The History of Toledo Opera,
ACT TWO, Scene One
by Sally Vallongo
 As
the opera pressed forward, dragging its deficit like a ball
and chain, James Meena and the board chose to add more presenting
to their repertoire in hopes of whittling away at the deficit.
A series of touring Broadway shows was introduced at the
Stranahan Theater, beginning with Fiddler on the Roof in
February, 1990. For several years the opera persisted, plowing
profits from the Broadway series into the financial void.
Still, instead of shrinking, the debt behaved like an alien
film monster, tripling in size by 1991 and seeming ready
to engulf the operation. Opera seasons during those embattled
years included MacBeth with Christine Seitz, and Lucia with
Stefan Szkafarowski, Marcello Giordano, and Elizabeth Carter.
Meena, who commuted from Cleveland, drew no salary for several
years while the opera struggled to recover economically.
PHOTO: Toledo Opera Chorus men in
a 1994 production of Faust.
In 1992 came the fundraising ingénue:
the Opera Gala. Meena presented diversified programs melding
arias and ensembles with popular music from great Broadway
shows. It was a Whitman’s sampler of opera and Toledo
audiences bit. Small gain by small gain, the Opera dug itself
out of financial doldrums so that, by the 35th anniversary – Faust with
Lance Ashmore and Aida with Pamela Kucinic – the
season had generated a small financial surplus and the debt
was reduced by 70 per cent. Ever the populist, Meena did
not maintain silence in the face of accusations that opera
was for the elite. In a 1996 Blade Forum Meena wrote: “Your
recent Readers’ Forum contributor and the many thousands
of Blade readers should know that the “elite class'” which
attend Toledo Opera performances are carpenters and cashiers,
office workers and restaurateurs, retired folks and doctors,
university students and entrepreneurs, large corporate executives
and even some politicians – plus their kids as well.”
A populist fund-raiser started during
Meena’s term involved serving pizza to the masses in
a parking lot, with revival bands offering a bit of nostalgia
for an audience who might otherwise never attend live opera.
The Toledo Opera Youth Chorale had been formed, bringing
young and enthusiastic singers right on stage for a first-hand
experience with the world’s most exciting art form.
Summertime productions turned opera into a more casual, family-oriented
community event.
From longtime supporters Theodore and
Lucille Gorski and their foundation came a $1 million challenge
grant. Over the next several years, matching funds came in
to the organization bringing the endowment to approximately
$1.65 million. Productions that year in the Stranahan included La
bohème, with Hugh Smith and Lori Ann Phillips,
and Samson and Delilah with John Keyes and Irina
Mishura. Acclaimed soprano Barbara Bonney appeared for the
gala in the Peristyle. And as proof that opera education
in the community was working, the next spring, Toledo native
and internationally renowned soprano Constance Hauman made
her local debut as Rosina, the soubrette in Rossini’s The
Barber of Seville. Just as exciting was the prospect
of finally moving into a new home designed for live performance
with spacious, well-appointed rehearsal rooms and ample storage – the
Valentine Theatre. Toledo’s last old downtown hall,
the 1896 vintage theater named for Valentine Ketcham had
been saved from the wrecker’s ball and was undergoing
drastic renovation and restoration where possible.
Plans called for the enhanced hall to
serve as a community cultural center, with opera, jazz, ballet,
and other organizations to find a home there. Such doings
drew international attention, particularly when Opera
Now magazine Heidi Waleson lauded the new development
as a major advance for the company. More rehearsal time in
the theater, the option to add performances, and a hall designed
for the unamplified voice were major improvements. By this
time, too, public support had blossomed, with ticket sales
tripling the previous year. The decade closed with the final
season in the Stranahan: Carmen and Marriage
of Figaro. Tenor Jerry Hadley was special guest for
that season’s Gala in the Peristyle.
Continued...
Special Thanks to The Toledo Blade
for opening their archives to Toledo Opera for this retrospective |
