarter century. OPERA America is a
partner with the NEA in producing this
program, with the Washington National
Opera serving as this year's host com-
pany. The first NEA Opera Honors
recipients are soprano Leontyne Price,
composer Carlisle Floyd, advocate
Richard Gaddes and maestro James
Levine. Miss Price is known for her
elegant musicianship, her generosity
to young singers and her remarkable
recording legacy. Mr. Floyd has had a
long and distinguished career; his many
memorable operas include Susanna and
Of Mice and Men. Mr. Gaddes, the
recently retired general director of the
Santa Fe Opera and the co-founder of
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, is known
for challenging, adventurous program-
ming. Mr. Levine has led the Metropoli-
tan Opera premieres of works by
composers from Mozart to Weill and the
world premieres of American operas by
John Corigliano and John Harbison.

The NEA Opera Honors program is
the latest in a long line of NEA programs
designed to foster the growth of the art
form throughout the nation. Since 1967,
the NEA has made more than 4,300
grants to opera companies, artists and
organizations, totaling almost $165
million. Through its New American
Works program, which ran from 1980 to
1995, the NEA awarded more than 600
grants to assist in the creation of new
compositions, including John Adams's

Nixon in China, Anthony Davis's Amistad
and William Bolcom's A View from the
Bridge. The NEA continues to support
new work through its grant programs.
The agency also supports other operatic
fields, including young artists' programs
in cities such as Houston, San Francisco
and Chicago. Television and radio
audiences also benefit from NEA funding
of a variety of programs, including The
Metropolitan Opera Presents (formerly
known as Live from the Met), Great
Performances and NPR's World of Opera.

The NEA also supports and develops
projects and leadership initiatives with
significant national reach. It launched
OPERA America's Opera Fund, which
through 50 grants in its first three years
awarded almost $1 million in support of
new work. In 2005 - 2006, men and
women in uniform experienced opera
through the NEA's Great American
Voices, in which 24 professional opera
companies performed at 39 military
bases across the country.

www.arts.gov

%Ui

ccme

From Dana Gioia, Chairman
National Endowment for the Arts

"It is with both official pride and personal
pleasure that I welcome the NEA Opera
Honors. These special lifetime awards are
the first new class of official federal arts
honors in more than 25 years. Their
arrival not only celebrates the field of
opera; it also recognizes the essential
importance of all the arts.

Opera has truly come of age in
America. Over the past century it has
developed herefrom a small art form
associated mostly with European immi-
grants into a distinctively American
enterprise. Perhaps it has been most
distinctive in its remarkable ability — like
other American musical traditions such as
jazz, Broadway and bluegrass — to
incorporate the best of diverse traditions,
both foreign and native, to create a
recognizably American art.

During this period American opera
has blossomed in ways that would have
astounded its earliest champions. Opera
companies have emerged and flourished
across the nation. Our singers, muscians,
composers, directors, conductors and
designers are second to none in the world.
Our opera companies mount productions
of great innovation, sophistication and
artistic excellence. Our audiences continue
to grow.

Meanwhile our nation, which does so
much /(> support the arts in other ways, has
always been shy to offer national honors
for artists. One only needs to compare our
cash currency to that of other nations to see
the cultural differences. ( her the past
centuries the I '.S. has honored presidents
and cabinet officials on its currency, Italy

honors Caravaggio, Bernini and Puccini.
England portrays the queen on one side of
its pound notes, but turn one over and you
find portraits of Dickens, Shakespeare and
Elgar.

How joyful then that the time has
come for the U.S. government to honor
great living opera artists with the high C of
official praise. With the support of
Congress and the White House, the NEA
was authorized to establish the nation's
highest honor in opera — affirming the
value of this great civic art form.

The inaugural class of recipients —
Leontyne Price, Carlisle Floyd, Richard
Gaddes and James Levine — offers vivid
portraits of the exceptional achievements
of American opera. I look forward to
seeing who in subsequent years is lauded
for his or her accomplishments, who will
serve as eloquent evidence that a great
nation does indeed deserve great art"

ree,

"The inauguration of the NEA Opera
Honors documents the arrival of opera as
an essential part of the American cultural
landscape. Once considered old, foreign
and irrelevant, opera is a multi-media art
form that thrives in our new multi-media
world. American artists illuminate works
from across opera's 400 year literature
while hundreds of new American operas
portray American stories with stirring
music and theatricality.

