COT Receives $500K Grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

On June 8, 2012, Chicago Opera Theater (COT) was awarded a $500,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This grant will be used over the next three seasons under new COT General Director Andreas Mitisek to support works by American composers. Additionally, a portion of the grant is being used to create a cash reserve fund.

The grant will support Philip Glass’s The Fall of the House of Usher in 2013, as well as Chicago Opera Theater’s first commissioned opera in their history.

“I am thrilled to begin my tenure here at COT with this continued vote of confidence from The Mellon Foundation,” said General Director Andreas Mitisek. “We see this as a validation of Chicago Opera Theater’s adventuresome work, and the importance our company has on both the national stage and in Chicago’s vast cultural landscape.”

In addition to supporting COT’s artistic initiatives, $150,000 of the Mellon Foundation grant is designated to create COT’s first ever cash reserve fund, one of many steps Andreas and COT’s Board of Directors are taking to build on the company’s financial foundation.

Said COT Board President, Gregory O’Leary, “The creation of a cash reserve fund is an essential ingredient in putting COT on firm financial ground as we begin our next phase with Andreas at the helm.”

This is the third grant awarded to Chicago Opera Theater by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.