COT Raises Nearly $200,000 At Annual Gala Held 3/7

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) raised nearly $200,000 at their annual gala held on March 7, 2009 at the The Spertus Institute in Chicago. This year's gala celebrated the company's 35th Anniversary and honored General Director Brian Dickie as he marks his 10th Anniversary with the company. Over 250 guests enjoyed an evening of cocktails, dinner, raffles, silent and live auctions throughout Spertus Institute, allowing the visitors the opportunity to experience the bold and crisp architectural spaces of the building. COT Board Trustee and Gala Committee Chairman Lincoln S. Ellis emceed the evening and mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy was the evening's featured performer.

The event began with a cocktail hour and silent auction. The guests then moved to the Great Hall for a presentation in honor of COT General Director Brian Dickie. Lincoln S. Ellis spoke of Brian's lifelong commitment to opera including his triumphant and tireless work with COT. He also read a letter from Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley saying: "Tonight's event celebrates the qualities that have kept Chicago such a great place to enjoy music and the arts and also honors Brian Dickie for his ten years of inspired leadership of COT. I commend Mr. Dickie on his accomplishments and extend my best wishes for much continued success."

After being presented with a watch from Tiffany & Co., Brian took the occasion to speak in praise of Chicago's rich cultural heritage thanking donors for their constant support. Brian exited the stage to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the guests. Soprano Catalina Cuervo and tenor Jorge Prego. both new members of Chicago Opera Theater's Young Artists Program, rounded off the celebration of Brian's operatic achievements.

Auctioneer Steven J. Zick, vice president of Christie's (Chicago), led the live auction which featured fully loaded travel packages to Mexico's Riviera Maya, a "Wild West" weekend in Santa Fe and a cultural excursion getaway in Toronto as well as an all-access pass to COT's 2009 Spring Festival Season. The final portion of the auction was introduced with a video about COT's 35 years. Some of the most important people in Chicago's music cultural spoke of COT's importance and Brian's commitment to opera including: COT Honorary Trustee and Former Board President Joan Harris, Baritone Robert Orth, Music Director of Music of the Baroque Jane Glover (who will be conducting COT's La clemenza di Tito, opening April 18th) and Music Director and Primary Conductor of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Sir Andrew Davis. Following the video, guests bid pledges to help guarantee COT's next 35 years.

The enthusiastic attendance of guests from many of Chicago's most important artistic organizations highlighted Brian's importance to the city's cultural landscape: Ashley C. Wheater and Christopher Clinton Conway, Artistic Director and Executive Director, respectively, of The Joffrey Ballet; Welz Kauffman, President and CEO of Ravinia Festival; Steve Robinson, Senior Vice President for Radio at WFMT; Chuck Smith, Goodman Theatre Resident Director; Bonnie Metzgar and Rick Dildine, Artistic Director and Managing Director, respectively, of About Face Theatre; and Jim Ginsburg, Cedille Records' Founder. Other notable guests include: Opera superstar baritone Nathan Gunn, Angel Ysaguirre and Christy Uchida from The Boeing Company and Rob Lamb, Managing Director of the Canadian Opera Company.

Mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy was the featured performer of the evening. Her sultry and radiant voice delighted the crowd. Her performance included the seductive "Seguidilla" from Bizet's Carmen which left the audience eager to see her make her title role debut in the Tony Award winning adaptation of Bizet's masterpiece: La Tragédie de Carmen, opening May 2nd at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park. Guests then ended the evening on the dance floor to the music of The Chicago Groove Collective.

 

CHICAGO OPERA THEATER

Founded in 1974 by Alan Stone, Chicago Opera Theater has carved a significant place for itself in the operatic life of Chicago and has reached an audience of hundreds of thousands through its main stage performances, outreach, education and young artist programs.

Since Brian Dickie's appointment as General Director in 1999, COT has evolved as an opera company that is young, fresh, and colorful--an image well suited to its surroundings at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.

Chicago Opera Theater's 2009 Spring Festival Season runs April 18th through May 26th at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. The season opens with Mozart's La clemenza di Tito (April 18-May 1), followed by Peter Brook's Tony Award winning adaptation of Bizet's masterpiece called La Tragédie de Carmen (May 2-15), and closes with the Chicago Premiere of Britten's Owen Wingrave (May 16-26). For more information on the 2009 Spring Festival Season, visit ChicagoOperaTheater.org or call 312.704.8414.

 

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