An Art Form that Can Speak to Everyone
Washington, DC
David DiChiera is intricately tied to the city of Detroit, Michigan. Starting his academic career at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan---north of Detroit---DiChiera started the program Overture to Opera in 1963 to introduce audiences to opera by producing scenes in English. In 1971, he founded the Michigan Opera Theatre, the first opera company in the city. In 1996, he led the charge to find a permanent house for the opera, opening the Detroit Opera House.
But DiChiera didn?t want to just deliver operas to the community---he wanted the community to be engaged as well. In the following excerpt from this week's Art Works podcast, DiChiera talks about reaching out to the mostly African-American Detroit communit.
Hear the entire podcast of the interview with DiChiera, who will be honored tonight at the Kennedy Center as one of the 2010 NEA Opera Honors recipients.