Our view of opera is skewed by the
long and illustrious history of the Metro-
politan Opera — the country's oldest opera
company, celebrating its 125th anniversary
this year. In most communities, opera is
relatively new. More than two-thirds of
the opera companies in existence today
were established after I960 — half of them
after 1970. The rapid growth of opera in
the United States in the '60s and '70s
coincides with the establishment of the
National Endowment for the Arts itself.
This growth continues today as new opera
companies are being launched in cities that
have never been enriched by the availabil-
ity of live performances.

The increase in the number and
variety of American opera companies has
provided tremendous opportunity for
American artists. * ' . ' a generation ago,
aspiring American singers, conductors and

From OPERA America's

President and CEO Marc A. Scorca

stage directors had to travel to Europe to
gain experience before being considered for
major productions in this country. Today,
thanks to outstanding university opera
programs, conservatories and young artist
training programs at companies of all sizes
— pioneered by the Apprentice Program of
the Santa Fe Opera in the 1950s —
American artists are among the most well-
trained and versatile in the world, earning
acclaim in all the major opera houses.

Productions of American operas were
rare until recently. While the United States
has a rich history of opera composition,
mainstage productions of operas by
American composers were almost unheard
of in the decades following World War II.
Opera was at risk of becoming a museum
art form as the 20th century progressed
and companies remained exclusively
devoted to the works of the late 18th and
19th centuries. Responding to this risk,
companies like the Santa Fe Opera and
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, supported by
funding from both the National Endow-
ment for the Arts and OPERA America,
made a commitment to commission and
produce new American works. Today,
opera companies premiere between 10 and
20 new operas every season along with new
productions of existing American works
from the growing American canon.

Opera in America has thrived in
recent years. The creation of the NEA
Opera Honors confirms opera's entry into
the 21st century as a vital contributor to
our country's cultural expression."

OPERA America — the nonprofit
service organization for opera — under
the leadership of president and CEO
Marc A. Scorca, serves the entire opera
community, supporting the creation,
presentation and enjoyment of opera.
OPERA America's membership includes
nearly 200 professional opera company
members; 2,000 affiliate, individual and
business members; and more than 18,500
online subscribers. It is the only organiza-
tion serving all constituents of the opera
field, embracing a broad range of opera
companies, creative and performing
artists, and audience members. OPERA
America also provides entry points to
opera to a national audience through a
variety of programs, ranging from the
K-12 Music! Words! Opera! curriculum to
an online learning series for adults.

Artistic services help opera compa-
nies and artists to improve the quality of
productions and increase the creation and
presentation of North American work.
The Opera Fund, launched with assistance
from the National Endowment for the
Arts, has awarded more than $10 million
in grants in support of the creation and
production of new operas and related
audience development activities.

OPERA America's 17-person staff is
based in New York, with a government
affairs director positioned in Washington,
D.C. OPERA America helped to establish
Opera. ca (Toronto) and Opera Europa
(Brussels) and works closely with both
organizations to sustain and serve an
international member network.

www.operaamerica.org

"It is a great pleasure and privilege for all
of us at Washington National Opera to be
part of the first NEA Opera Honors awards
program. Celebrating the great individuals
in any field is always important, but I am
especially happy to know that at long last
the people who have committed themselves
to opera — be they singers, conductors,
composers or administrators — are
receiving this wonderful recognition from
the United States government. It seems
fitting, also, that the first NEA Opera
Honors recipients are being saluted here in
the nation's capital, and Washington
National Opera is proud to be the host for
what is, in essence, an American operatic
inauguration.

Washington National Opera is
dedicated to presenting not only the
masterpieces of the past but also the great
works of our own time, including those by
one of the evenings honorees, Carlisle
Floyd.

The NEA Opera Honors singles out
legends of our day — people who not only
have inspired others throughout their
careers but who are also models for future

essaye

From Washington National Opera's
General Director, Placido Domingo

generations. I am especially pleased that
singers from the Domingo -Cafritz Young
Artist Program will perform at this first
NEA Opera Honors gala: this allows us to
pay tribute to living legends of American
opera while we look toward the future
through a new generation.

