An aria for ambition
Paul Groves has an idea for elevating opera in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge can support a vibrant opera company. Paul Groves believes that, and he is putting the theory to an early test.
Why it matters: Cities such as Omaha and Pensacola have built strong opera audiences. Groves, the new artistic director of Opera Louisiane, thinks Baton Rouge can do the same if the company aims high.
The first move: Opera Louisiane will stage Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly for one night only on Saturday, April 11, at the River Center Theatre.
Groves is not easing into the job. He has chosen one of the best-known operas in the repertory, betting that audience growth starts with work people recognize and a production that feels worth leaving home for.
About Groves: He is a Lake Charles native, LSU School of Music graduate and tenor who spent four decades singing at the highest level of opera.
His career included winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and performing on international stages. Now he is back at LSU as a teacher and has taken over Opera Louisiane after first being asked for advice on how to grow the audience.
His conclusion: better to do the work himself. “I decided that I can’t tell them what to do. Better that I run the company,” said Groves, 61. “I’ve had such an incredible career and been so fortunate. It’s my turn to give back.”
What his plan looks like: Start with productions that feel generous and ambitious.
That means visual richness. The Madama Butterfly costumes first appeared in Paris. It also means taking a risk on young singers with promise. The lead is soprano Teresa Perrotta, winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2023 Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition Grand Finals. She made her Met debut last season.
In Baton Rouge, she will sing Cio-Cio-San for the first time in her career. That gives Opera Louisiane a useful angle: audiences here will see a rising international singer take on one of opera’s most demanding and beloved roles for the first time.
“She will be very famous for this role, and her first performance of it will be here,” Groves said.
Bottom line: Paul Groves is wagering that Baton Rouge, if offered something generous and exacting, will answer with applause. If he is right, the city may gain not simply a successful evening, but an institution of art that makes daily life feel a little larger.
