Friends & Patrons OF OPERA RARA Opera needs Opera Rara. We need you.
“
Opera needs Opera Rara.
”
LUCIANO PAVAROTTI
Opera Rara’s recordings are streamed in over countries and territories
164
48,421,693
total digital streams, downloads and views of Opera Rara’s recordings and educational videos last year alone.
DISCOVER OPERA’S PAST PROTECT ITS FUTURE We are rewriting operatic history, and we need your help.
Opera Rara is a charity that brings lost and forgotten masterpieces back to life, restoring them with passion and precision for international audiences today, and for generations to come. From Renée Fleming to Michael Spyers and Ermonela Jaho, many of the world’s greatest voices have made recording debuts with us. Across our 56-year history, we’ve recorded 66 operas and have amassed over 100 titles in our catalogue so far, many of which have received international awards. None of our work is possible without the generosity of our supporters – and our treasured Friends and Patrons play a crucial role in our success. Our supporters refer to Opera Rara as a “family”. Many have supported us for years, if not decades. For them, we’re not just an opera charity: we’re a home for like-minded individuals who value artistic excellence, the preservation of our operatic heritage and the nurturing of the next generation of talent. We invite you to become a member of our family of supporters. We don’t receive any public funding, and without the support of those who value our work, many lost masterpieces will continue to be unheard and forgotten. On behalf of our community of singers, conductors, répétiteurs, orchestral musicians, choristers, musicologists, historians and editors who work with us, thank you for considering a donation to our charity. MAKE A GIFT
Donate online: www.opera-rara.com For more information, to discuss your gift in more detail or to arrange a bank transfer, contact a member of our development team on +44 (0)20 7613 2858 or info@opera-
Henry Little
Chief Executive Opera Rara
Carlo Rizzi
Artistic Director Opera Rara
rara.com.
Opera Rara’s Chairman, Charles Alexander CBE, speaks to our supporters at the Italian Embassy in London
WELCOME TO OUR OPERA RARA FAMILY “I relish the opportunities Opera Rara offers singers and love being part of its family of musicians, researchers and enthusiasts who are bringing these discoveries before the public and preserving them for the future.” Gerry Wakelin
Supporter since 2009 Founding Member of the Opera Rara at 60 Society
OUR MISSION
Opera Rara seeks out and illuminates lost treasures from our operatic heritage. We restore our discoveries by creating meticulous modern score editions. We record them with the world’s greatest singers, orchestras and choruses alongside young, rising talent. And, we bring them to the world, making the most of every opportunity to grow a global audience, so that these works continue to inspire, captivate and endure. Even more discoveries are underway as we look ahead to our 60th anniversary in 2030. Over the next five years, we’ll restore more masterpieces, hear forgotten songs brought back to life, expand our online educational resources and create more opportunities for our supporters to further engage with our findings. Through developing global partnerships, we hope to bring Opera Rara’s work to new audiences around the world. As we grow, we invite you to join us. Together, we will rewrite operatic history.
JOIN US Our supporters play a vital role in our Opera Rara family. Friends and Patrons enjoy a close look at our opera restoration process through a range of various benefits. They choose to support our charity at the levels below.
Friends
Patrons
SUPPORTER FRIEND
AFICIONADO PATRON
access to My Opera Rara, a subscription to our Cadenza newsletter, and invitations to online Discovery events
All Friends benefits ...and invitations to two recording sessions a year, invitations to concert receptions and cast parties, invitations to in-person Discovery events, and recognition in all annual giving lists
£25-£99
CONTRIBUTOR FRIEND £100-£249
...and recognition in our online supporters list, and invitations to our Friends Coffee Mornings
CONNOISSEUR FRIEND
£1,000-£2,499
DEVOTEE PATRON £2,500-£4,999
...and invitations to exclusive events with Opera Rara’s artists
£250-£499
...and invitations to our bi-annual Friends parties, BENEFACTOR PATRON and recognition in concert programmes £5,000-£9,999 ...and bespoke opportunities to meet Carlo Rizzi and our recording artists and experts ENTHUSIAST FRIEND
£500-£999
...and an invitation to one recording session a year, and recognition in recording booklets
CONSIDER MAKING YOUR OPERA RARA AT 60 PLEDGE As Opera Rara approaches its 60th anniversary in 2030, making a multi-year Opera Rara at 60 Pledge helps us celebrate the past made new. In the coming years, we’ll revive more lost masterpieces, inspire new audiences, nurture exceptional talent, and ensure these brilliant operas continue to captivate the world.
