Explode all Expectations! These "opera-musicals" embrace an indigenous vernacular energy; they burst forth in our own American-ness; and they resonate with our own language. They enchant, challenge and inspire multigenerational audiences - our definition of family - they make us laugh, cry and acknowledge who we are. These are, in fact, the same ideas that inspired the beginnings of opera back in 1590; and they are what we re-capture in these new works by American composers and writers of today.

Family Opera Initiative is a company created to bring to a widely diverse audience the opera experience in the form of new, original American "opera-musicals" that are accessible but challenging, made by exciting, unexpected artists, who speak to this audience through the artistic media of opera: music, words, theater, and visuals, with subject matter that matters.

• to bring unexpected artists together to create original American operas with artistic integrity and depth, that will connect to multigenerational and non-standard audiences, especially preteens, teens and adults of all ages
• to reach, engage and entertain a public not ordinarily predisposed to the notion of 'opera'
• to explode the notion that opera is old fashioned, a museum, an art form for the intelligentsia
• to make indigenous American opera, with American themes, language and music - a modern day, ultra American singspiel - the "Opera-Musical"
• to create this work to a benchmark that will also engage and challenge seasoned opera and theater audiences
• to present these "opera-musicals" both inside traditional theaters and opera houses, and outside in the community - in non-standard spaces, places and environments
• to engage the community in the process and the performance of the piece to the greatest extent possible

Family Opera Initiative (FOI), established by Grethe Barrett Holby in 1995 as a program of American Opera Projects, as a means to reach out and develop new audiences for opera. FOI has developed a series of "opera-musicals" for family audiences including Flurry Tale (1999), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (2001), Fireworks! (2002) and Animal Tales. Working with such artists as Billy Aronson, Kitty Brazelton, Eugenio Carmi, Kenneth Cavander, Franco Colavecchia, Umberto Eco, Peter Kazaras, Richard Peaslee, Rusty Magee, George Plimpton, Clifton Taylor, and Amy Trompetter - extraordinary artists, unexpected in the field of family entertainment. Premieres have been presented by AOP at the Clark Studio Theater, TADA!, and Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY. Workshops have taken place at AOP, FOI, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Montclair State University (NJ), and New York City area schools.

Family Opera Initiative/ArdeaArts
463 Broome Street
New York, NY 10013
p. 212.431.7039
info@familyoperainitiative.org

Family Opera Initiative is a central program of ArdeaArts, Inc, a 501C3 not-for-profit corporation as recognized by the federal government qualified to do business in New York and Delaware. All contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Grethe Barrett Holby Patrica Deans Chidi Ozieh Stephanie Yao

Managing and Artistic Director, Founder  Chief Financial Officer  Adminstrative and Media Director  Office and Social Media Manager

Brien Wassner Lynn T. Chambers Sophie Elgort Anne Whitehouse

Legal Council Accountant Marketing, Branding, and Event Planning Grant Writing, overseeing and mentoring Interns

Soho Reprographics NYC, Harvey Klapper, owner
Sip 'n Soda, Southampton, NY Mark Parash, owner

Atlantic Center for the Arts
www.atlanticcenterforthearts.org

Major Commissioning and Development Support from
Jaffe Family Foundation
Round Table Fellowship
(the association of FOI donors)