N.O. Opera Announces Executive Leadership Changes

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Opera Association’s board of directors recently voted on changes to the organization’s executive leadership, as well as new appointments to the board of directors and advisory board. 

Clare Burovac, who originally joined NOOA last summer as general director designate and then general director in September 2020, was appointed general and artistic director effective July 1, 2021. In honor of his more than 23 years of service and dedication to the organization, Maestro Robert Lyall was named general director emeritus, also effective July 1, 2021. The association is planning a celebration on Sept. 25 to honor Lyall. Tickets will be available through the box office in August 2021. 

Ron Austin, Edgar “Dooky” Chase, III, Tim Fields and Elizabeth Mahorner Landis were all newly appointed to the board of directors. Board president Dwayne Littauer will be serving a second one-year term this season with Pauline Hardin as secretary, and with the rest of the elected officers remaining the same. New advisory board members are Melissa Hess and Georges Daou.  

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“I am honored to serve a second year as Board President of such an inspiring and steadfast organization,” Littauer said. “The New Orleans Opera is essential to the cultural framework of this city, and we – the staff, board of directors and the board of advisors – are all committed to ensuring that our beloved community has access to this artform we so dearly love.”    

The Opera will return to the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts this season with Act One of Wagner’s Die Walküre, in collaboration with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto; a Gala Concert of operatic favorites, including some of the world’s greatest opera choruses sung by the New Orleans Opera Chorus conducted by Maestro Lyall; and Puccini’s La Bohème, conducted by the Metropolitan Opera’s Joseph Colaneri. Josephine, Tom Cipullo’s much heralded celebration of the iconic Josephine Baker, will enjoy its southeastern premiere in 2022 at the Marigny Opera House. 

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