Building Cav/Pag: A Labor of Love, Craft, and Community
As many of you know, my wife and I, together with a few colleagues, run a small but ambitious opera company called The Opera Collective. Although the company was originally founded in 2006, we assumed leadership around 2016. We began humbly, creating a website and establishing social media pages (aside from Facebook, which had already been created before we came along) and have since grown into a fully recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Today, we’re proud to have a residency and partnership with St. Jean Baptiste Church in New York City, along with an ongoing collaboration with the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Our work spans both underground and above ground, from intimate private events to public performances that bring opera directly to the community. And we’re only getting started. We’re committed to pushing further… much, much further.
Putting together our Opera company‘s recent gala production of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci this past November 4th, was one of the most demanding and fulfilling artistic projects I’ve ever been part of. It stretched all of us in ways we didn’t anticipate, and it reminded me how transformative collaboration can be when everyone pours their whole heart into the work. For me, this production meant stepping into roles far beyond my usual ones. I designed costumes for the first time; well, not exactly. I designed the concept for the costumes, as we had to work with clothing people already owned…for the most part. I also dove into PR and marketing to help ensure the story of what we were doing reached the people who needed to hear it. I spent late evenings learning new photography and video editing techniques to help capture our process and share its beauty (see the “trailers” I created for both operas below). It was more than just preparing for a show. It was learning, building, and growing in real time.
And I wasn’t alone. Every member of our company contributed something vital: time, artistry, care, resilience, and no small amount of humor and encouragement along the way. Each person who rehearsed, built, organized, advised, sang, or simply showed up with steady support made this production possible. The work was immense. And because we did it together, it was deeply rewarding.
Seeing everything come to life under the lights, costumes in motion, music resonating, stories unfolding with honesty and power, felt like a celebration not only of opera, but of what a committed community can accomplish.
I’m proud of this production. I’m even prouder of the people who made it real.
And the most exciting part? This is only the beginning. We’re already looking ahead to future performances with the same dedication, the same passion, and the same commitment to reaching for something exceptional, if not even higher.
Thank you to everyone who believed in this work. Thank you to those who gave their time, their talent, their hearts. We move forward with gratitude, momentum, and a shared sense of purpose.
Onward - JH
The Cast and crew of The Opera Collective’s incredible “Cav/Pag” production.