The Opera Company of Middlebury (OCM) hired Robin Allen LaPlante as their new Managing Director in August. The organization is taking this change in leadership as an opportunity to reflect on their progress and goals after 20 years of programming and productions in Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater. While Middlebury is rarely the locale that comes to mind when one thinks of the opera — an art form usually associated with bustling cities such as New York and Vienna — OCM has managed to create opportunities for the local community to enjoy and appreciate its value.
LaPlante comes to OCM after a 20-year career dedicated to art and music. After working for a variety of organizations including NPR’s From the Top, Boston Center for the Arts, Highland Center for the Arts, Circus Smirkus and Vermont Youth Orchestra, she became a consultant working with arts and education nonprofits to create and perfect marketing and fundraising strategies.
When the Managing Director position opened up, LaPlante saw an opportunity to dig into another arts organization and share the story of the impact of their programming with engaged audiences.
“It’s an amazing collaborative team with a lot of passion for the programs and the work that we are doing,” she said. “My role is to take that passion and focus it.”
Founded in 2004 by artists Douglas Anderson, Carol Christensen, Beth Thompson, Meredith Parsons McComb and Greg Vitercik, OCM has enjoyed 20 years of fantastic productions held in Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater. They began as a small operation but have since expanded both their performance schedule and community outreach programs. OCM has received commendation from prestigious publications, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Opera News.
Mary Longey, Executive Producer of OCM, described the growth of the program to The Campus.
“We kind of just did it a step at a time,” Longey said. “We did one opera in May and June, and a few years later we added a fall opera and then we added the Young Artist Program. We have now merged with the Youth Opera Company of Vermont, so we have really grown.”
OCM has put effort into educating and enriching young minds in the community surrounding Middlebury, especially after merging with the Youth Opera Company (YOC). The YOC offers a plethora of opportunities and events for young singers by partnering with schools, offering training programs and creating singing-centered community service opportunities.
The Company provides a variety of programs in order to accomplish their goal, including their Young Artists Program and Opera Under 26. The Young Artists program provides a travel and housing stipend for young singers and pianists to hone their skills under instruction from OCM faculty, while Opera Under 26 allows people under 26 to attend OCM’s performances for free.
LaPlante believes that OCM stands out amongst other programs, as it works to involve its audience in the inner workings of the opera.
“One of the things that I think is so unique about the organization is that it provides an opportunity to really get up close and personal because it's such an intimate space,” LaPlante said. “You are really able to see every bit of the energy from these performers, every bit of their reaction, every part of the production. As an organization, we are constantly finding ways to bring in our audience closer and give them opportunities to meet these singers that are from all around the country.”
“There’s this legacy, this history, of creating these amazing productions in Middlebury that the community has come to love and is part of the fabric,” Laplanete said. “With the organization bringing in these educational programs like the Youth Opera Company as well as continuing the Young Artists Programs, there is opportunity to build and engage more people in the region.”
In alignment with the work being done by the Opera Company at Middlebury, LaPlante mentions her experience working with youth as a highlight of her career.
“What's important to me about that kind of work, working with youth in arts, is that focus on the future of art audiences and art performances, and what it looks like as we move forward. The arts hold a mirror to our culture and our society,” noted LaPlante.
Middlebury students are able to be a part of OCM’s Opera Under 26 program by attending the upcoming production of Scalia/Ginsburg, taking place from Oct. 4–6. The piece explores the friendship between Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Gindeburg and Anton Scalia.