On a personal note, I feel lucky to
have been associated with all four of
tonight's recipients. Leontyne Price is one
of the greatest sopranos of this or any other
time, and I am happy and honored to be
able to call her a colleague. I will never
forget the many opportunities I had to sing
with her — to have that magnificent voice
right next to my ear. Carlisle Floyd has
written some of the most beloved operas
of the twentieth century, and Washington
National Opera has staged two of them:
Susannah and Of Mice and Men. As an
opera administrator, I enormously admire
Richard Caddes, who has run two very
different opera companies, in Saint Louis
and Santa Fe, and has maintained their
individuality. Finally, Maestro James
Levine: he is my friend, my colleague and
my mentor — a man who plavs such an
important role in opera in America and
has guided and will continue to guide so
many singers with one, intelligence and
passion.

These four people have helped to make
opera a special part of our lives, and we
will continue to look up to them as we
strive toward a glorious future."

Washington National Opera is

recognized as one of the world's premier
opera companies. Under the leadership
of general director Placido Domingo,
WNO has continued to move confidently
forward since the company's founding in
1956. More than five decades and
countless artistic leaps later, the WNO
has achieved the stature of a world class
company, plays to capacity audiences at
the Kennedy Center, and has recently
appointed Mark Weinstein as executive
director.

WNO is committed to sustaining
new American opera and has presented
numerous world, American and com-
pany premieres.

Through the Center for Education
and Training, which houses the cel-
ebrated Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist
Program, the award-winning Education
and Community Programs, and the
Placido Domingo Intern and Apprentice
Program, and through its Access to Opera
initiatives, WNO is dedicated to
broadening the publics awareness and
understanding o( opera.

www.dc-opera.org

Lecwfutte iPrice

"This award is visible
evidence to the world of the
esteem in which we as a
nation hold opera. It was a
long journey from my
hometown of Laurel
Mississippi, to the capital of
the greatest country in the
world. I thank everyone
who was involved in my
selection and I share this
recognition with everyone
who helped me along the
way. They have my
sincerest thanks and
appreciation. I am still
almost speechless."

NEA

vera

CONORS

There are very few singers with voices that are as instantly recognizable, and revered, as
the rich, creamy lyric soprano of Leontyne Price. She continues to be a powerful
advocate not only for the art she loves, but for human rights. Born in Laurel, Missis-
sippi in 1927, Price played the piano early on and soon began to sing at church and
school. When she was 9 years old, she heard Marian Anderson in concert; that, Price
has said, "was what you might call the original kickoff" for her pursuit of what became
an astonishing vocal career. Although her 1961 debut as Leonora in Verdi's II Trovatore
at the Metropolitan Opera instantly made her a legend — and landed her on the cover
of Time magazine — she was already well known to opera audiences in cities such as
San Francisco and Vienna (where, at the invitation of Herbert von Karajan, she made
her debut as Aida in 1959). Price has made a long career in opera, concert and recital.
Though she is best known as a Verdi and Puccini singer, she has always embraced the
work of American composers, particularly Samuel Barber. She gave the premiere of his
Hermit Songs at New York City's Town Hall in 1954, with the composer at the piano,
and Barber went on to write many pieces for her.

In 1997, Price introduced children to one of opera's greatest heroines in her book
Aida, Her scores of awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom ( 1964 ), the
Kennedy Center Honors ( 1980), the National Medal of the Arts ( 1985), the National
Association of Black Broadcasters Award (2002), the French Order of Arts and Letters,
the Italian Order of Merit, 19 Grammys and three Emmys.

