Opera Omaha Records
Scope and Contents
The records of Opera Omaha include material from before its founding in the 1950s to the present, documenting the history of the organization, its administration, and its productions. The collection holds board meeting minutes (1958-1994), news clippings (1954-1990), audio and video recordings (1960s-2000s), as well as scrapbooks, photographs, negatives, slides, programs, posters, original artwork, and related material. A portion of the collection is material collected by Cele Washington related to her affiliation with the Opera Omaha Craftsman's Guild and in addition to some of the same material about the organization and its operations such as programs also includes correspondence.
New material added 2016-07-01: The records from Opera Omaha document productions and include programs, posters, oversize photographs, marketing material and video recordings of performances with scattered coverage from approximately 1975-2015.
New material added 2018-02-08: Programs, posters, and other promotional material for the 2017-2018 season.
Dates
- 1954-2018
Creator
- Opera Omaha (Organization)
- Washington, Cele (Person)
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the Nebraska Public Records Statutes (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 84-712 through 84-712.09), and other relevant regulations. Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Nebraska Omaha assumes no responsibility.
Conditions Governing Use
Per the donation agreement, material donated to Criss Library cannot be used for any broadcast or commercial use without the express written permission of Opera Omaha.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, Archives & Special Collections will provide information about copyright owners and related information. Securing permission to publish or use material is the responsibility of the researcher. Note that unless specifically transferred to the University of Nebraska at Omaha, any applicable copyrights may be held by another individual or entity. Further information about copyright policy is available at http://libguides.unomaha.edu/library_policies.
Extent
95.1 Cubic Feet (21 boxes, 27 filing cabinet drawers, posters, audiovisual recordings)
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into loose series: Series: Production Files; Series: Audiovisuals; Series: Opera News; Series: Cele Washington's Files; Series Board Meeting Minutes; Series: Posters. Series: Unprocessed Material.
Custodial History
Richard O'Brien, Board President of Opera Omaha, donated the Opera Omaha archive collection to the Criss Library in 1999. The transfer was arranged by Jane Hill, Opera Omaha Executive Director, and Kevin Gibbs, Opera Omaha Customer Services Consultant, and received by Robert Nash, UNO Special Collections Librarian, and Les Valentine, UNO Archivist. Robert G. Ruetz, of the Opera Omaha Board of Directors, was involved in the transfer of the Cele Washington materials. A note dated 1998-03-29 describing the Washington accession noted that the slides of early productions and Opera Omaha programs from 1959-1971 were given to Jane Hill, Executive Director of the company, in April 1998.
New material added 2016-07-01: Collected from various Opera Omaha offices and individuals. Donated to the Criss Library by Dimitri Kontos, Engagement Programs Manager for Opera Omaha, on July 1, 2016.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Opera Omaha
Accruals
New materials for the collection are sent by Opera Omaha to the Criss Library on an irregular schedule.
Processing Information
Processed by Criss Library staff prior to 2014.
- Opera Omaha -- Records and correspondence
- Performing arts -- Nebraska -- Omaha Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Scrapbooks Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Theater -- Nebraska -- Omaha Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- VHS (TM) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- clippings (information artifacts) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- minutes (administrative records) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- motion pictures (visual works) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- negatives (photographic) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- photographs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- posters Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- records (documents) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- slides (photographs) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- sound recordings Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- theater programs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Source
- Opera Omaha (Donor, Organization)
- Title
- Opera Omaha Records
- Status
- Unprocessed
- Author
- Angela Kroeger; Amy Schindler
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
- Edition statement
- 4th edition
Repository Details
Part of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Archives & Special Collections Repository
Archives & Special Collections
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
6001 Dodge St.
Omaha Nebraska 68182-0237 United States
402-554-6046
unoasc@unomaha.edu
