Opera Roanoke Receives Second Major Challenge Gift in Six Months

Opera Roanoke Season HeaderFresh off matching and exceeding an anonymous $100,000 challenge which ended June 30, Opera Roanoke has announced that another donor has issued a new challenge:  match a $ 40,000 gift by September 30.

Inspired by the success of the spring challenge, which built both the endowment and operating funds by a total of $ 216,000, The Secular Society has stepped up to keep the fundraising spirit going. Offering $40,000, which must be matched by new or increased gifts between now and September 30, the Secular Society hopes to further strengthen Opera Roanoke’s resources as it enters its Fortieth Anniversary season.

The Ruby Anniversary Season will kick off with an Apprentice Artists Showcase at Hollins University’s Talmadge Hall (free to the public).  On October 24, a Fortieth Anniversary Gala will be held at the Taubman Museum of Art, honoring long time Opera Roanoke supporter Sheila Strauss, and featuring opera singing, a live auction, and a fashion show by Frances Kahn. Then on October 30 and November 1, “Sweeney Todd” comes to the Jefferson Center’s Shaftman Hall for a thrilling Halloween musical treat.  Next April 8 & 10, “La Traviata” will grace the Shaftman, and the season will conclude with another Apprentice Artists Showcase to be presented at Mill Mountain Theatre’s Waldron Stage in May.

With patrons like the $ 100,000 anonymous donor, The Secular Society, and all of the donors who responded to the first challenge, as well as all of its new and returning season ticket holders, Opera Roanoke hopes for a truly sparking Ruby Anniversary Season, filled with spectacular entertainment, joyful celebrations, and deep financial strength, presaging a brilliant future for live professional opera in the Roanoke Valley.

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