Hawaii Opera Theatre

The Hawaii Opera Theatre (HOT) is the islands' only major opera company located in Honolulu, Hawaii, and traces its roots back in 1961. The company performs three or more operas in a year round season that spans two calendar years, starting in October and ending in the early summer.

HOT performs most of its mainstage productions at the Blaisdell Concert Hall and has also staged works at the historic Hawaii Theatre, warehouses, the Chinatown Artist Lofts, and other funky venues. Since 2004, HOT has added a summer production of a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan or a musical and in 2016, will stage a concert production of Verdi's "Rigoletto" starring Hawaii's own, Baritone Quinn Kelsey. Kelsey began his career as a chorus member in HOT's acclaimed volunteer chorus, and has gone on to shine on stages across the world.

The first opera ever presented by the organization was Puccini's Madama Butterfly which was performed in McKinley High School auditorium in Honolulu in 1961. For the next two decades the company was part of the Honolulu Symphony. In 1980 it became an independent tax-exempt corporation. The first independent season was in 1981 and consisted of three productions: La Bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Carmen. Supertitles were introduced in 1987, and 1989 was the first year in which all available seats were sold before opening night. By 1993 HOT membership had exceeded 2,000 individuals. The company is led by Artistic Director, Henry G. Akina, and Executive Director, Simon Crookall. The Hawaii born Akina joined the company in 1996 after an amazing run in Germany with Crookall taking the helm in 2013.

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