Florentine Opera Company To Receive Grant From The National Endowment For The Arts

The Florentine Opera Company has been approved for a Grants for Arts Projects award to support its mainstage La Boheme production. Taking place in 1950s Bronzeville, Florentine's project is among 1,073 projects across America totaling nearly $25 million that were selected during this first round of fiscal year 2021 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects funding category.

"The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this project from the Florentine Opera," said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. "Florentine Opera is among the arts organizations across the country that have demonstrated creativity, excellence, and resilience during this very challenging year."

"Receiving a grant from the NEA is truly the gold standard of recognition for any arts organization," remarked Maggey Oplinger, General Director and CEO of the Florentine Opera. "We're thrilled this vibrant reinterpretation of a beloved classic was found meaningful. We are exploring how to bring historic favorites to life in a way that resonates with today's Milwaukee audience."

Florentine's Bronzeville Boheme will feature a predominantly African-American cast and creative team, while sharing the history of Milwaukee's historic Bronzeville neighborhood. The NEA grant will be used not only to help fund the mainstage performance, but also allow the organization to create community engagement initiatives to share this important work.

For more information on projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

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