Will Crutchfield,  Director of Opera

For information on Elisabeth which was rediscovered by Maestro Crutchfield and presented at Caramoor during the 2001 Musc Festival  click here.

In 1997, following the success of a production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola that introduced Vivica Genaux, Caramoor decided to establish a formal concentration on bel canto opera, and – Bel Canto at Caramoor was born.  On the occasion of the formal inauguration of the venture, reigning bel canto diva Marilyn Horne said:

“I can’t imagine a better place for this project. It’s beautiful. People love to go there, the acoustics are great, the orchestra is wonderful…The voices are out there, but what I most often find missing is the hand of a really fine maestro concertatore who can bring out the best in each singer. These singers are going to be very fortunate to have Will Crutchfield.”

Of all the operas restored to life in this age of revivals, the most extensive and durable group has been the products of the  “bel canto” school—Gioacchino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini and the young Giuseppe Verdi. Between 1808 and 1850 these masters produced some 125 works of musical theater in a style that made Italian opera the world’s most popular art form.

Later, the shifting winds of taste swept all but about ten of these works from regular use. But beginning with the spectacular example of Maria Calla, and continuing with Marilyn Horne, Joan Sutherland and Beverly Sills, exciting artists have rediscovered the lapsed skills of bel canto singing and revealed dozens of masterpieces anew to modern audiences.

This summer, in celebration of Bel Canto at Caramoor’s  first decade, the Festival will feature opera as its centerpiece, with two performances of Verdi’s Il Trovatore and the world premiere of Ricordi’s new edition of Donizetti’s Linda di Chamounix. In addition, the Caramoor Bel Canto Young Artists will perform in concerts and recitals, and they will join members of the opera casts in a performance of Rossini’s final masterpiece, the Petite Msse Solonnelle.

La Traviata in the Venetian Theater, July 18, 2005

Caramoor's mission has always included the discovery and development of young talent. Similar to the Rising Stars program for instrumentalists, in 1998 Caramoor created a Bel Canto Soloists program (originally the Young Vocal Artists program) to nurture young vocalists. Singers are recruited at the advanced student/beginning professional level to staff the chorus of Festival opera productions, to fill various solo performances slots that arise in connection with the Festival, and to receive coaching in bel canto singing with a view to possible future participation in all aspects of Bel Canto at Caramoor.