CSO announces opera fundraisers

One year after announcing it would suspend opera productions due to budget issues, the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera announced two future shows, part of a plan to bring opera back.

On Feb. 6, the CSO will present “The Opera Show,” an internationally acclaimed touring production that will be a fundraiser for the newly created CSO Opera Fund, according to Executive Director Molly Sasse.

In addition, beginning in November 2010, the CSO will collaborate on a yearly basis with the Chattanooga Ballet and the Chattanooga Theatre Centre to present “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” That event, too, will help raise money for future opera productions, Mrs. Sasse said.

The goal is to reach $100,000 in the Opera Fund “so that we can announce our next grand opera production,” she said.

“We realized during this past year that we could not afford to present opera in the manner which we had done for so many years without a substantial reserve before we even began to plan another production,” Mrs. Sasse said.

“The Opera Show” is a “touring production that looks like opera’s greatest hits meets Cirque de Soleil,” she said. “It has incredibly elaborate costumes and staging and includes about 30 of everyone’s favorite arias.”

Half of each ticket, prices for which will range from $50 to $500, and a preceding dinner are tax-deductible donations to the new Opera Fund, Mrs. Sasse said.

Giancarlo Menotti’s opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors” originally was written for television in 1951 and is the story of the Three Wise Men who visit a poor, crippled boy’s home on their way to Bethlehem.

The Chattanooga Theatre Centre will design the sets and costumes and provide stage direction for the production, according to Mrs. Sasse. The Chattanooga Ballet will choreograph and provide dancers, she said.

A local foundation has offered support for sets and costumes for the production, she said.

Presenting opera always has been a priority for him, CSO Music Director Robert Bernhardt said, but he understands it takes time to raise enough money to stage such productions.

“We have great plans for the future, but realize that the return must be financially viable and, most likely, gradual,” he said.

Sponsors hope oth productions will jump-start the CSO’s ultimate goal of bringing opera back to Chattanooga on a regular basis, CSO Board President Susan Rich said.

“The CSO board debated at some length last year before we made the decision to postpone opera production for the current season while we explored new options to make opera more viable financially,” she said.

“I’m happy to report that this time off from production is resulting in some truly innovative approaches to opera — especially the collaboration with Chattanooga Ballet and the Chattanooga Theatre Centre,” she said.