Ida by Lamplight

PROGRAM NOTE:

Ida by Lamplight is the third chamber opera to be realized from Jerre Dye’s anthology libretto The Summer Place, commissioned by the Chautauqua Opera Guild, which captures Chautauqua Institution’s history from its founding through today. Ida by Lamplight invites the audience into the office of The Chautauquan, late one night in 1886. Ida Tarbell, managing editor of The Chautauquan, and Kate Kimball, an early leader of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC) read and answer letters to the nascent CLSC as they survey the profound effect their work is having on thousands of readers across the United States. Commissioned by Chautauqua Opera Company to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of The Chautauquan Daily in 2026.