FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mary Trudel
Senior Communications Officer
The Wallace Foundation
1-212-251-9815
mtrudel@wallacefoundation.org
TAKE ME OUT TO THE OPERA
San Francisco Opera hit a home run on Friday, June 20 when 23,000 music lovers and adventure seekers spent a memorable first day of summer enjoying the monumentally successful free live simulcast of Lucia di Lammermoor at AT&T Park, starring internationally renowned soprano Natalie Dessay. Sitting blanket-to-blanket on the outfield and mingling in the stands, fans enjoyed a rare warm night munching on peanuts, popcorn and Cracker Jack while watching the moon rise slowly over the City, echoing the moonrise in this production of Donizetti's opera classic. Bringing some of the world's most beautiful voices together with the nation's most beautiful ballpark—all as a free gift to the community—was clearly a winning combination. This year's Opera at the Ballpark marked the second free simulcast at AT&T Park in conjunction with our partners at the San Francisco Giants and the fifth free simulcast under the leadership of San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley.
San Francisco Opera simulcast transmissions are made possible by the Company’s Koret-Taube Media Suite, a high-definition video production facility installed on the fifth floor of the War Memorial Opera House. San Francisco Opera presented Opera at the Ballpark as a free community event through the generosity of many sponsors: This simulcast was supported by an Excellence Award from The Wallace Foundation, with additional support provided by Keith and Priscilla Geeslin. Other sponsors for Opera at the Ballpark included Platinum Sponsor Franklin Templeton Investments; Gold Sponsors Accenture, Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., Sony and Webcor Builders; and Silver Sponsors Chevron and United Airlines. Company Sponsor Mrs. Edmund W. Littlefield proudly supported this production of Lucia di Lammermoor. Equipment for this simulcast was made possible through partnerships with Sony, Meyer Sound, Dolby Laboratories, Euphonix, and Evertz. The San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate.com, CBS 5, the CW Bay Area, Classical 102.1 KDFC and Clear Channel Outdoor joined with San Francisco Opera as media partners for the Company’s 2007–2008 Season Community Events. San Francisco Opera is supported by Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund.
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