Leon fane zPtice

SELECTED CDs currently in circulation

Puccini: Tosca Decca with Di Stetano; conducted bv Karaian

Verdi: Aida RCA with Bumbry, Domingo, Milnes; conducted bv Leinsdort

Puccini: Sladama Butxc^'.: RCA with Elias, Tucker; conducted by Leinsdort

Verdi: Requiem Decca with Elias, Bioerling, Tozzi; conducted bv Reiner

bamtyne Price Sings Barber RCA Hermit So?igs with Barber at the piano.
Summer of 1 915, among others; conducted by Schippers

Right as the Rain RCA with Previn as conductor and pianist; popular classic songs
bv Arlen, Rodsers, Previn, amons others

«4

Lecnfi/ne <Price

Timeline

1927

Born in Laurel, Mississippi

1936

Hears Marian Anderson in Jackson, Mississippi

1955

Performs title role of Tosca for a major television network, NBC

1957

San Francisco Opera debut as Madame Lidoine in American premiere
of Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites

1958

Vienna Staatsoper debut in title role of Aida

1961

Metropolitan Opera debut as Leonora in // Trovatore

1966

At the opening of the new Met, sings world premiere
of Barber's Antony and Cleopatra

1973

Sings at the funeral of former President Lyndon B. Johnson

1997

Publishes Aula, a book for children

2001

Makes a special appearance to sing at Carnegie Hall memorial concert
for victims of 9/1 1

KV

■

Cjar/is/e fflcud

a

When I received the call

from Chairman Gioia, I
was a little stunned. My
feeling was not so much
that I felt undeserving, but
that there were other
composers also deserving.
I am less stunned now, but
no less deeply grateful
for being selected for this
unique honor."

W/Th NEA

hi jflem

L HONORS

One of the most admired opera composers and librettists of the last half century,
Carlisle Floyd speaks in a uniquely American voice, capturing both the cadences and
the mores of our society. Born in Latta, South Carolina in 1926, Floyd studied both
composition and piano. He taught at South Florida University from 1947 to 1976, all
the while actively composing, and in 1976 became the M. D. Anderson Professor of
Music at the University of Houston. In Houston, he and David Gockley established the
important Houston Grand Opera Studio, which for more than three decades has helped
train young artists in the full spectrum of opera. (Graduates include Erie Mills, Denyce
Graves and Joyce Di Donate)

Floyd's operas are rooted in America, both in subject and in style, and are widely
performed in the United States and abroad. They include Susannah (1955), The Passion
of Jonathan Wade (1962; revised, 1990), Of Mice and Men (1970), Bilby's Doll ( 1976),
Willie Stark ( 1981 ) and Cold Sassy Tree (2000). A 2001 inductee of the American
Academy of Arts and Letters, Floyd has received numerous honors, such as a
Guggenheim Fellowship and the National Opera Institute's Award for Service to
American Opera. He was the first chairman of the NEA's Opera/Musical Theater Panel,
which the agency created in 1976. In 2004, the President of the United States awarded
him a National Medal of Arts.

C;/ir/is/c tfleifd

SELECTED CD/DVDs currently in circulation

Susannah (Virgin Classics) Studer, Hadley, Ramey; conducted by Nagano

The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair (VAI) Neway, Treigle; conducted by Rudel

Markheim (VAI) Crofoot, Schuh, Treigle; conducted by Andersson

Of Mice and Men (Albany) Evans and others; conducted by Summers

Willie Stark (DVD: Newport Classic) Louisiana State University production

Cold Sassy Tree (Albany) Racette and others; conducted by Summers

FORT WORTH OPERA ASSOCIATION PRESENTS

CARLISLE FLOYD'S

^usannal^

12

1

Gar /is /e !flcifd

Timeline

1926

Born in Latta, South Carolina

1947

Begins his teaching career at Florida State University

1955

Florida State University stages world premiere of Susannah

1962

New York City Opera world premiere of The Passion of Jonathan Wade

1970

Of Mice and Men has premiere at Seattle Opera

1976

Becomes M.D. Anderson Professor of Music at University of Houston

1977

Co-founds, with David Gockley, the Houston Grand Opera Studio

1981

PBS's Great Performances presents world premiere of Willie Stark

1993

World premiere of A Time to Dance, a choral work, at American Choral Directors
Association convention in San Antonio

2000

Cold Sassy Tree has world premiere at Houston Grand Opera

V

V

\

A

zfyp/iard Gaddes

"Ifs rewarding, but also
humbling, to be part of this
quartet of recipients, the
other three of whom are
icons in the world of opera.
The job of an impresario
differs so much from that of
composers, conductors and
singers. In my case it is the
magnificent work of the
Santa Fe Opera family —
staff, performers and tech-
nicians — that is being
recognized with me. I am
indeed grateful to the
National Endowment for
the Arts for this honor."

