Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Knoxville Opera


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. No consensus to delete; consensus to Keep per RS from, which was unchallenged and was upheld (non-admin closure) Britishfinance (talk) 11:12, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

Knoxville Opera

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None of the sources here are on the company itself, only the people that worked with the company. Many of these sources are not from reliable independent coverage. There is no clear assertion of notability. Transcendence (talk) 22:32, 4 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Keep - Independent, national coverage has been added. A simple Google search reveals that threshold of notoriety is easily met - this is a major regional non-profit arts presenter in their 40th consecutive season.  Countless articles in local/regional (Eastern Tennessee) journals.  Article not perfect, but rather than nominate for delete, why not improve?  Sbjoiner1 (talk) 04:42, 4 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Companies-related deletion discussions. Shellwood (talk) 22:34, 4 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Tennessee-related deletion discussions. Shellwood (talk) 22:34, 4 November 2019 (UTC)

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.      <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> <li></li> </ol>

<ol> <li> The article notes: "In the 20th century the city became the home of the Knoxville Opera. Founded in 1976, the company gave its first four seasons at the Bijou Theatre (800 seats) in downtown Knoxville. In 1979 it moved into the larger Tennessee Theater (1550 seats), a 1929 movie palace that had been restored in 1969, its shallow vaudeville stage deepened and orchestra pit enlarged. In 1982 Robert Lyall was appointed general director, artistic director and conductor. In 1986 the production of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah was televised for the Tennessee celebration of Appalachian culture. In 1989 the company presented a world première: Rachel by Kenton Coe, the state composer laureate. In 1991 the company moved into the Civic Theatre (2500 seats)."</li> <li> The book notes: "KNOXVILLE. Knoxville. Opera. Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata inaugurated the Knoxville Opera in October, 1978, at the Bijou Theater. Verdi's great middle-period work was the sole offering of the inaugural season. The Knoxville Opera was incorporated in 1976 with the assistance of the Knoxville Council of Arts. The second season expanded to two offerings with further expansion to three operas taking place during the sixth season. The first opera of that season, Johann Straub's Die Fledermaus, marked the company's final presentation at the Bijou Theater. The double-bill of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo's I pagliacci celebrated the company's move into its new home, the Tennessee Theater. The company witnessed its first world premier, Kenton Coe's Rachel with Stella Zambalis and John Stevens, on April 7, 1989. The casts feature both up-and-coming and established singers in the lead roles, supported by local talent. The three-opera season offers traditional works in a stagione system. Recent productions include Straufi's Die Fledermaus and Puccini's Tosca. The company performs in the 1,539-seat Tennessee Theater. Practical Information. The Tennessee Theater is at 604 South Gay Street. Tickets can be purchased at the Knoxville Opera offices at 602 South Gay Street."</li> <li> The book notes: "Knoxville: Knoxville Opera, founded in 1978, presents its productions in the Tennessee Theater. It premiered Kenton Coe's Rachel, libretto by Anne Howard Bailey about Rachel and Andrew Jackson, on April 7, 1989. Other American productions include Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, Mitch Leigh's Man of La Mancha, Meredith Willson's The Music Man, Frederick Loewe's My Fair Lady and Richard Rodgers' Oklahoma, The Sound of Music and South Pacific."</li> <li> The book notes: The Knoxville Civic Opera Company was created in 1976 and gave its first performance of La Traviata, with nationally known Tennessee native soprano Mary Costa, in 1978. Since 1978, the company has mounted over fifty productions. Since 1988, educational programs have reached over sixty thousand people, primarily students, and have introduced opera as an art form using the Knoxville Opera Studio Apprentices.</li> <li> The book notes on page 355: "The Knoxville Opera (www.knoxvilleopera.com) offers four performances annually at the Tennessee Theatre in downtown Knoxville. The opera also organizes the Rossini Festival, an Italian street fair, every spring." The book notes on page 357: "In April, the Knoxville Opera organizes the Rossini Festival (www.rossinifestival.org), an Italian street fair that takes place on Gay Street and at Market Square Mall in downtown Knoxville. Special wine tastings, opera performances, and European music combines with a vibrant street fair with a pronounced Mediterranean theme."