Toledo Opera launched the public phase of its $4 million Opera Sound Vision Endowment Campaign with a bang Friday night: news of a $1 million challenge donation from the children and grandchildren of longtime Toledo Opera patron Lucille Gorski.
The announcement was made from the stage of the Valentine Theatre, where the opera company’s current production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro played Friday night and is repeated Sunday.
Mrs. Gorski's son and daughter-in-law, Joel and Clare Gorski, said they made the gift to honor her lifetime love of opera and the Toledo Opera in particular. They have pledged to match other donations in the campaign dollar for dollar up to $1 million.
The goal is to establish a fund in perpetuity from which 20 percent of the organization’s annual budget can be drawn, said opera executive director Suzanne Rorick. “This is the established benchmark for a healthy nonprofit arts organization of our size.”
Prior to Friday’s announcement, the organization had already raised half of its $4 million goal — $2 million, through an earlier million-dollar challenge match gift from an anonymous donor. The opera was able to meet this goal thanks to donations from its board of trustees, the Opera Chorus, and other dedicated patrons.
A second major announcement Friday was Ms. Rorick’s revelation of the company’s 2017-18 performance season. Kicking things off will be Georges Bizet’s beautiful love triangle set in Sri Lanka, The Pearl Fishers, the weekend of Oct. 13.
Jan. 26 will find the company staging Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, which features some of the most beloved arias in the repertoire.
Partnering with the Toledo Symphony’s Northstar festival, the company will offer a fully-staged production of Douglas Tappin’s I Dream April 6,7, and 8. Based on the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, the show closes the season as a recognition of the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
The opera will sponsor two additional special evenings during the season: A Jan. 13 gala performance by soprano Kathryn Lewek and tenor Zach Borichevsky, and a March 16 visit by operatic superstar Kathleen Battle for a special evening of spirituals inspired by the journey to freedom along the Underground Railroad.
Tickets and more information on the series and gala performances are available from the Toledo Opera Box Office, 419-255-7464 or toledoopera.org.
Contact Wayne F. Anthony at:classics@theblade.com
First Published February 11, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
