The Scottsdale-based Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation on Wednesday named Arizona Opera's outgoing general director and president Joseph Specter as its new president and CEO.
Specter will join the foundation in May after the opera's season finale, "Aida," coming to Linda Ronstadt Music Hall on April 19.
Specter, who came to Arizona Opera in April 2016 after leading Austin Opera for four years, announced plans last July to leave the Phoenix-based company after the 2024-25 season; his contract officially ends on June 30.
His move to the foundation keeps him in Arizona and in the arts, but working on a different canvas.
"In terms of musical storytelling, that's such an enduring theme that opera does so well, but that people don't always know about it or appreciate it or connect with it emotionally," Specter said on Wednesday, as news of his new role was made public. "I think similarly, you can walk into a building without understanding the thought process. And that parallel between arranging sounds over time versus materials over space is almost a direct parallel, and creating an emotional connection to the creativity that makes it happen. It's wild how similar they are."
Joseph Specter, Arizona Opera's outgoing president and general director, was named president and CEO of the Scottsdale-based Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
Mark Dreher, who chairs the foundation's board, said Specter's experience in leading "mission-driven organizations" and his passion for "engaging communities" fits the organization's goal of advancing the famed architect's legacy.
"His commitment to expanding the influence of organic architecture and ensuring its relevance for future generations aligns perfectly with our vision," Dreher said in a written statement.
With the move, Specter ends a 22-year opera career that included singing more than 20 baritone roles with regional opera and music theater companies before moving into an administrator role. In addition to Arizona and Austin, Specter was the Metropolitan Opera's director of Institutional Relations, raising more than $5 million in corporate sponsorships and public and foundation grants. He also worked with institutional investors at Lord Abbett, an investment firm in New Jersey.
Specter's tenure at Arizona Opera included shepherding the 2017 world premiere of Craig Bohmler's "Riders of the Purple Sage," based on Zane Grey's seminal novel of the same name. The opera, commissioned by Arizona Opera several years earlier, was the first Western opera.
Joseph Specter shepherded the world premiere in 2017 Arizona Opera's first commissioned opera, Craig Bohmler’s “Riders of the Purple Sage." It also was the first Western opera.
Under Specter's leadership, the company commissioned two other new works — Clint Borzoni's "The Copper Queen," which premiered as a film in October 2021; and Gregg Kallor's "Frankenstein" in October 2023. It also co-commissioned "The Falling and the Rising," which the company performed in 2022, and, that same year, created "Carmen: The Graphic Novel," based on Georges Bizet's famous opera.
Years before Specter had even thought about leaving opera, much less joining the foundation, Arizona Opera in 2019 performed the world premiere of the "Taliesin West" version of Daron Hagen's 1993 Frank Lloyd Wright opera "Shining Brow." The opera tells the true story about a mass murder at Wright's Taliesin estate in Wisconsin; the revised version sets the story at the famous architect's Scottsdale estate.
Specter said he looks forward to attending Arizona Opera performances with his wife, Kate, and their two teen daughters, but he welcomes the professional challenge that lies ahead.
"I think that my new assignment will contain a lot of the same elements, to be honest, and a lot of the same challenges, a lot of the same types of opportunities" as the opera, he said. "And you know, I would say I'm ready for that shift, and I'm ready to continue enjoying the work of Arizona opera, as well."
Arizona Opera is continuing its search for Specter's replacement, which it launched last fall.
