Ellwood Annaheim - Obituary

r. Annaheim moved from Philadelphia to the DC area in 1977 and lived in Alexandria, VA, Hyattsville,MD, Silver Spring, MD and, finally, settled in Cheverly, MD in the early 1990’s. Colleges & Work History: Ellwood Annaheim received degrees from The Catholic University of America, The Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, in Washington, DC (M.M.), and LaSalle University (B.A. Fine Arts Music) in Philadelphia, PA. He also completed studies at Temple University, the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts and the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC Mr. Annaheim, was a faculty member in the CUA, School of Music from 1981-2011, where he was part of the curriculum study team that designed and developed The Catholic University of America's highly successful Musical Theater program. For that program he taught voice, musical theater history and scene study, and vocal literature; in addition, he did directing, budgeting, and staffing for both opera and musical theater productions for the School of Music. Some of the numerous productions which he directed include: Fool for Love, The Cradle Will Rock, Mahagonny Songspiel, Albert Herring, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Don Giovanni, Allegro, La Bohème, Il Tabaro, Die Zauberflöte, Die Fledermaus, I Capuleti ei Montecchi, La Traviata and the world premiere of Andrew Simpson's opera Agamemnon. Mr. Annaheim organized and led the Musical Theater Research Project at the University; a program devoted to the study and performance of early musical theater works – the end of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century. Through this program, Mr. Annaheim successfully researched and presented fully staged productions of Florodora, The Prince of Pilsen, Fie! Fie! Fi Fi, A Trip to Chinatown, Sally, Irene, The Chocolate Soldier, and Best Foot Forward. He was highly regarded as a performer as well and performed leading roles with The Washington Opera, the Annapolis Opera, Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia, and the Summer Opera Theatre Company. He has also appeared in numerous dramatic roles throughout the Washington, DC area. Among his many joys was research and editing, especially in the fields of opera, musical theater, art song, recordings and film scores. Articles of his can be found in the Grove's Dictionary of Opera and the Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. In addition to his work at the university, Mr. Annaheim worked for Boeing, SAIC, and Craig Industries as a Forms Design Specialist for NASA. A celebration of Mr. Annaheim’s life is planned for August 15, 2015 at 11:00 AM at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Oxon Hill, MD.