NEW YORK, NY – February 1, 2021 – Today American Lyric Theater (ALT) announces the Opera Writers Diversity and Representation Initiative (OWDARI) as part of an ongoing commitment to mentoring the next generation of operatic writers. In conjunction with an Advisory Committee comprised of BIPOC artists and related experts in the field, through the OWDARI, ALT is examining every part of the company’s operations with the goal of addressing structural inequality and racism and increasing participation by BIPOC artists in the company’s flagship Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP).
First steps in OWDARI include the appointment of conductor Kelly Kuo as ALT’s new Associate Artistic Director and the creation of a free, virtual Opera Writers Symposium, a series of workshops and mini-seminars open to writers and composers from diverse racial and artistic backgrounds to explore opera as a storytelling art form. No previous experience in writing opera is necessary.
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