NEA

vera

CONORS

Richard Gaddes has spent most of his professional life guiding and raising the profile of
two important regional American companies, the Santa Fe Opera, from which he
recently retired as general director, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Born in
Wallsend, England in 1942 and now a permanent United States resident, Gaddes
studied at London's Trinity College of Music. In the '60s, he launched a program of
lunchtime concerts by young musicians at Wigmore Hall, an initiative that is emblem-
atic of his work since: in both Santa Fe and Saint Louis, he has championed young
singers. In 1969, at the invitation of Santa Fe Opera founder John Crosby, he became
the company's artistic administrator. He founded the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in
1976 and ran it until 1985, but remained a consultant to Santa Fe. He returned there
full-time in 1994, and later succeeded John Crosby as general director.

Throughout his tenure at both companies, Gaddes made a reputation for program-
ming much adventurous repertoire both old and new, imaginative casting and
productions, building audiences and spotting young stars before others did. A former
vice president of OPERA America, he has served on many arts boards and is, at present,
a member of the board of directors of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. His list of
honors includes the National Institute for Music Theatre Award and the Young Audi-
ences' Cultural Achievement Award.

iHfciard Qaddes

SELECTED CD/DVDs currently in circulation

While Richard Gaddes is not associated with these recordings, the following works
represent those that he has helped to introduce or bring to the attention of
American opera audiences.

Rameau: Pigmalion (Virgin Classics Veritas) Fournie, Fouchecourt; conducted by Niquet

Breton: La Verbena de la Paloma (DVD Decca) Lopez, Suarez; conducted by Roa

Britten: Albert Herring (Naxos) Palmer, Barstow, Lloyd, Finley; conducted by Bedford

Britten: Owen Wingrave (DVD Kultur Video) Barstow, Finley; conducted by Nagano

Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen (Decca) Popp; conducted by Mackerras

Golijov: Ainadamar (DG) Upshaw; conducted by Spano

16

zftyf/jard Qaddes

Timeline

1942

Born in Wallsend, England

1969

Named artistic administrator of Santa Fe Opera

1976

Founds Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL)

1982

World premiere at OTSL of The Postman Always Rings Twice, by Stephen Paulus

1985

Jornri, by Japanese composer Minoru Miki, has world premiere at OTSL

1994

Returns to Santa Fe Opera as associate director

2000

Becomes general director of Santa Fe Opera

2003

Madame Mao, by Bright Sheng, has world premiere in Santa Fe

2005

Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar, with a reworked libretto, presented in Santa Fe

2006

American premiere of Thomas Adcs's The Tempest in Santa Fe

I 1

^.

"— <

'antes j^evwe

"In the years since its
inception, the National
Endowment for the Arts
has contributed enor-
mously to the health and
growth of the arts in the
United States. It is a great
honor for me to be among
the first recipients of this
award, and an honor to the
art form itself that the NEA
is recognizing the impor-
tant place of opera in the
artistic life of this country"

rrA NEA
HONORS

Since he first took the podium at the Metropolitan Opera in 1971, James Levine has
conducted nearly 2,500 performances there — a record number — and his repertoire is
equally staggering: 85 operas. He is noted for his collaboration with singers, but equally
important is his work with the Met orchestra, which he has fine-tuned into one of the
world's leading ensembles.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1943, Levine excelled as a pianist even in childhood.
Setting his course as a conductor, he graduated from Juilliard in 1964, and in that same
year was invited by George Szell to join the Cleveland Orchestra as the youngest
assistant conductor in its long history. Over the next several years, he led many
orchestras, including the Metropolitan Opera's, and in 1975 became the company's
music director. He has led Met premieres of works by numerous composers, including
Mozart, Verdi, Stravinsky, Berg, Schoenberg, Rossini, Berlioz and Weill, as well as the
world premieres of two American operas, John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles and
John Harbison's The Great Gatshy. While maintaining his position at the Met, Levine
has continued to work as an accompanist and chamber musician and has led orchestras
around the world. From 1973 to 1993, he was music director of the Ravinia Festival,
the summer residence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; from 1999 to 2004, he was
chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic. In 2004, Levine became music director
of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a post he continues to hold. With the BSO, he has
introduced new works by such composers as Elliott Carter, William Bolcom, Milton
Babbitt, Charles Wuorinen and John Harbison. Among the numerous awards Levine
has received are the Gold Medal for Service to Humanity from the National Institute of
Social Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters' 2005 award for Distin-
guished Service to the Arts. In 1997, the President of the United States awarded him a
National Medal of Arts and, in 2003, he was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.

