Annapolis Opera has provided professionally staged operas and concerts for the mid-Atlantic region for over 50 years.
RENOVATION UPDATES
MARYLAND HALL ENTERS THE NEXT PHASE OF ITS CAPITAL CAMPAIGN: ACT 3, THE HALL IS HOME!
Beginning May 28, 2025, and continuing through spring 2026, Maryland Hall will undergo a series of major renovations aimed at enhancing its spaces and improving the visitor experience. But don’t worry—the music doesn’t stop for us!
Mission
The mission of the Annapolis Opera Company is to be a cultural touchstone for the community, which delights audiences with musical storytelling; engages new audiences with diverse programming that inspires curiosity for opera; and attracts emerging artists.
Vision
The vision of the Annapolis Opera is to be recognized as a vital community cultural asset and partner; a valued source of knowledge and appreciation of opera as an art form; a vehicle for the development of emerging performing arts professionals; an innovative, inclusive and financially robust regional opera company.
History
In 1972 a group of artists from the Annapolis Summer Garden Theater Youth Group got together, giving birth to the Annapolis Opera Company. Their search to cast the title role for Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium led them to soprano Martha Wright, an active performer and producer, who turned down the role, but agreed to produce the company’s first opera and, more importantly for the future of Annapolis Opera, become its first president.
The Annapolis community supported the company from the outset. For the first seven years we used a variety of performance spaces including the U.S. Naval Academy, St. John’s College, Annapolis High School, and even the Hilton Hotel ballroom, before finding a permanent home in 1979 at Maryland Hall as its first resident company.
Maestro Ron Gretz became the first Annapolis Opera Artistic Director in 1983. He founded and taught at the opera workshop at the Community College of Baltimore County before joining the Baltimore Opera. His conducting debut was in 1964 with Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Telephone. He conducted Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus in 1982 for Annapolis Opera and the following year became its Artistic Director.
In the earlier years, Annapolis Opera benefited tremendously from the leadership of Maestro Gretz and stage director, Braxton Peters. The company’s outreach into the Annapolis community provided educational programming for all ages including children’s operas and lectures. The Annual Vocal Competition, established in 1988, is a recognized steppingstone for young artists. Maestro Gretz retired in 2020 after serving as the Artistic Director of the Annapolis Opera for 37 years.
In 2020, Maestro Craig Kier was appointed Artistic and Music Director of the Annapolis Opera, continuing the legacy of Maestro Gretz. He also continued his work as the Director of the Maryland Opera Studio, a position he’s held since 2014. Maestro Kier’s conducting highlights include productions with San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, Wolf Trap Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Houston Ballet, the Brevard Music Center’s Janiec Opera Company, Anchorage Opera, Indianapolis Opera, and Opera Saratoga. He also served on the music staffs of the Seattle Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Atlanta Opera, Opera Colorado, and Des Moines Metro Opera.
In September 2023 Kier was appointed the new director of Arts for All at the University of Maryland. As director of Arts for All, Kier is responsible for raising the visibility of the arts disciplines at UMD (including music, theater, dance, visual art, creative writing, and design), expanding student access and engagement with arts programming, growing innovative partnerships with science and technology disciplines across campus and building community connections that utilize the arts to promote equity and justice.
Today, Maestro Kier continues his tenure with Annapolis Opera bringing both traditional and new cutting-edge productions to the stage.