Miami Lyric Opera Explained

Miami Lyric Opera (MLO) was an opera company in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company was founded by the Italian tenor Raffaele Cardone, establishing itself as a non-profit organization in 2004. It attempted to take advantage of a small niche market for opera in the region.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

After having an inaugural concert of arias in October 2004, the company "presented its first fully staged production" in April 2005, with a performance of La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi.^[2] This was followed by an August performance of Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni.^{[2] [5]}

Performances of the company are held at the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts.^[6] The theater also applies grant funds towards underwriting the performances of the opera company.^[7]

In April 2024, Cardone announced that the company was shutting down. "The principal reason is financing— not enough being available to make a decent production. Venue, labor, musicians and artist costs and others, have all increased". The company's final performance was a double bill of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Suor Angelica by Giacomo Puccini.^{[8] [9]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: About Us . Miami Lyric Opera . August 25, 2019 . September 1, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190901145632/http://miamilyricopera.org/?page_id=10566 . live .
2. News: Lawrence A. Johnson . Miami Lyric Opera Aims to Carve a Niche . . June 4, 2005 . August 25, 2019.
3. Web site: Robert Carreras . Raffaele Cardone, Miami Lyric Opera . Opera Today . July 12, 2011 . August 25, 2019.
4. Web site: David Fleshler . With vibrant singing and rough edges, Miami Lyric Opera to mark its 10th anniversary with Puccini . South Florida Classical Review . July 2, 2013 . August 25, 2019.
5. Beth Feinstein-Barti, "Hallandale Soprano Takes Lead at Miami Opera", South Florida Sun Sentinel (August 17, 2005), Arts&Culture page 1.
6. Joshua Lawrence Kinser, Moon: Florida Keys: Including Miami & the Everglades (2017), p. 49.
7. Mark Miller, Miami & the Keys (2012), p. 52.
8. Web site: Johnson . Lawrence A. . April 1, 2024 . Miami Lyric Opera is ringing down the curtain after 22 seasons . 2024-08-26 . South Florida Classical Review.
9. Web site: Salazar . Francisco . 2024-04-02 . Miami Lyric Opera to Shut Down after 22 Years . 2024-08-26 . OperaWire . en-US . 2024-04-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240412235201/https://operawire.com/miami-lyric-opera-to-shut-down-after-22-years/ . live .