On the eve of its 2008 Italian Passions Festival, Opera Santa Barbara has received a record-breaking planned gift of $5 million, OSB general director Steven Sharpe announced.
The bequest has been made anonymously by one of Opera Santa Barbara’s board members and will be administered by the Santa Barbara Foundation following the donor’s death. The donor has specified that the annual proceeds of the gift, estimated at $250,000, are to be used to produce one opera per year from one composer among the group of Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Leoncavallo, Wagner and Gounod.
“As an organization in its 14th year, OSB is at the point in our growth when we are thinking about our future and have launched the ‘Bravo Society,’” Sharpe said. “We are thankful to this donor who helps ensure high-quality productions of beloved operas well into the future. This sets a precedent for permanently endowing specific activities of the organization.
“We are thrilled to make this announcement as we open this year’s Festival at the Lobero Theatre and prepare for next year’s inaugural season at the Granada Theatre.”
Opera Santa Barbara’s Italian Passions Festival opens Saturday with a double-bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, to be performed in repertory with Donizetti’s passionate L’Elisir d’Amore (Elixir of Love). For more information, click here for Opera Santa Barbara or call 805.898.3890.