Opera & its artists wil be inducted by Music HOF
nation’s
most
notable
opera
profes-
sionals,
including
fellow
inductees
Cynthia
Lawrence
and Keith
Miller.
Senior Reporter
When the Colorado Music Hall of
Fame conducts its first-ever “Opera
in the High County” this summer,
the spotlight won’t solely shine
on the historic Central City Opera
(CCO). The HOF will also induct
several of the opera’s singer-pro-
fessionals and its late conductor/
music director during the June 29
ceremonies.
The Hall event, at its first “des-
tination” induction, will celebrate
the CCO’s history and three indi-
viduals who have helped contribute
to the organization’s success over
the years. They include Cynthia
Lawrence, Keith Miller and the late
John Moriarty.
Moriar-
ty passed
on Jan.
5, 2022,
at the
age of 91.
“While
much of
his pro-
fessional
career
was spent
at Cen-
tral City
Opera, his
impact on
the opera
industry is
far-reach-
ing,” said General/Artistic Direc-
tor Pelham “Pat” Pearce. “He was
an exceptional teacher and helped
develop the careers of some of the
most renowned opera performers.”
This winter Central City Opera House in tranquil, but come June 29 it will be the
place to be, because the Opera will be inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of
bachelor’s degree and an honorary
doctor of music from the New Eng-
land Conservatory of Music, Mori-
arty has two named opera scholar-
ships at the Conservancy: The John
Moriarty Presidential Scholarship
and the John Moriarty Encourage-
ment Award. In his adopted town
of Central City, the John Moriarty
Award of the Central City Opera is
named after him. He was also the
recipient of the National Opera
Association Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Moriarty’s first professional
opera position was with Santa Fe
Opera, where he also founded an
artist training program. He also
worked as the training director and
conductor at Wolf Trap Opera, in
addition to several other notable
opera companies. He led the opera
departments at the Boston Con-
servatory of Music and the New
England Conservatory. Among his
publications is the widely assigned
education instruction manual Dic-
tion . According to the CCO, train-
ing future opera stars was always
at the core of his work. Holding a
John Moriarty
Inductee photos courtesy CCO
John Moriarity
The late conductor/artistic direc-
tor for the CCO, Moriarty, created
the CCO’s Bonfils-Stanton Founda-
tion Artists Training Program in
1978. The program is considered a
national model for the professional
development of young singers. With
only 30 artists selected from 1,000
applicants yearly, the competitive
program has trained many of the
To honor his 30th anniversary
with Central City Opera, a street
next to the opera house in Central
City was renamed Moriarty Lane.
Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Miller is from one of Colorado’s
smallest towns, Ovid, with a
population of less than 300. A star
football player at the University of
Colorado Boulder, Miller went on
to play professional football before
shifting his career to opera. Once
an Apprentice Artist at Central City
Opera, Miller has had an impressive
musical career across the U.S., from
Colorado, where he served as the
Crested Butte Music Festival Opera
Director for six years to the iconic
Metropolitan Opera in New York
City. He performed in New York as
a principal artist for 18 years.
Cynthia Lawrence
Karen Radman, executive direc-
tor of the Hall, said, “Colorado
Music Hall of Fame is honored to
be presenting an opera-themed
induction class for the first time,
recognizing the important contribu-
tions that opera has made in music
while expanding to a new musical
genre for our inductees. Opera in
the High Country , focused around
the impressive and historic Central
City Opera and those whose careers
were influenced by it, also expands
The Hall of Fame’s reach into the
Colorado mountains and out of the
metro area. This June 29 event in
Central City will be the first of many
destination inductions that The Hall
plans to host statewide. With all
it has to offer, we really hope that
folks from across the state and out-
of-state tourists come out and cel-
ebrate opera with us in Central City
for a summer weekend this year.”
Cynthia Lawrence
Lawrence serves as the Endowed
Chair for Voice and Opera at the
University of Kentucky School of
Music. An alumna of the University
of Colorado Boulder, the soprano
became a principal artist with doz-
ens of opera companies across the
globe and in Colorado, including
Central City Opera, Colorado Opera
Festival and the Fort Collins Opera.
Boasting over 70 performances with
Maestro Luciano Pavarotti, Law-
rence has taken on some of opera’s
most iconic parts. As a dedicated
music educator, Lawrence con-
ducts Master Classes and serves as
a judge for the Metropolitan Opera
National Council Auditions.
