About
About Harlem Opera Theater
Under Artistic Director, Gregory Hopkins, internationally acclaimed tenor, conductor, organist and pianist, Harlem Opera Theater performances include all types of musical offerings: opera, oratory concerts, recitals, Negro Spirituals and varied forms of American music, in keeping with our mission “to provide performance opportunities for professional and developing gifted artists within Harlem and communities where opera is seldom performed; and to cultivate and expand audience appreciation for opera and classical music through creative programming.” Particular focus is given to the works of African-American composers and to projects that link different aspects of the performing arts.
Our History and Achievements
The mission of Harlem Opera Theater is to provide performance opportunities for gifted professional and developing singers, as well as other musicians of exceptional potential for an operatic career in local, national, and international forums. The organization develops an audience for the classical art form in underserved communities where opera is seldom heard.
Founded in 2001 under the leadership of Dr. Gregory Hopkins, Artistic Director, as a non-profit corporation, the concert season includes a Salute to Black History Month in February, celebrating Spirituals by African American composers such as Harry T. Burleigh, Father of the Spiritual Arrangement, Hall Johnson and Margaret Bonds; also, selections from operas of classical composers, Giuseppe Verdi, Gaetano Donizetti, and Scott Joplin. We present concerts, recitals, and new initiatives; we collaborate with other organizations to present new artists throughout the year and host a Community Holiday Sing in December. We have hosted a master class for artists and a community focus group session with Harlem stakeholders. We develop the audience and potential artists of the future as we present “Opera for Beginners”, a music literacy project to enrich the lives of children through in-school performances in the NYC Public Schools; charter schools, and after school programs, such as the Northside Center. Harlem Opera Theater has presented approximately 150 classical singers in concert to a combined audience of over 15,000 patrons of the arts.
Our Performances
Through partnerships with other organizations, we have appeared at the United Nations and the Manhattan School of Music; presented an opera series at the Faison Firehouse Theater; George Gershwin’s opera “Blue Monday” at the Cotton Club in Harlem and the H. L. Freeman Opera “Voodoo” at Miller Theatre, Columbia University; a first since 1928, to sold-out audiences. We have presented a tribute to Sylvia Olden Lee, master musician, and accompanist; the first African-American vocal coach hired by the Metropolitan Opera, who toured with Paul Robeson; Ms. Lee was vocal coach to Marian Anderson and influenced the decision to have Marian Anderson sing on stage of the MET; also, a Centennial Tribute to Sylvia Olden Lee at Carnegie Hall. Our Salute to Black History Month was held for fifteen consecutive years at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. A tribute to the 145th Anniversary of the life and work of John Rosamond Johnson, composer of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, the words were written by his brother James Weldon Johnson, civil rights activist; the song has been dedicated as the Negro National Anthem. Holiday Community Sing Concerts have been held at The Studio Museum in Harlem and the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum. Harlem Opera Theater’s presentations include a Vocal Competition for classical singers; 18-35 years of age. Most recently, the Harlem Classical Music Celebration was formed with Opera Ebony, Three on 3 Presents, Opera Noire of New York, The Harlem Chamber Players, and Harlem Opera Theater; this annual Celebration begins with a symposium of visiting lecturers followed by member concerts throughout the month of February. Our goal is to add opera to the “CultureScape of Harlem.
Artistic Director, Dr. Gregory Hopkins
Gregory Henry Hopkins is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in voice from Temple University, Master’s Degree in opera from Curtis Institute of Music, and doctoral degree in music from Belford University. He is the winner of top prizes in the Busseto Verdi Competition and the Mantova International Vocal Competition, both in Italy, the Dealy Award, and the Opera Index Grant.