</li> <li> The book notes: "The Knoxville Opera Company produces four performances a year, including operas, concerts and musicals, accompanied by the Knoxville Symphony, in bboth the Tennessee Theatre and the Knoxville Civic Auditorium."</li> <li> The book notes: "The Knoxville Opera Company regularly presents nationally and internationally known stars in guest appearances."</li> <li> The book notes: "The Knoxville Opera Company (865/524-0795) sponsors New York Metropolitan Opera competitions each year, along with two locally produced operatic performances. The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (865/523-1178) presents nearly 200 concerts a year, often with esteemed guest artists. The Knoxville Opera Company and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra both perform at the Bijou Theater Center (803 S. Gay St., 865/522-0832), which also stages seasonal ballet and plays."</li> <li> The article notes: "Love, tragedy and madness, wrapped in music, played across the Farragut Middle School gymnasium Wednesday as the Knoxville Opera came to the school. ... First eighth-graders and then sixth-graders climbed the school bleachers for the performances. The opera will perform this or other programs at 23 schools in six East Tennessee counties this month. Because of donations to the program, the performances are free to the schools. ... This is the eighth year of school outreach. Other selections have included 'Romeo and Juliet,' 'Cinderella' and 'Carmen.' ... Students don't walk into the gym unprepared. The opera sends participating schools a study guide about the work. The Farragut students spent a day talking about Lucia di Lammermoor's plot, about musical terms and how to enjoy a performance, said FMS Director of Choral Music Kimberly Mink."</li> <li> The article notes: "The Knoxville Opera Company will celebrate its 40th season with a gala concert next weekend. It will offer a veritable greatest hits of opera moments, some from the company’s past productions and some that music director and conductor Brian Salesky calls his “bucket list” — operas he would love to stage for Knoxville audiences. ... Contemporary opera stars Rochelle Bard, Catherine Daniel, Aaron Short and Scott Bearden will perform at the gala. Salesky will conduct the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra for selections such as Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, the Confrontation Scene from “Mary Queen of Scots,” and works by Puccini, Rossini, Verdi, Mozart, Bizet, Lehar, Offenbach and others. ... Even with such a legend involved, this single concert is just one among numerous highlights of the Knoxville Opera’s history. University of Tennessee voice professor Edward Zambara spearheaded a collaborative effort by community arts organizers to launch what was originally called the Knoxville Civic Opera Company with a production of “LaTraviata” in November of 1978. It starred Knoxville native and New York Metropolitan Opera icon Mary Costa as Violetta, one of her signature roles."</li> <li> The article notes: "t was 20 years ago. . . well, not today. But this coming weekend, the Knoxville Opera Company is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a Gala Concert showcasing some of the favorite stars and operas from previous seasons. The Gala Concert is at 8 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 17 and 19, at the Tennessee Theater. The emcee for the season finale concert will be opera legend Mary Costa. The Knoxville native starred in the Knoxville Opera Company's debut production in 1978. She sang Violetta in 'La Traviata,' her signature role. 'Brindisi,' the drinking song from the first act of 'Traviata,' will open the Gala Concert. The performance will end with another toast to toasting -- the champagne song from the finale of 'Die Fledermaus.'"</li> <li> The article notes: "That's the short book on Salesky, who skidded into town about the same time his predecessor, Frank Graffeo, announced his resignation. Graffeo resigned April 19. By the end of April, Salesky was hard at work planning the opera company's 2005-06 season -- a job normally done at least one year in advance, and usually more like two or three years. So there was no grace period for Salesky to knock around and get to know his new city. Instead, he disappeared into a corner office decorated to someone else's taste and laser-focused his mind on coming up with an artistic, engaging and saleable season for an opera company whose budget is $400,000 lower than the price tag for the season before. ... Salesky comes to Knoxville Opera at a time of restructuring. Last spring, the board committed itself to retiring the company's debt, a bill that had been mounting since Knoxville Opera debuted in 1978. The debt was at least $250,000 when the board cashed out the opera company's endowment and began a fund-raising campaign that has reduced the debt to about $60,000 in past payables from the 2004-05 season."