News

The award-winning opera program at Portland State University closed this spring to rave reviews and an incredible $500,000 challenge.

Spring Performance Wrap-up: Così fan tutte

This year’s production, Mozart’s Così fan tutte, directed by internationally renowned stage director Tito Capobianco, played to great reviews. The opera was described as:

• “a buoyant performance...that continues the high-quality tradition….student performers give a touch of sweetness and light to Mozart’s confection” (The Oregonian);

• Così fan tutte was “fed by a young cast of opera singers giddy on the care and feeding of a worldly, wise artistic director” (Crosscut.com, Seattle);

• “…the most enjoyable production of Mozart’s comic opera that I’ve ever seen” (KBPS All Classical Blog);

• “PSU's production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte sparkled with wit and elan, making opening night a thoroughly enjoyable experience” (Northwest Reverb).

Jeannine B. Cowles Challenge for Opera Endowment
Longtime opera program supporter Jeannine B. Cowles announced a $500,000 endowment challenge gift that will be matched by $1 million raised by the School of Fine and Performing Arts. As increments of $200,000 are raised for the opera endowment, Cowles will match the funds with $100,000. The Jeannine B. Cowles Opera Endowment Challenge extends for five years until December 31, 2011. The resulting $1.5 million “PSU Opera Production Endowment” will assure the future of the Department of Music’s annual opera by funding it in perpetuity.

“We’re very grateful to Jeannine B. Cowles for this tremendous opportunity to sustain our award-winning opera program on an ongoing basis,” said Barbara Sestak, dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts. “She’s been a fantastic friend to PSU and to opera over the years.”

Portland State University Opera is unparalleled in the region and has been awarded first place for university opera productions twice by the National Opera Association: Le Nozze di Figaro in 2000 and Don Giovanni in 2003. The program creates a bridge between the academic world and the professional world of opera with an annual production of a fully staged opera using student cast and orchestra. Students have the rare opportunity to develop their skills through the process of an opera production by preparing a role, working with a director and a conductor, singing with an orchestra, learning stagecraft, acting, movement skills and creating an ensemble.

Jeannine B. Cowles has previously funded two endowments for PSU Opera: the Jeannine B. Cowles Scholarships for singers and instrumentalists and the Jeannine B. Cowles Distinguished Professorship in Residence that provides students with access to the highest levels of professional artistry. Professors in residence have included acclaimed mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, baritone Sherrill Milnes, soprano Martina Arroyo, Metropolitan Opera conductor Stephen Crawford and this year, internationally known stage director Tito Capobianco.

For more information or to help meet the Jeannine B. Cowles Opera Endowment Challenge, please contact Trish Trout, director of development, in the School of Fine and Performing Arts at 503-725-3396 or troutp@pdx.edu.

School of Fine and Performing Arts
The mission of Portland State University's School of Fine and Performing Arts is to strengthen Portland's extended cultural community by providing outstanding professional training and education in the performing and visual arts in partnership with the region's working artists and cultural institutions. With strong ties to community, culture and business, the School of Fine and Performing Arts at PSU is the region's primary institution for preparing talented young people for leadership in creative careers. Located in the heart of Portland, the school's faculty and students provide a significant cultural trust for the Northwest, with scores of concerts, workshops, lectures and exhibitions throughout the year. The School consists of the Departments of Art, Architecture, Music and Theater Arts.

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Source: Trish Trout (503-725-3396)
PSU School of Fine and Performing Arts