Dr. Hopkins has sung the role of Othello with the Metropolitan Opera Education Department. He has sung the Manzoni Requiem by Verdi with the Orchestras of Anchorage, Alaska; Chicago Illinois; Honolulu; Washington, DC; the New York Choral Society; and The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia. Performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony have been performed with The Baltimore Symphony, the Symphony in Bogota, Colombia, and the New Haven Symphony. Professor Hopkins has sung Orff’s “Carmina Burana” with the Colorado Symphony and with The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater where he also was a featured soloist in “Revelations”. For Eve Queler’s Opera Orchestra of New York, Professor Hopkins has sung “I Vespri Siciliani” and “La Battaglia di Legnano”, both by Verdi; “Il Pirata” (Bellini), “Joan of Arc” (Tchaikovsky), and “Robert le Diable” (Meyerbeer). With New York City Opera, Dr. Hopkins debuted in “Die Soldaten” (Zimmerman) with subsequent performances in “Turandot” (Puccini); “Dr. Faust”, (Busoni), and “The Mother of Three Sons” (Jenkins). Other Operatic performances include: “La Donna del Lago”(Rossini) with The Arizona Opera; “The Prodigal Son” and “Curlew River”, both by Britten in Venice, Italy; and Idomeneo” (Mozart) in Geneva, Switzerland; also “Nabucco” by Verdi with the Queens Choral Society and Opera Ebony.
Additional performances with Opera Ebony and Opera North include: “Lo Schiavo” (Gomes), “Madame Butterfly” and “La Bohème” both by Puccini; and “La Traviata” and “Aida” both by Verdi. With the Five Colleges Orchestra, Professor Hopkins has performed: “Tosca” (Puccini) and Cavalleria Rusticana” (Mascagni) along with “The Barber of Seville” (Rossini) in Martinique. He has sung Undine Moore’s “Scenes in the Life of a Martyr”, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony.
He has performed the title role in “The Ordering of Moses” with the National Symphony and “I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes”, by Hailstork, with the Atlanta Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Berkshire Choral Festival, Baltimore Symphony, and Chattanooga Symphony. Additionally, Greg has performed, also by Hailstork, “Done Paid My Vow” with the Long Island Philharmonic, and the world premiere of “Deborah” (Schoenfield) with the Haifa Symphony in Israel and in the United States with the National Symphony in DC as part of the 50th Anniversary of Israel.This includes all the international performances of the Harlem Jubilee Singers, a choir affiliated with Harlem Opera Theater.
As a singer, pianist, organist, choral conductor, teacher, and clinician, Dr. Hopkins has traveled throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and The Middle East, with recent performances including The Cervantino Festival (Mexico), and festivals such as Umbria Jazz (Italy), Jazz a Vienne (France) and JazzVitoria (Spain).
Dr. Hopkins serves The National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses as Director of Performance Ministries; The Hampton University Minister’s Conference as Recital Co-Coordinator; and Gospel Music Workshop of America as Vocal Consultant to the Men’s Department. He has been twice privileged to prepare and present musicals for the National Baptist Convention’s annual sessions and was musical director for the NAACP’s Centennial Celebration. At Arkansas Baptist College’s EC Morris Institute he is Choral Clinician.
As an educator, he has served on the faculties of: Community College of Philadelphia; Morgan State University; Westminster Choir College, and NY Seminary of the East. Currently, he is Assistant Professor of Voice at Howard University in Washington.
For nearly a quarter of a century, he has been Minister of Music for Harlem’s Convent Avenue Baptist Church. He is also Artistic Director for Harlem Opera Theater and Music Director for the Harlem Jubilee Singers and Cocolo Japanese Choir.
Dr. Hopkins is a featured artist on five recordings: “Blue Monday” (Gershwin) and “Lost in the Stars” (Kurt Weill), a recording of Spirituals entitled “Amazing Grace” which he conducted, “the Gospel at Carnegie Hall” and “Done Paid My Vow”.
IN THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO, AFRICAN AMERICAN LEGENDS, GREGORY HOPKINS GIVES A DETAILED NARRATIVE ABOUT HARLEM OPERA THEATER AND BLACKS IN OPERA.
Harlem Opera Theater | Board of Directors
Edwina Meyers-Lynch, Founding Member | President
Gregory Hopkins, Founding Member | Artistic Director
Carol Brown, Founding Member | Secretary
Members:
Jeffrey Colvin
Twila Perry
Arturo Carvajal, International Coordinator
In Memoriam
Barbara Conrad, Mezzo Soprano, Founding Member
Patricia Sage, Pianist, Founding Member
