Florida Grand Opera to Evaluate Future at Broward Center

Florida Grand Opera (FGO) General Director and CEO Susan T. Danis announced today FGO must reach a fundraising goal of $400,000 from Broward patrons and donors by January 31, 2015, to ensure that the company will be able to bring its 2015-16 mainstage productions to Fort Lauderdale.

Throughout the fall of 2014, Florida Grand Opera hosted several Town Hall meetings, which explained the Opera's current financial situation, outlined the organization's new strategic plan, and announced the launch of "SAY YES! to Opera, South Florida," a $17.5 million comprehensive campaign to fund the plan.

Since those meetings, FGO has been engaging in frequent community outreach projects and events in order to boost public knowledge of the company's funding needs. In addition, members of FGO's administrative staff have been regularly meeting with key stakeholders and community members to discuss ways the community can get involved in ensuring the future of the Opera in South Florida.

Although public opinion of the Opera's new efforts has been positive, the fundraising component of the "SAY YES!" campaign is progressing slower than planned. As a result the Opera has reevaluated its fundraising goals for the campaign and, therefore, its operations goals for upcoming seasons.

As Danis explains:

"With the New Year upon us, we've had to seriously evaluate the progress of the campaign and estimate whether we can reasonably achieve our fundraising goals Unfortunately, over the past decade, support for the Opera in Broward County has significantly declined. [Note: a history of Broward County contributions and ticket sales can be found at the end of this release.] "FGO lost over $125,000 on its four productions at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA) last season and there is a projected loss again this season. Given FGO's delicate financial condition, this cannot be repeated. "Although FGO has only been able to secure two (2) mainstage performance slots in Fort Lauderdale for the 2015-16 Season due to the increasing demand for dates at the newly renovated BCPA, we believe that our supporters will rise to the challenge and keep opera alive in Broward County."

FGO must raise and/or secure pledges in the amount of $600,000 by January 31, 2015. This is the date that the Opera must inform BCPA whether or not it is going to the use the dates that are reserved for the company. To date, FGO has identified approximately $200,000 of this goal, leaving just $400,000 for the Broward community to contribute or pledge by the end of the month.

"Given that more than $1,000,000 was raised annually just a few years ago, and with nearly 13,000 people attending, this goal is well within reach," says Danis.

Florida Grand Opera is now asking all those who enjoy and support grand opera in Broward County to make their gifts or pledge today. Additionally, every patron who has purchased a ticket to an opera will receive a request for support in the upcoming days. Donations can be made online at Tickets.FGO.org/contribution/. For more information, or to make a pledge, contact Individual Giving Officer Max Kellogg at 305.854.1643 or mkellogg@fgo.org.

About Florida Grand Opera - Florida Grand Opera (FGO), the oldest performing arts organization in Florida, celebrates its 74th year of continuously producing grand opera during the 2014-15 Season. The mainstage operas of the season include: Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly, November 15 - December 6; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Così fan tutte, January 24 - February 14; Georges Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (Les pêcheurs de perles), February 28 - March 14; and Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul, May 9 - 16.

Founded in 1941 as Greater Miami Opera and later merging with The Opera Guild Inc. in 1994, FGO presents a mixture of standard repertoire and contemporary works as well as commissions and new productions - all featuring projected translations in English and Spanish. FGO is recognized for funding by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding is also provided, in part, by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners and the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council. Program support is provided by the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council. Florida Grand Opera is a Resident Company of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and a member company of OPERA America. Intercontinental Miami is the Official Hotel and Steinway & Sons is the Official Piano of Florida Grand Opera.

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