OPERATAMPA
Robin Stamper is the newly
appointed artistic director
for Opera Tampa.
Aida with Michelle Johnson as
Aida will be at the Straz Center in
Tampa on April 24th and 26th.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 63
“When we introduced grand opera at The Straz, we
knew we wanted to work with what audiences who
may not be familiar with opera already knew and
loved, which was Broadway,” says Lisi. “The first year
we started with Madama Butterfly; the second year Rent
was on our Broadway season so, naturally, we staged
La bohème, the inspiration for Jonathan Larson’s hit
musical. Our original plan was to put up one opera
a season, but we quickly found out we had a strong
audience for the art form here. Before we knew it,
we were staging three huge productions per season.”
Over the years, Opera Tampa has drawn
internationally renowned singers to Morsani Hall in
the Straz Center to portray the towering characters
that populate the opera canon. For the past quarter of a
century, the company breathed life into the masterworks