City opera celebrates talent despite bankruptcy

Less than five months into bankruptcy, the New York City Opera’s orchestral musicians and singers, dubbed the “City Opera Family,” are coming together Friday to hold a concert to celebrate the company’s 70th anniversary.

“The company means the world to them,” said K.C. Boyle, a spokesman for the event. “We see this as a continuation of the legacy.”

The concert, titled “70 Years of the People’s Opera,” will include performances by famed tenor Plácido Domingo, Lauren Flanigan, Joélle Harvey, Tonna Miller and other NYCO alum together with the New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus.

“I grew up around these people professionally,” said Sidney Outlaw, slated to perform in Anthony Davis’ “The Life and Times of Malcolm X.”

The first portion of the program will include pieces performed during the company’s inaugural season in 1944. The second portion will feature the American operas performed throughout the company’s history.

The night ends with the finale of “Candide,” “Make Our Garden Grow,” which has become a theme song of sorts for City Opera.

New York City Opera went out of business in October after an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign to keep it alive, and Outlaw said the performers put a lot of time into the show to give fans a big thank you. Organizers said they hope it will spur new interest in opera in the Big Apple.

“Many of us who worked at City Opera have great hopes that the phoenix will rise from the ashes,” said Cori Ellison, the show’s director of artists and repertoire. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. this Friday. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at nycitycenter.org.