</li> <li> The article notes: It's one of the anecdotes found in a new history of Knoxville Opera written by Peter Acly. The 64-page book was introduced at the Oct. 17 performance of "Turandot," which opened the opera company's 25th anniversary season. ... Acly, a professional writer and Knoxville Opera board member, interviewed more than 30 people, and pored through the opera company's extensive archives of clippings, reviews, programs, photos and posters, to tell the story of the company's first 25 years. </li> <li> The article notes: "The Knoxville Opera Company has a new arm - the East Tennessee Opera Guild. ... Fourteen years ago, when a group of opera buffs met to form the Knoxville Civic Opera Company, there were strong misgivings on the part of some. ... In 1982 - a big year for KOC - there was a move from the 900-seats in the Bijou to the Tennessee Theater where 1,530 opera goers could be accommodated.(It marked the beginning of a three-production season and a name change to+Knoxville Opera Company. Robert Lyall, who had joined the opera the season before as artistic director and conductor, became the general manager. ... Basking in great-crowd success, the opera has moved to four productions a+year - a theatrical production and concert in addition to two operas - and+again has outgrown its house. Last year, KOC moved to the Civic Auditorium+where there are sell-out audiences for the 2,400 seats, a larger orchestra pit, stage and more backstage space."</li> <li> The article notes: "But the big dogs must have their day eventually. And with the Aug. 7 passing of Ed Zambara, this seemed like a good time to Backstage the Knoxville Opera. Zambara was the founding artistic director of Knoxville Civic Opera, as it was called during its first years. ... Knoxville Civic Opera, incorporated in 1976, made its debut in 1978 with Verdi’s “La Traviata,” starring Knoxville-born diva Mary Costa. ... Zambara’s successor was his former assistant Robert Lyall. Lyall took Knoxville Opera fully professional, dropping “Civic” from the title in 1983. ... The debt was passed on to the next artistic director, Francis Graffeo. Knoxville Opera had lean years. Productions were scaled back. Emergency pleas for donations to “keep the doors open” were frequent. ... Graffeo exited in April 2005, the same month that Brian Salesky arrived hurriedly, planning a 2005-06 season on the fly. He has had a death grip on the Knoxville Opera Company’s budget ever since. Salesky does not like debt. He kills debt."</li> <li> The article is written by Michael Combs, a "professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee". The article notes: "You don’t even have to like opera to appreciate Knoxville opera. Even the causal observer can’t help but be impressed with the recent resurgence of the Knoxville Opera Co. Just a couple of years ago, Knoxville Opera was barely hanging on, but today, the company is operating in the black and is projecting a very rosy and exciting future of fi rst-class productions that are all locally produced. What a turnaround! ... Today, unlike many other nonprofi t arts organizations, Knoxville Opera is paying its bills because Salesky will not produce opera that the people of this community are not willing to support. While he has no shortage of artistic emotions, at the same time he is a stickler for the bottom line."</li> </ol>

There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Knoxville Opera to pass Notability, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". Cunard (talk) 09:01, 5 November 2019 (UTC)</li></ul>
 * Thanks! Please add relevant information and sources to the article. -- Ssilvers (talk) 22:54, 7 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Keep per sources added. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:26, 5 November 2019 (UTC)
 * <small class="delsort-notice">Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Theatre-related deletion discussions. Coolabahapple (talk) 12:02, 7 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Keep per WP:HEY, WP:BEFORE. Coverage of people who work with opera companies is coverage - even the Met Opera has guest stars. Bearian (talk) 21:36, 7 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep per WP:GNG RockingGeo (talk) 09:20, 10 November 2019 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. <b style="color:red">Please do not modify it.</b> Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.