Press Contact: Jan Fluitt-Dupuy
406-671-2214
jfluittdupuy@rimrockopera.org

For Immediate Release:


Rimrock Opera Announces its Participation in NEA’s Military Base Tour of Opera and Broadway Music

“Great American Voices Military Base Tour: Unforgettable Melodies from Opera & Broadway” provides military families with high quality performances and educational activities”

Malmstrom Air Force Base, Great Falls MT -- Rimrock Opera announces its selection to tour Malmstrom Air Force Base October 20 and 21, 2005 as a part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ national initiative, The Great American Voices Military Base Tour: Unforgettable Melodies from Opera & Broadway, that celebrates the best of American arts by bringing professional performances of opera and musical theater to military installations nationwide.

More than 20 professional opera companies have been selected including the prestigious Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, and Washington National Opera. These companies will tour over 39 military bases including Minot and Grand Forks Air Force Bases in North Dakota, and F.E. Warren AFB in Cheyenne Wyoming. The tour runs from October 2005 through August 2006.

This tour is presented in coordination with the Department of Defense and OPERA America. Great American Voices Military Base Tour is made possible by The Boeing Company.

The Malmstrom Tour

Rimrock Opera’s performance in Great Falls will feature internationally renowned singers soprano Christina Major and tenor Joseph Muir. Both will already be in Montana, rehearsing Rimrock Opera’s October 28th and 30th production of La Traviata at the Alberta Bair Theater. Montana artists mezzo-soprano Heidi Rae Kalina, baritone Douglas Nagel, and accompanist Sandi Rabas round out the touring troupe.

Their program will feature selections from popular operas such as Bizet’s Carmen and Mozart’s Don Giovanni, as well as highlights from classic American musicals including Andrew Lloyd-Webbers’s Phantom of the Opera. Performances will be offered at no cost to the base or to audience members.

In addition to evening performances, the artists will conduct visits to Malmstrom’s Youth Center and pre-concert briefings to familiarize youth and adults with these musical genres. The NEA also has produced a compact disc with opera and Broadway excerpts and commentary, to be distributed to classrooms and audience members.

“We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to perform in a new part of Montana and introduce military families to the fun of opera,” said Jan Fluitt-Dupuy, Rimrock Opera’s Interim Executive Director. “We’re honored to be chosen by the NEA to be a part of such a fine group of opera companies. It’s quite a coup for us.”

Great American Voices tour schedule

Locations for Great American Voices Military Base Tour are subject to change. For the latest tour information and sample educational materials, visit www.greatamericanvoices.org

About Boeing

Boeing is the world's leading aerospace company and the largest combined manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft. With additional capabilities in rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems, the company's reach extends to customers in 145 countries. In terms of sales, Boeing is one of the largest U.S. exporters.

About The National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts – both new and established – bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.

Rimrock Opera’s fall opera production of La Traviata will be performed Friday October 28 and Sunday October 30, 2005at the Alberta Bair Theater in Billings, Montana. Call 256-6052 for tickets. For more information about the panel discussion and other Rimrock Opera events, call 671-2214 or visit www.rimrockopera.org.