/James Levitt e

SELECTED CD/DVDs currently in circulation

Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (CD and DVD; DG) Metropolitan Opera

Strauss: Elektra (DVD; DG) Nilsson, Rysanek

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin (DG) Burchuladze, Freni, von Otter, T. Allen

Berlioz: Les Troyens (DVD; DG) Norman, Troyanos, Domingo

Corigliano: The Ghosts of Versailles (DVD; DG) Stratas, Fleming, Home, Clark,
G. Quilico, Hagegard (currently not in circulation)

Lieberson: Neruda Songs (Nonesuch) Hunt Lieberson

20

f James Levitte

Timeline

1943

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio

1953

Debuts as piano soloist with Cincinnati Orchestra playing
Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2

1964

Invited by George Szell to become assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra

1971

Conducts Tosca in Metropolitan Opera debut

1976

Appointed music director of the Metropolitan Opera

1977

Inaugurates Metropolitan Opera Presents on TV, conducting La Boheme

1980

Founds the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program

1991

Conducts world premiere of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles at the Met

1999

Leads first Met performance of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron

2004

While remaining at the Met, becomes Boston Symphony Orchestra music director

NATIONAL
ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS

Timeline

1965

The National Endowment for the Arts is established

1967

First six grants to opera companies, totaling $453,000

1977

NEA supports hrst Live from the Met television broadcast featuring La Boheme
conducted by Levine, with Pavarotti and Scotto

1978

Creation of the NEAs Opera Musical Theater panel

1978

First grant to Lyric Opera of Chicago's voung artist program

1980

New American Works NAW program to help fund new opera

1981

American premiere of NAW- funded Satyagraha by Philip Glass

1986

Begins supporting National Public Radios World of Opera

2001

Launching of OPERA America s Opera Fund for new works

2005

Great American Voices, an NEA national initiative, sends opera companies

to militarv bases

2008

Launch of NEA Opera Honors

\ccess / j\{aj(iyjj a j\!mwaficy

NEA Opera Honors

For the first time in 25 years, Congress
has authorized a new award to recognize
lifetime achievement and individual
excellence, the National Endowment for
the Arts Opera Honors (NEA Opera
Honors). This award honors visionaries
and luminaries who, by making extraor-
dinary contributions to opera in the
United States, have become cultural
treasures of this great nation. It repre-
sents the highest recognition that our
nation bestows in opera.

The NEA Opera Honors pays tribute
to those visionary creators, extraordinary
performers and other interpreters who
have made a lasting impact on our
national cultural landscape, based either
on a lifetime of artistic achievements or a
single, uniquely valuable accomplish-
ment. Nominees may include compos-
ers, librettists, singers, conductors,
designers and directors. In special
circumstances, collaborative artistic
teams may be nominated to acknowledge
an exemplary American opera that has
generated excitement, attracted audi-
ences and demonstrated potential for
expanding the canon of the American
opera repertoire. The NEA Opera
Honors also will recognize individuals
whose mastery has advanced the knowl-
edge and/or appreciation of opera for the
general public. Awards will be $25,000
each and may be received once in a
lifetime. A limited number will be
awarded.

How to Submit a
Nomination

Recipients of the NEA Opera Honors are
selected on the basis of nominations
from the public. Nominations may be
for individuals or for a group of indi-
viduals (e.g., a collaborative artistic
team). Nominees must be citizens or
permanent residents of the United States.
Posthumous nominations will not be
considered. Nominations must be
submitted online at the Arts
Endowment's website at www.nea.gov/
honors/opera/nomination.html. An
individual may submit one nomination
per year. No one may nominate him/
herself.

