Newsletter of the

September 2019

We begin our first full year as the Manatee Opera Guild. Let’s all work together to recruit new members as befits our new, geographically-expanded name!

A big Thank You to Maryanne Hazen who followed through with our decision to change our name to Manatee Opera Guild. Over the summer, Maryanne was in contact with our bankers, Sarasota Opera Association and the state of Florida to legalize our name change. She skillfully navigated all the steps and cut through the red tape. We appreciate her efforts.

Another big thank you to Jean Roberts who will be taking over the job of luncheon reservations/hospitality as of October. Jean has already finalized the menu choices for the year. Thanks to all the others who volunteered to step up with this responsibility. We will keep you in mind for other jobs like this one as the year progresses. I am happy to report that Cathy Beard is on the road to recovery. Good news!

I hope everyone enjoyed their summer. The lucky ones were somewhere cooler and drier, but we year- rounders were able to catch some time, between raindrops, at the golf course, the pool and at the blissfully red-tide free beaches. A lack of red-tide this year is good news for the Opera too, both in terms of attendance and singers’ voices.

We are looking forward to another year of great opera, great meetings, and fun-filled MOG events! You will find a full roster of our meetings and events in this newsletter, so hang onto it until the new directory comes out in October.

Our September meeting will feature a presentation by the always charming and oh-so-talented leaders of the Sarasota Youth Opera, the only youth opera company in the nation to present a fully-staged opera for young voices each year. This year’s offering is Brundibár, an opera written to be performed by children in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II. In it, children fight against and defeat a tyrant. The Sarasota Opera version features a prologue and epilogue written by Jesse Martins and Martha Canto Collins, and poignantly voices the concerns of today’s young people.

Check out the new Sarasota Opera website. It is gorgeous, and the Guilds are highlighted much more attractively. There’s even a lovely picture of four of our happy members. If it looks like we’re having fun, it’s because we are! I am looking forward to seeing you all for more fun in a couple of weeks.

Bel LUNCHEON RESERVATION FORM SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Name ______

Number attending _____ Phone Number ______

Please send your reservation and check made out to MOG to: Luncheon Pricing: Eileen Witzgall, 632 Estuary Drive, Bradenton, FL 34209 Phone: 447-0484 $20.00 per person Email: [email protected]

Deadline for reservations: Friday, September 13

Menu: A Fall Luncheon Salad with Grilled Chicken, sautéed fennel, cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, kalamata olives, toasted walnuts, red onion and artichoke hearts dressed in a basil vinaigrette. Fresh baked bread with butter. Cheesecake for dessert. A Chefs Choice vegetarian entree is also available. Please indicate your choice when making reservation.

TRIBUTES MOG CALENDAR FOR 2019-2020

Congratulations to Angela Korsmo on the birth of her Granddaughter Michaela Grace in June. Special Events: From Sheila and Joe Varady See full details elsewhere in this issue. Our sincere condolences to Juanita Connell on the passing of November 4 On-Stage with Giuseppina Ciarla her dear husband Clyde. Members of Manatee Opera Guild November 9 Saint’s Luncheon honoring Chuck Elzer February 2 Stars of Tomorrow Concert Best wishes for a speedy recovery to both Cathy Beard and Cathy Knobel. Hope you each will soon return to excellent March 4 Fashion Show health. March 18 Spring Awards Luncheon Manatee Opera Guild Board

OPERA-TUNITIES AT SARASOTA OPERA Membership Meetings, 3rd Wednesday of Month IMG Academies Golf and Country Club September 21, 2019, 1 PM 4350 El Conquistador Parkway, Bradenton 34210 A Taste of Downtown 10 AM Coffee and Conversation 10:30 AM Meeting Now in its sixth year, this established Sarasota tradition will bring you to , where your favorite 11:00 AM Entertainment downtown restaurants will be showcasing their tasty dishes Meetings are free for newcomers and guests paired with fine wines and assorted beers. Proceeds from this event benefit the Sarasota Youth Opera, who will perform Dates: during the event. Come mix & mingle, sample tasty bites, and September 18 have a drink with us to celebrate the end of summer in Sarasota! October 16 Tickets: $75 per person November 20 HD at the Opera House December 11 (Second Wednesday) January 15 September 8, 2019, 1:30 PM February 19 The Nutcracker, Ballet Film March 18 September 22, 2019, 1:30 PM La traviata, Opera Film April 15

