Nickel City Opera

The Nickel City Opera (known as NC Opera Buffalo and NCO) is an American opera company based in Buffalo, New York. Founded in 2004 by Valerian Ruminski, the opera company has commissioned operas and has staged world premieres of notable works. The company's music director was Matthias Manasi from 2017 to 2021. The NCO collaborates with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, producing a wide range of works, from 18th-century Baroque and 19th-century Bel canto to the Minimalism of the 20th century and to contemporary operas of the 20th and 21st centuries. These operas are presented in staged productions that range in style from those with elaborate traditional decors to others that feature modern conceptual designs.

The NCO is based at the 3,019-seat Shea's Performing Arts Center in the Buffalo Theatre District of downtown Buffalo. Shea's Performing Arts Center was designed by the well-known Chicago firm Rapp and Rapp. The opera house was modeled in the style of European operahouses and decorated in a combination of French and Spanish Baroque and Rococo styles. The interior design was designed by the world-renowned designer and artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, and many of its elements are still there today. Originally there were nearly 4,000 seats, but in the 1930s the number of seats was reduced to the current number of 3,019 seats last but not least to increase the place for the orchestra by increasing the size of the orchestra pit.

The NCO also performs at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, at the Nichols Flickinger Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, at the Artpark Mainstage Theatre and the Artpark Amphitheatre at the Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park located on the Niagara Gorge in Lewiston.

History
The NCO was founded in 2004, and produced Rossini's The Barber of Seville, its first opera in June 2009 at the Riviera Theatre. The following year, 2010, saw a production of Rigoletto.

The NCO has today a repertory of more than 25 operas, including Il trovatore, La Bohème, Don Pasquale,  La fille du régiment, Rigoletto, Tosca, Carmen, I Pagliacci, Il tabarro, Der Schauspieldirektor,  Le Nozze di Figaro,  La Traviata, The Barber of Seville, and The Music Shop by Richard Wargo.

Singers such as Adam Klein (tenor), Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs, Victoria Livengood, Eduardo Villa, Ray Chenez, James Wright, John Packard, Zulimar López-Hernández,  Marc Freiman,  Michele Capalbo, Eric Fenell, David MacAdam and Marieterese Magisano have performed in NCO's productions.

In 2010 the NCO presented Gian Carlo Menotti's Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors at the Riviera Theatre, and repeated it for four more years at the Riviera Theatre and in the Westminster Presbyterian Church (Buffalo, New York).

In 2011, as a special cultural event, the NCO presented a production of Il tabarro by Giacomo Puccini, directed by Henry Akina on board the United States Navy warship USS The Sullivans (DD-537), a decommissioned Fletcher-class destroyer and one of Buffalo's landmarks, which serves as a museum ship and is anchored at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York. The USS The Sullivans (DD-537) served as an integral part of the staging.

In 2017, Matthias Manasi conducted a production of Der Schauspieldirektor by Mozart, with particular attention to historically informed performance practice which was particularly appreciated by critics.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCO was unable to produce opera at Shea's Performing Arts Center as of March 2020. A production of Aida planned for August 7 to 29, 2021 at Artpark at Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

In June 2023 the NCO reprised its inaugural production of Il barbiere di Siviglia at Nichols Flickinger Performing Arts Center and traveled to Gowanda, NY to present it at the newly restored, historic Hollywood Theater.

International stage directors at the NCO include David Grabarkewitz, who directed New York City Opera's Emmy Award-winning production of Madama Butterfly for Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in 2008 and Marc Verzatt, awarded Outstanding Stage Director of 2006 by 'Classical Singer' magazine.

Opera America Service Award
In May 2017 Opera America awarded the NCO and Valerian Ruminski, artistic director of the NCO its annual Service Award which recognizes those who "promote opera in their communities and work tirelessly to ensure the highest possible artistic quality and community service." In the ceremony held in Dallas, Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of Opera America said, "On behalf of the staff and membership of Opera America, please accept my congratulations and thank you for your exceptional contribution to the field of opera."

World and U.S. premieres
In June 2016, the NCO produced the world premiere of SHOT! composed by Persis Vehar with libretto by Gabrielle Vehar, about the assassination of President McKinley, produced at Shea's Performing Arts Center, with Michael Ching, conductor and David Grabarkewitz, stage director. The role of President William McKinley was sung by Valerian Ruminski, the role of Ida McKinley was sung by Marieterese Magisano with John Packard as Leon Czolgosz, Michele Capalbo as Emma Goldman and Fred Furnari as Buffalo Police Superintendent Bull and a chorus of 40 singers with musicians of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. The sets re-created scenes from the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, with 40-foot projections of original 1901 Edison footage of the exposition, and rare historic photos.

In June 2021, the NCO collaborated with Sotto Voce Vocal Collective to present the world premiere of the opera The Second Sight by Jessie Downs, fully staged in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo.

Music directors / Principal conductors
Michael Ching was music director and principal conductor of the NCO from 2012 to 2017. He was succeeded by Matthias Manasi as music director and principal conductor of the NCO from 2017 to 2021. The NCO has also had famed guest conductors who are not listed here.
 * Michael Ching (music director 2012–2017)
 * Matthias Manasi (music director 2017–2021)

Stage directors
Stage directors of opera productions at the NCO include internationally known stage directors such as David Grabarkewitz, who directed the New York City Opera's production of Madama Butterfly for PBS which won an Emmy award in 2008. The stage director Marc Verzatt, who was awarded as the Outstanding Stage Director of the Year in 2006 by Classical Singer Magazine also directed opera productions at the NCO.

Venues
The NCO's main productions are staged at its main venue, the 3,300-seat Shea's Performing Arts Center in downtown Buffalo. Other venues include the 1,140-seat Riviera Theatre (North Tonawanda, New York), the 2,400-seat Artpark Mainstage Theatre and the 4,400-seat Artpark Amphitheatre at the Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park in Lewiston, New York and the 460-seat Nichols Flickinger Performing Arts Center in Buffalo.