New Opera Thriving

We were very pleased to hear of the success of Robert Strassburg’s new opera “Congo Square” (“A Tasty Morsel of Things to Come in Opera,” by Josef Woodard, Dec. 7).

Woodard, who wrote that this is “an age where new American opera is almost unthinkable,” might be interested to learn that there are 20 world premieres of American works scheduled for 1998-99, among them San Francisco Opera’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” and our own “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” which debuted Wednesday. These statistics come from OPERA America, the international service organization for opera.

Opera is very much a living art form that continues to take artistic risks and offer fresh insights to a new generation of listeners.

PETER HEMMINGS

General Director, L.A. Opera