{{Short description|American non-profit opera company}} The '''Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra''' was a non-profit, professional opera company and orchestra founded under that name in 1993 and based in Stamford, Connecticut, in the United States. By uniting several organizations (including the Connecticut Grand Opera in Bridgeport and the Stamford Chamber Orchestra) under general director and conductor Laurence Gilgore, the opera company and orchestra came together as one organization.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/20/nyregion/opera-and-orchestra-in-merger-con-brio.html?scp=1&sq=Connecticut%20Grand%20Opera%20and%20Orchestra&st=cse Valerie Cruice, "Opera and Orchestra in Merger Con Brio", ''The New York Times'', 20 September 1992] Retrieved 29 January 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.operaonline.us/fortyfive_002.htm "Forty-five minutes to Broadway. . ." on OperaOnline.us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220074810/http://www.operaonline.us/fortyfive_002.htm |date=2016-12-20 }} Retrieved 29 January 2012</ref> The amalgamated company was often referred to as "CGO&O".

CGO&O was a member of OPERA America. It received critical praise from ''The New York Times'',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sherman |first=Robert |date=May 25, 1997 |title=Opera and Orchestra's Youth and Experience |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/25/nyregion/opera-and-orchestra-s-youth-and-experience.html |access-date=September 6, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> London's ''The Financial Times'',{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}, ''Opera News'',{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}, ''Opera'' magazine,{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} and ''The New Yorker''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}

The company presented three fully staged operas each year. In August 1985, under General Manager John Hiddlestone, it became the third American opera company ever to have been invited to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival, presenting Menotti's ''The Consul''. <ref>[http://friendsofleiththeatre.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/ Performances at the Leith Theatre, including those of the Edinburgh International Festival] on friendsofleiththeatre.wordpress.com. Retrieved 29 January 2012</ref>

Productions of the company spotlit such renowned artists as Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, Alessandra Marc, Peter Serkin, and Renée Fleming, as well as noted directors Arvin Brown and Tom O'Horgan.

According to Form 990 Tax forms, the company terminated non-profit activities in 2012.<ref>https://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2012/061/362/2012-061362686-08805957-9.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

==See also== *Connecticut Lyric Opera

==References== ;Notes {{reflist}} {{Primary sources|date=September 2009}}

==External links== *[http://friendsofleiththeatre.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/ Leith Theatre: Edinburgh International Festival] *[https://archive.today/20130415135011/http://www.operaamerica.org/applications/schedule/reports/basic.aspx?start=12/31/1990&end=12/31/2025&title=blank&company=3273 The range of productions presented from 1994 to 2008 on OPERA America's website] Retrieved 29 January 2012 *[http://www.laurencegilgore.com/BIOGRAPHY_LAURENCE_GILGORE.html Biography of CGO&O conductor Laurence Gilgore]{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} on laurencegilgore.com Retrieved 29 January 2012 *[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/25/nyregion/opera-and-orchestra-s-youth-and-experience.html Opera and Orchestra's Youth and Experience] on nytimes.com Retrieved 6 September 2024

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Category:American opera companies Category:Music of Connecticut Category:Culture of Stamford, Connecticut Category:1993 establishments in Connecticut Category:Musical groups established in 1993 Category:Performing arts in Connecticut

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