Sarasota Opera Names Lana Mullen as New Communications Coordinator

Sarasota Opera is pleased to announce the appointment of Lana Mullen as Communications Coordinator. With a lifelong love of opera and classical music, Ms. Mullen is combining her many years of experience in the communication arts and non-profit worlds with the art form she loves so well. The former Art Director of Metropolitan Life Insurance in New York left the corporate world in 2007 to serve in various functions of Disaster Relief for the American Red Cross, deploying to national disasters in addition to supporting the 24/7 disaster relief operations in Greater New York. In 2010, she undertook an eight year assignment managing people-to-people educational and humanitarian programs for Road Scholar in Cuba, where she acquired extensive knowledge about everyday life, the economy, agriculture, arts, education, and healthcare.

Lana moved to Sarasota in 2017, attracted by the area's rich cultural offerings. "While living in Manhattan for many years, I enjoyed everything from the Metropolitan Opera to warehouse opera in Brooklyn, from Carnegie Hall to the exquisite little recitals at historic churches throughout the city. I believe our beautiful Sarasota is--on a per-capita scale--just as vibrant as NYC! It's a privilege and a pleasure to be a part of the Sarasota Opera's cultural gifts to our community." For the past year, Ms. Mullen has volunteered in numerous areas of the organization, including marketing and development. She is a member of the Sarasota Opera Guild, and writes for the monthly newsletter. A native of Texas, Lana studied art and design at the University of Dallas.

ABOUT SARASOTA OPERA

Sarasota Opera is entering its 60th Season of bringing world-class opera to Florida's Gulf Coast.

The company was launched in 1960, when a touring chamber opera company came to the historic 320-seat Asolo Theater on the grounds of Sarasota's Ringling Museum of Art and the Asolo Opera Guild was formed to present the season. By 1974 the Asolo Opera was mounting its own productions at the theater. Recognizing the need for a theater more conducive to full-scale opera, the company purchased the former A.B. Edwards Theater which in 1984 (as the Sarasota Opera House) became home to the newly renamed Sarasota Opera. The building underwent a $20 million renovation and rehabilitation in 2007 enhancing audience amenities, while updating the technical facilities including increasing the size of the orchestra pit. The theater, which reopened in March 2008, has been called "one of America's finest venues for opera" by Musical America.

Since 1983, the company has been under the artistic leadership of Victor DeRenzi and administrative leadership of Executive Director Richard Russell since 2012. Sarasota Opera has garnered international attention with its Masterwork Revivals Series, which presents neglected works of artistic merit, as well as the Verdi Cycle, completed in 2016, that made Sarasota Opera the only opera company in the world to present all of Verdi's works. Recognizing the importance of training, Maestro DeRenzi founded the Apprentice and Studio Artist's programs. Sarasota Opera also maintains a commitment to education through its Explorations in Opera performances for local schools and the industry-leading Sarasota Youth Opera program.

Sarasota Opera is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Programs are supported in part by an award from the Tourist Development Tax through the Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council and the Sarasota County Arts Council. Additional funding is provided by the City of Sarasota and the County of Sarasota.

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