July 20, 2007

2 Universities Produce New Operas; When a Tree Falls at Iowa State, Students Make Art; Open-Piano Ensemble Entertains at Colorado College

By SARA LIPKA

Ken Cazan will not stand by while the opera-going crowd grows old and dies. The resident stage director of the University of Southern California's Thornton Opera says that for the art form to attract new audiences, producers and performers must present bold new works. Educational institutions, he says, are often better poised than professional companies to take those risks.

While many big opera companies worry about the bottom line and the traditional sensibilities of their boards,