Traverse City already has theater companies, choral ensembles, and a symphony orchestra. In 2020, it’s getting its first opera company.

Traverse City Opera has officially organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is eyeing May for its first performances. By the end of the year, the company hopes to have mounted its first full opera production, grown its donor base, and established a firm foothold in the community.

For Lindsey Anderson, Traverse City Opera’s founder and executive director, bringing the operatic artform to northern Michigan is the realization of a long-held dream. Anderson, who currently serves as assistant director of admission, recruitment, and communications at Interlochen Center for the Arts, was born and raised locally. She didn’t have a musical background growing up and initially went to college to major in biology and pursue a career in medicine. Instead, her path led her to choral music and ultimately to opera, where she found success performing everywhere from Seattle Opera to the stage of Carnegie Hall. Eventually, the opera singer’s lifestyle – travel, auditions, and temporary engagements in different cities – began to wear on her.

“I love opera so much, and I love to travel, but there's no place like Traverse City,” Anderson says. “I wanted to come home and be near my family, and I couldn't fight that yearning to come back to Michigan. City living can get tiring, no matter how much you can love your artform. I would rather love my artform and bring it to my community.”

In 2017, during a performance stint in Germany, Anderson made the decision to move back to Michigan and put down roots. She shared her plan – and her vision for Traverse City Opera – with fellow opera singer Kathleen Shelton. Shelton, though not a Michigan native, was drawn to the idea – to the point that she became Traverse City Opera’s co-founder and artistic director.

“It was when Lindsey came back to Michigan and was living in Traverse City that she saw how well an opera company would do here,” Shelton explains. “She saw the capability and potential for a company to not only exist here, but to thrive here. That's not something we would say of every city. The potential for an opera company to succeed is probably low in most places. I'm from a small town in Texas, and I can say an opera company would absolutely not survive there. But the culture of Traverse City is a little unique. Though it's not such a large city, it has people who are already supporting an artistic life. The arts already thrive here.”

Anderson and Shelton plan to put their concept to the test this year. Traverse City Opera will host its first official event on Saturday, May 2: an “inaugural benefit gala” at Kirkbride Hall at the Grand Traverse Commons. The gala will feature dinner, performances, and benefit opportunities. From there, Shelton says the first phase of Traverse City Opera will revolve around relatively intimate and casual events, including performances at area art galleries or churches, “chat and sing” events at local bars or speakeasies, and even private events in people’s homes.

Traverse City Opera’s first year is tentatively set to culminate in the presentation of the company’s first full-fledged opera production. “We know it’s a big goal,” Shelton says of the ambitious timeline. “We have a lot of work to do to make it happen. But I knew I didn't want us to make this announcement and say we're an opera company and then have Traverse City wait a year or two for our first opera, because that happens [with some opera companies]. I wanted us to say: ‘We're an opera company, and we're not just going to give you concerts, we're going to give you operas.’”

Ultimately, Traverse City Opera hopes to establish a season that includes three full operas per year, presented at a mix of venues around town. When those operas do happen, Anderson and Shelton say they will incorporate a mix of local talent with professional singers from around the world. “We have a wide network of contacts from our careers in the industry that will allow us to bring world-class talent to the area, but we’re also open to auditions of local singers who have a background in classical performance,” Anderson says.

Shelton adds that a local “audition day” will be scheduled later this year to recruit local singers, noting that one of the five-year goals for the organization is to put together a consistent “opera chorus” made up primarily of locals.

In the meantime, Traverse City Opera is working to establish its donor base. Hanna Brammer, a professional opera singer and a 2007 graduate of Traverse City West Senior High School, will handle donor relations, which Anderson says will be a crucial piece of the organization and its mission.

“We want to get to know people,” Anderson tells The Ticker. “We want to serve their desires of having art in this community and find out how they want it to look. When people donate to Traverse City Opera, we want them to know that it's not going to be strictly transactional. We want to build a relationship with them.”