Join our Friends & Patrons by donating online at: WWW.OPERA-RARA.COM
or call us on: +44 020 7613 2858
or scan the QR code to access our donation page
OUR HISTORY: 56 YEARS IN THE MAKING 1970
Opera Rara was founded after Dame Joan Sutherland brought together our co-founders, Patric Schmid and Don White
1972
Opera Rara put on its first complete opera production - Meyerbeer’s Il crociato in Egitto
1978
Opera Rara released its first studio recording: the world premiere recording of Donizetti's Ugo, conte di Parigi 1994
Renée Fleming makes her first complete opera recording debut with Opera Rara, in Donizetti's Rosmonda d'Inghilterra
1980
The Hong Kong Arts Festival presents Opera Rara’s Christopher Columbus, with rare music by Offenbach our first performance outside the UK 1999
The “Il Salotto” series launched, exploring lesserknown or forgotten songs by some of opera’s greatest composers
2005
Opera Rara’s co-founder Patric Schmid passed away before the performance of Donizetti’s Il diluvio universale
2011
Sir Mark Elder was appointed Opera Rara’s first Artistic Director
2016
Opera Rara made its BBC Proms debut with Rossini’s Semiramide
2019
Carlo Rizzi became Opera Rara’s Artistic Director, later earning a Star of Italy recognising his major contribution to Italian opera
2018
Opera Rara’s Music Library - now The Foyle Opera Rara Collection - moved to its permanent home at The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama 2022
Ermonela Jaho & Michael Spyers became Opera Rara’s first Artist Ambassadors
2024
In recognition of our decades of work, Gramophone named Opera Rara Label of the Year
2026
Opera Rara ended it’s 55th season by completing the Donizetti Song Project, launching new international, educational partnerships
THANK YOU Thank you for considering a gift to Opera Rara. Your commitment will help us to discover remarkable works from the past and ensure they continue to inspire future generations. As an example of the difference your support will make, here’s our latest discovery that was brilliantly realised, both in the studio and onstage. OUR LATEST DISCOVERY
What would it be like to hear La rondine exactly as Puccini had intended? Through their generosity, our supporters have helped answer this question. Now, the final 1921 version has been restored and recorded, revealing a more vivid and emotionally complex opera. For our Friends and Patrons, their experience extended beyond the soldout concert itself. They were able to follow the journey of this project through the recording sessions, Opera Insiders and online events, seeing how a forgotten chapter of Puccini’s work could be brought back to life. Now, that artistic legacy lives on through the new recording, giving listeners everywhere the opportunity to discover this remarkable final vision of La rondine for themselves.
“A historic wrong can now be put right: the version of La rondine that Puccini really loved, but which he never heard fully realised, is finally being allowed to see the light of day.” BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
The cast of the final 1921 version of Puccini’s La rondine in the recording studio with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers conducted by Opera Rara’s Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
CARLO RIZZI
HONORARY ARTIST PATRON
RENÉE FLEMING
ARTIST AMBASSADORS
ERMONELA JAHO MICHAEL SPYRES CHIEF EXECUTIVE
HENRY LITTLE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Charles Alexander CBE, Chairman Philip Eisenbeiss Anthony Freud OBE Glenn Hurstfield Adolfo Laurenti Bruce Mauleverer KC Alison Nicol Gerry Power Islée Oliva Salinas Marc A Scorca Terence Sinclair Nicholas Thomas
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE David Hall Glenn Hurstfield Islée Oliva Salinas Terence Sinclair Lucy Stout John Tierney
Studio 11 Cloisters House 8 Battersea Park Road London SW8 4BG info@opera-rara.com +44 (0)20 7613 2858
OPERA-RARA.COM
REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 261403