2015 TACONIC OPERA GALA: OPERA GOES INSANE!

Taconic Opera, now in its 18th season in Westchester, will present another unusual fundraiser on Thursday, September 17, 2015, in White Plains at the ArtsWestchester Gallery, 31 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, NY. The Gala’s theme, Opera Goes Insane, will feature the company’s professional lead singers performing “mad scenes” from famous operas while guests dine in total serenity. This event is an entertaining, upbeat, and intoxicating way to support the continuation of live, professional opera in Westchester County.

This year’s honorees include amazing individuals that have each given many years of hard work and energy in support of both the arts and artists in Westchester: Carol and Ray Arrucci, owner-directors of the Cortlandt School of Performing Arts; Evaristus Mainsah, arts philanthropist and IBM General Manger in Global Financing; and, Rosemarie Ruggiero, arts philanthropist and President of the Opera Club of Heritage Hills.

Taconic Opera has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and Arts Westchester, and was selected as the 2012 Arts Organization of the Year in the county. All Gala proceeds support Taconic Opera’s 2015-2016 season: a double bill of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury in October 2015; an oratorio- Job – based on the Book of Job and composed by Taconic Opera Director and composer, Dan Montez in March 2016; a chamber concert in April 2016 conducted by Taconic Opera Conductor Jun Nakabayashi, featuring pieces by Mozart and Schubert; and a semi-staged production of Bizet’s Carmen in June 2016 in which the audience will be invited to participate in the singing of the choruses. Full season details are found on the company’s website.

Attendance at the event will be by a partially tax deductible donation: Gold $250; Silver, $200; Bronze $150. Discounts are available for groups of two or more and tables for eight. Start time: 7:00 pm. Tickets and reservations can be arranged online at http://www.taconicopera.org or by calling 1-855-886-7372. Parking is plentiful in the vicinity and the venue is handicap accessible.