Review of Nominations

The selection criteria for the NEA Opera
Honors are the artistic excellence and
significance of a nominee's contributions
to opera and the lasting impact on our
national cultural landscape. Nomina-
tions are reviewed by an advisory panel
of opera experts and at least one
knowledgeable layperson. Panel recom-
mendations are forwarded to the
National Council on the Arts, which then
makes recommendations to the chairman
of the National Endowment for the Arts.
The chairman reviews the council's
recommendations and makes the final
decision on award recipients. If not
selected for an NEA Opera Honors
award, nominees will be placed on the
following year's nominations list and will
remain there for up to four years. Please
contact Georgianna Paul, Opera Special-
ist, 202/682-5600 or paulg@arts.gov with
any questions.

NEA

*era

HONORS

For complete details about
the NEA Opera Honors and the
NEA Opera Honorees, visit
www.neaopemhonors.org

HONORS

NEA ,.

/W Jrtckftvw/t'thjttiettfs

The National Endowment for the Arts wishes to acknowledge the 1 10th Congress of the United States for the enabling legislation to
create the NEA Opera Honors.

For their role in imagining, creating and implementing the NEA Opera Honors and for their contributions to the publication, we extend
our heartfelt thanks to these individuals: Katrine Ames, Guiomar Barbi, Wayne S. Brown, Mario Garcia Durham, Karen Elias,
Mary Lou Falcone, David Foti, Patti Humphrey, JoAnn LaBrecque-French, Ted Libbey, Janice Mayer, Georgianna Paul, Christina
Scheppelmann, Marc A. Scorca, Yuval Sharon, Michael R. Sonnenreich, Jan Stunkard and Mark Weinstein; as well as the staff of
OPERA America, Washington National Opera and the Harman Center for the Arts for producing the awards ceremony and concert.

For adding their essential perspectives to create the video portraits of the NEA Opera Honorees, we wish to acknowledge: Mark Adamo,
Stuart Ashman, David Chan, Frank Corsaro, Phyllis Curtin, Renee Fleming, Peter Gelb, David Gockley, Osvaldo Golijov,
Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Jake Heggie, Lee Hoiby Paul Kilmer, Charles Mackay, Terrence McNally, Peter Sellars and
Brad Woolbright; and for direction and production: Matt Black, Greg Emetaz, Antonia Grilikhes-Lasky and Daniel Heffernan.

For providing their expertise in the advancement of the NEA Opera Honors initiative, we are appreciative of: Carmen Balthrop,

Sarah Billinghurst, Susan Carlyle, Michael Ching, John Corigliano, Janice Del Sesto, Rodney Hood, Speight Jenkins, Plato Karayanis,

Patrick J. Smith and Mark Swed.

For providing print, video, audio and website materials in this inaugural year of the NEA Opera Honors, we are deeply grateful to:
96.3 FM WQXR, Albany Records, American Federation of Musicians, American Guild of Musical Artists, ASCAP, Boosey & Hawkes,
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall Corporation, "CBS News Sunday Morning," Cincinnati Symphony, The Cleveland
Orchestra, Fettmann, Tolchin & Majors, PC, Fondazione Teatro alia Scala, G. Schirmer, Inc., Bill Holab, Houston Grand Opera, Ken
Howard, Tom Levine, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Marian Anderson Award at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The
Metropolitan Opera, Minoru Miki, Musical America Worldwide, New York City Opera, New York Public Library for the Performing
Arts, Opera News, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opus 3 Artists, The Paley Center for Media, Stephen Paulus,
General George B. Price, Jeanne and Joseph Rescigno, Research Video, Inc., San Francisco Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Schott-EAM,
Steven Sharpe, Tanglewood Music Center, Universal Music Classical, VAI Music, Matt Walker, Michael Willis and Eugenia Zukerman.

For their gracious support of the reception preceding the NEA Opera Honors Awards Ceremony & Concert, we sincerely thank Bob and
Miryam Knutson.

This is a partial list, complete at the time of printing.

Published by:

National Endowment for the Arts | Office of Communications | Victoria Hutter, Acting Director

October 2008

Logo and publication designed by: Falcone Design Group, Palm Springs, CA

Additional copies of this publication may be obtained free of charge at www.arts.gov, the website of the National Endowment
for the Arts.

