Roberto Kalb will conduct Opera Maine’s “The Magic Flute.” Photo by Jennifer Ilene
Less than a week after severing ties with the conductor of its July production because of sexual harassment allegations against him, Opera Maine has hired a replacement.
Roberto Kalb, who is resident conductor and head of music at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, will replace Stephen Lord as conductor of Opera Maine’s production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” the organization said Wednesday. Performances are scheduled for July 24 and 26 at Merrill Auditorium and rehearsals are scheduled to begin Monday.
Peter Plumb, one of Opera Maine’s founders and the group’s general counsel, said Kalb is one of the rising stars in opera and his addition to the production will create a buzz among opera fans.
“Frankly, I think we lucked out with this fellow,” Plumb said. “The musicians and artists are excited to work with him. He has significant experience, and he knows this opera.”
Opera Maine announced it was cutting ties with Lord on June 20 after he had resigned from two other opera groups because of allegations that he had used his position over the years to request sexual favors. The allegations, based on emails and interviews with some two dozen people, were reported June 18 by the Minnesota-based Twin Cities Arts Reader. Within two days, Lord had resigned from positions at Michigan Opera Theatre and at Opera Theatre of St. Louis.
He was not a staff member of Opera Maine, but was hired as an independent contractor. Opera Maine officials said in a statement last week they were “saddened” by the allegations against Lord and that the Maine company had never received a complaint of sexual harassment against him.
Lord, a Massachusetts native who has spent more than 40 years in opera, denied the allegations against him in an email he sent to The Detroit News last week. In the email, he told the newspaper that he was never aware of any harassment complaints against him and called the anonymous allegations “offensive” and “cowardly.” He said he was considering “fighting” the allegations but did not say how.
Kalb, a native of Mexico City, holds degrees from the University of Michigan, the New England Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He also has worked with the Michigan Opera Theatre, Tulsa Opera, Florida Grand Opera and Kentucky Opera. As a composer, his works have been performed around the world.
Plumb said it’s a testimony to Kalb’s talent that he is resident conductor at the well-respected Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where Lord also had been music director.
Dona D. Vaughn, Opera Maine’s artistic director, said it was not hard to find a new conductor and that she received many inquiries from conductors and conductors’ agents. She saw Kalb conduct at the Florida Grand Opera in March and told him she’d someday like to have him work with Opera Maine. Kalb will be in Portland on Monday, Vaughn said.
Opera Maine, formerly known as PORTopera, is a nonprofit performing arts organization that celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. In addition to its summer production, it produces the Studio Artist Program, which brings semi-staged operas to people across Maine. Recent operas put on by the group have included “Le nozze di Figaro,” “Carmen” and “Rigoletto.” Opera Maine began as Portland Opera Repertory Theater in 1995, led by a group of people who lamented the lack of an opera company in Maine.
The cast for “The Magic Flute” is made up of singers from all over the country who have performed with other operas, including Geoffrey Agpalo, Brandie Sutton, Kathryn Bowden and Yeonji Lee.
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