Arizona Opera Receives National Endowment for the Arts Grant To Support Creation of a New Production of Eugene Onegin
(Phoenix) National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced today that Arizona Opera is one of 919 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Arizona Opera is recommended for a $20,000 grant to support its new production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin to premiere in Tucson on January 31, 2015. The new, flexible, production created by Arizona Opera's artistic team will be part of Arizona Opera's inventory of set rentals, as no affordable production was previously available for companies of similar budget size to rent. Eugene Onegin is part of the Arizona Opera's Arizona Bold artistic initiative, designed to offer productions that appeal to a wider variety of constituents.
NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, "I'm pleased to be able to share the news of our support through Art Works including the award to Arizona Opera. The arts foster value, connection, creativity and innovation for the American people and these recommended grants demonstrate those attributes and affirm that the arts are part of our everyday lives."
"Receiving a grant from the NEA for Arizona Bold is a great honor and an incredible endorsement for the new initiatives we are embarking on. Eugene Onegin is a magnificent piece, and one that is not often seen. Since Arizona has a relatively large Russian and Slavic population we knew it needed to be part of our season. This generous gift not only enables us to present Tchaikovsky's work to the communities we serve, but also gives opera companies across the country the opportunity to present this new production in their own cities." said Ryan Taylor, General Director, Arizona Opera
Art Works grants support the creation of art, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,474 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $75 million in funding. Of those applications, 919 are recommended for grants for a total of $26.6 million. For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov. Follow the conversation about this and other NEA-funded projects on Twitter at #NEAFall2014.
About Arizona Opera
Arizona Opera, now in its 44th season, is our state's only professional opera company that produces fully-staged opera performances, concerts, in-school touring productions, educational and outreach programs that reach over 70,000 school-children and adults annually. Since its inception, Arizona Opera has produced over 180 fully-staged operas and concerts. The company's artistic history is rich with a blend of opera's traditional repertoire featuring baroque, bel canto, and verismo works, turn-of-the-century masterpieces, operettas, and American operas. Arizona Opera has also presented Wagner's complete Ring Cycle twice, a feat that has been accomplished in North America by only five other companies. Founded in 1971, Arizona Opera is among only a handful of companies in the United States that regularly performs in more than one city.