The Opera Society

As an affiliate of Florida Grand Opera one of the purposes of the Opera Society is to devise fund-raising projects in order to bring better opera to our community.   We generally do this through events.  As we face these challenging times together, during which we are remaining physically apart, the role of music in nourishing our emotional well-being and creating shared experiences is more relevant than ever.  We’re inspired by the ways Florida Grand Opera is continuing to create connections and moments of joy for us to enjoy online through FGO GO.          

 We look forward to the time when we can all once again gather at homes and venues, reconnect with one another, rebuild our cultural communities and look to the future, all while experiencing the joy of grand opera.  During these summer months we are planning events for the coming season, at this time we are not sure exactly what form they will take, but our imaginations are working on alternative ideas.   Although they might be different than in the past, we are planning for our Fall Annual Membership meeting at the beautiful home of Barbara Copanos, our first Lyrical Lunch on November 19 to celebrate Verdi’s La Traviata, participation in the Winterfest Boat Parade on December 12 and a cheerful Holiday Party on December 13. The time will come, when we are together again and can celebrate our resiliency and enjoy opera together.    

Claire Crawford, First Vice-President, Ways & Means. 

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Thank you for making our 2019-2020 Season a rewarding and successful season for The Opera Society and Florida Grand Opera. As you know, in an abundance of caution we cancelled all Opera Society events starting March.

However, we are thrilled to tell you that we were able to gift $40,000 to Florida Grand Opera this year as a result of your full participation in all of our events – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinners, Lyrical Luncheons, our Fall Luncheon at the beautiful home of Barbara Copanos, our first Annual Holiday Party, Member Mixers, In-School Operas, and the Mad Hatter’s Tea. Not to mention the membership dues of 151 Regular, Supporting, and Corporate members. Thank you, thank you!

Your new Officers of the Board of Directors 2020-2021 were installed on May 6th by FGO Executive Director and CEO, Susan Danis, via conference call.

• President: Isobel Sturgeon
• First VP, Ways and Means, Dr. Claire Crawford
• Second VPs, Membership, Barbara Parent and Helena Caplan
• Third VP, Public Relations, Barry Rabinowitz
• Recording Secretary, Patrice Tedescko
• Corresponding Secretary, Dr. Linda Balent
• Treasurer, Ruth Molina

We welcome them and wish them the best of luck in fulfilling their duties in the upcoming season.

Discussions, led by the newly appointed Board, have been underway and will continue throughout the Summer months. We will explore creative alternatives to allow us to be together again while keeping with social distancing protocols to ensure everyone’s continued safety. 

On May 1^st, we started our renewal and new membership campaign as we look forward to realizing our purpose to continue to foster culture and community interest in opera, promote friendships and our mutual love for the arts, raise funds and be an indispensable affiliate to the Florida Grand Opera.

On behalf of The Opera Society Board, from our homes to yours, we wish you good health and best wishes in the coming months. Please stay safe and sound.

We look forward to “seeing” you and being with you in the not-too-distant future.

Jan Solomon, Immediate Past President

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