During his time at Opera Colorado, Seifert appointed James Robinson as artistic director. In 1998, Merrill left Opera Colorado and was succeeded by Stephen Seifert, who became the company’s president and general director. That November, in celebration of Opera Colorado’s 10th anniversary season, Merrill added a third mainstage production at the Temple Buell Theatre. Opera Colorado continued to present two mainstage productions each season, all taking place in the round at Boettcher Concert Hall in downtown Denver, up until 1992. Excited by the prospect of running an opera company, Merrill soon got to work: Opera Colorado’s first season opened on April 4, 1983, with Verdi’s Otello, which ran for three performances and featured internationally-acclaimed tenor James McCracken. The company also performed Puccini’s La Bohème, starring world-renowned tenor Plácido Domingo, during its first season.
The group soon attracted Nathaniel Merrill and Louise Sherman, two veterans of the Metropolitan Opera. While there were several regional companies, the Friends of Opera wanted to establish a major production company that could bring opera to audiences in the area. In 1980, a group of local opera fans met at the Grant-Humphreys Mansion to discuss the need for an opera company in Denver.
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