October 6, 2019, 1:30 PM La Bayadère Preludes — Introductions to this season’s Operas Westminster Towers — Lifelong Learning Center Understanding Opera 1533 4th Avenue West, Bradenton, 34205 9:30 Coffee, pastries and conversation Understand opera like never before with Executive Director Richard Russell and Director of Artistic Administration Greg 10:00 Presentation Trupiano as they present these 4 fun-fact filled talks in the fall. $5.00 at the door Four Thursdays at 5:pm. Dates: Tickets: $25 per person, $75 for all talks October 25 November 22 La Bohème October 17, 2019, 5PM Things Change December 13 Roméo et Juliette

October 24, 2019, 5PM January 17 L’elisir d’amore (Elixir of Love) Ensembles in Opera February 21 La Wally

October 31, 2019, 5:00PM Walt Whitman and the Opera Board Meetings — Manatee Community Foundation November 7, 2019, 5PM 2820 Manatee Avenue W, Bradenton 34205 10 AM At the Opera withRichard and Greg September 11, October 9, November 13, December 4

BLUE HEADERS WILL TAKE YOU TO THE SARASOTA OPERA BOX OFFICE IF VIEWING ON YOUR COMPUTER The Manatee Opera Guild presents: Our Favorite Principal Artists

Giuseppina Ciarla After subscribing to Sarasota Opera for the past 19 years, On-Stage at Sarasota Opera I have a list of my favorite principal artists — those performers who appear on stage often, taking on another Monday, major role and performing it beautifully. Do you have November 4, 2019 your own list? I bet you do. Can you remember these memorable performances? 5:00 pm Cocktails After each of the following principals, there is a list of 5 roles. The artist named appeared in four of them, but – Selby Lobby there is one listed that we didn’t hear the artist sing at Sarasota Opera. Can you pick it out? 6:00 pm Concert – A prize awaits the first MOG member who can correctly On Stage identify each of the unsung roles. Get out your old program books! 7:00 pm Champagne After- Marco Nisticò: a. Manfredo Glow b. Rigoletto c. Francesco Foscari d. Rodrigue e. Don Pasquale Manatee Opera Guild’s 2019 concert offers you the unique experience of sitting on stage Kara Shay Thompson: at Sarasota Opera with Italian-born harpist a. Floria Tosca b. Vanessa Giuseppina Ciarla. Ms. Ciarla has been c. Santuzza Principal harpist with the Sarasota Opera d. Violetta orchestra since 2002 and Principal harpist with e. Leonore the orchestra of Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Italy since 2010. She is equally at home as a Young Bok Kim: s o l o i s t a n d c h a m b e r m u s i c i a n . H e r a. Sarastro b. Oroveso performance venues include the Lincoln c. Mephistophes Center in New York, the Italian Embassy in d. The Bonze Washington, DC. the Prague Symphony, e. Basilio Orchestra of Slovacchia, the International Jazz and Pop Harp Festival in Monterey, California Sean Anderson: and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy a. Gugliemo b. von Eisenstein among many others. Ms. Ciarla’ performances c. Papageno have been described as “hearty and colorful . . d. Escamillo . enchanting and infectious”. Ms. Ciarla’s e. John Proctor intimate on-stage performance will include conversations about the harp and her career. It Rafael Dávila: will feature opera and art songs as well as jazz a. Don Giovanni and pop solos and her own eclectic b. c. Cavaradossi arrangements in which she will sing along. d. Duke of Mantua e.Turiddu Admission: $45—limited seating available Patron Admission: $65 Maria D’Amato: To purchase tickets: a. Mimì Visit the Sarasota Opera Box Office b. Pamina 61 N. Pineapple, Sarasota, FL 34236 c. Thibault d. Call (941) 328-1300 e. Desdemona

Click sarasotaopera.org to make reservations online.

Manatee Opera Guild of the Sarasota Opera Association P.O. Box 9271 Bradenton, FL 34206-9271