202-682-3496 Voice/TTY For individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

©

^^\ Individuals who do not use conventional print materials may contact the Arts Endowments's Office for AccessAbility at
202-682-5733 to obtain this publication in an alternate format.

cMiic C

jreatis

Page 3

Dana Gioia, photo by Vance Jacobs.

Page 4

Marc A. Scorca, photo by Dario Acosta.

Page 5

Placido Domingo, photo by
Karin Cooper.

Page 6 and cover photo

Leontyne Price, photo by Jack Mitchell,
courtesy of Sony BMG Music.

Page 7

Price in the title role of Aida, courtesy of
Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Page 8

Price at home and in the Egyptian wing
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
courtesy of Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Singing at the September 1 1 memorial
concert (September 30, 2001 ) at Carnegie
Hall with Levine at the piano, photo by
Richard Termine, courtesy of
Carnegie Hall.

Page 9

Three early career portraits and speaking
at a school in Dallas in the 1980s,
courtesy of Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Page 10 and cover photo

Carlisle Floyd, photo by Jim Caldwell.

Page 11

Premiere production of Willie Stark in
1981, photo by Jim Caldwell, courtesy of
Houston Grand Opera.

Page 12

Program cover for Willie Stark, courtesy
of Houston Grand Opera. A scene from
Of Mice and Men, photo by George

Hixson, courtesy of Houston Grand
Opera. Program cover for Susannah,
courtesy of Fort Worth Opera.

Page 13

Portrait of Floyd in the 1970s; Floyd and
David Gockley in the 1980s; Floyd and
soprano Catherine Malfitano, photo by
H. David Kaplan; all courtesy of Houston
Grand Opera.

Page 14 and cover photo

Richard Gaddes, photo by Ken Howard,
courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.

Page 15

The theater at Santa Fe Opera, photo by
Robert Godwin.

Page 16

Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar, photo by
Ken Howard, courtesy of Santa Fe Opera.
Stephen Paulus's The Postman Always
Rings Twice, photo by Ken Howard,
courtesy of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring, photo
by Ken Howard, courtesy of Santa Fe
Opera.

Page 17

Photo of Gaddes by Ken Howard,
courtesy of Santa Fe Opera. Early career
photo of Gaddes, courtesy of Santa Fe
Opera. Gaddes with Jonathan Miller,
director of Cosi fan tutte at Saint Louis,
photo by Ken Howard, courtesy of Opera
Theatre of Saint Louis.

Page 18 and cover photo

lames Levine, photo by Koichi Miura.

Page 19

Curtain call, Levine with Placido
Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti,
courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera
Archives.

Page 20

Levine conducting the Cleveland
Orchestra, photo by Peter Hastings,
courtesy of The Cleveland Orchestra
Archives. Levine on the cover of the 1984
Musical America magazine, courtesy of
Musical America Worldwide. Stephen
Portman, George Szell, Michael Charry
and Levine (left to right), photo by Peter
Hastings, courtesy of The Cleveland
Orchestra Archives.

Page 21

Early portrait of Levine, photo by Peter
Hastings, courtesy of The Cleveland
Orchestra Archives. Luciano Pavarotti
and Mirella Freni in the 1977 television
broadcast of La Boheme, conducted by
Levine, courtesy of the Metropolitan
Opera Archives. The world premiere
production of John Corigliano's The
Ghosts of Versailles, photo by Ken
Howard, courtesy of the Metropolitan
Opera Archives.

Page 22

Santa Fe Opera's 1991 production of Le
Nozze di Figaw, photo by Murrae Haynes,
courtesy o\ Santa Fe Opera. Opera
Theatre of Saint Louis's 1994 production
of ( andide, photo by Ken Howard,
courtes) of Opera Theatre o\ Saint I ouis,
I yric Opera o\ Kansas ( lit) 's 1 99493
season production of Ariadne auf No*
courtesy o\ I yric Opera o\ Kansas City.

A Great Nation Deserves Great Art.

NATIONAL
ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS

The Nancy Hanks Center

1 100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20506-0001

202.682.5400 www.arts.gov