New York, NY, [November 6, 2009] – Raising more than $2.3 million, New York City Opera celebrated its return to the stage of the newly renovated David H. Koch Theater last night, Thursday, November 5, with the most successful fundraising gala in the company’s history. The funds raised included the proceeds of the evening’s live auction of luxury items that was chaired by Luziah Isamail-Hennessy and led by Jamie Niven, Chairman of Sotheby’s North and South America.

The festive event honored David H. Koch in recognition of his $100 million lead gift to City Opera’s joint capital campaign with New York City Ballet and heralded the start of City Opera’s 2009/2010 season – its first under new General Manager and Artistic Director George Steel. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was the Honorary Chairman of the gala with Co-Chairmen Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Katherine Farley and Jerry I. Speyer, Joan Granlund, Julia Koch, Charles and Liz Koch, Lee Slaughter and Ann Ziff. Major gala sponsors included American Airlines, Moët Hennessy and Dom Pérignon.

The opening gala concert, American Voices, featured classic repertoire from American opera and musical theater performed by returning City Opera stars Amy Burton, Joyce Castle, Anna Christy, Joyce DiDonato, Lauren Flanigan, Marc Kudisch and Samuel Ramey; along with guest artists Measha Brueggergosman, Talise Trevigne and Kelley O’Connor. The New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus were led by New York City Opera’s Music Director George Manahan and former General Director and Principal Conductor Julius Rudel. In honor of the occasion, the principal concert artists generously donated their services for the evening.

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright and the New York City Ballet made special guest appearances during the evening. All proceeds from the Theater Debut Celebration support City Opera’s mission to produce innovative productions of new and classic work, reach a wide audience with affordable ticket prices, and bring music into the lives of thousands of students each year through its acclaimed education programs in New York City public schools.

Notable attendees included:

Claude Arpels, Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Harolyn Blackwell, Hamish Bowles, Amy Fine Collins, , Mary Sharp Cronson, E.V. Day, Michelle DiBucci, Joyce DiDonato, Elizabeth Diller & Ricardo Scofidio, Brook Hayward Duchin, Christine Ebersole, Katherine Farley, Nicholas & Edmee Firth, Peter Gelb, Habib Ghawi, Ted Gibson, Joan Granlund, Joel Grey, Gilles & Luziah Hennessy, Xavier Guerrand-Hermès, Carolina & Reinaldo Herrera, David & Julia Koch, Arie & Coco Kopelman, Judy Kuhn, Dr. Reynold Levy, Elizabeth Cooke Levy, Michael Lynch & Susan Baker, Thom Mayne (Art Committee Advisor, President Obama), Alex McCord & Simon van Kempen, Kate McGarrigle, Terrence McNally, Gillian & Sylvester F. Miniter IV, Mark Morris, Tinsley Mortimer, Georgette Mosbacher, Mark & Lorry Newhouse, S.I. & Victoria Newhouse, Jamie Niven, Constantine Orbelian, Elizabeth & Jeffrey Peek, Diane Picasso, Jack Pierson, Laudomia Pucci, Princess Alexandra of Greece, Prince Antonio Licata di Baucina, David Robertson, Devorah Rose, Rachel Roy, Julius Rudel, Giovanni Russo, Reshma Shetty, Lee Slaughter, Sarah & George Steel, Ken Sunshine, Count Carl-Eduard von Bismarck, George & Olga Votis, Rufus Wainwright & Jorn Weisbrodt, Robert Wilson, Damian Woetzel & Heather Watts, Paula Zahn, and Ann Ziff.

Since its founding in 1943, New York City Opera has been recognized as one of America’s preeminent cultural institutions, celebrated for its adventurous programming and innovative, risk-taking production style. The company’s wide-ranging repertory of 275 works spans five centuries of music and includes 29 world premieres and 61 American and/or New York premieres of such notable works as Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shostakovich’s Katerina Ismailova, Busoni’s Doktor Faust, Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges and The Flaming Angel, Zimmermann’s Die Soldaten, Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron, and Glass’ Akhnaten. The company has been a leading showcase for young artists, helping to launch the careers of more than 3,000 singers, including José Carreras, Phyllis Curtin, David Daniels, Plácido Domingo, Lauren Flanigan, Elizabeth Futral, Jerry Hadley, Catherine Malfitano, Bejun Mehta, Sherrill Milnes, Samuel Ramey, Gianna Rolandi, Beverly Sills, Norman Treigle, Tatiana Troyanos, and Carol Vaness. In 1983, City Opera made operatic history when it became the first American opera company to use supertitles, an innovation that has revolutionized the way opera is produced and appreciated worldwide.

In February 2009, George Steel, former executive director of the Miller Theatre at Columbia University, began his tenure as New York City Opera's new General Manager and Artistic Director. Building on the company's core mission of artistic excellence and accessibility, Mr. Steel's plans include broadening the company's adventurous approach to repertory, supporting the careers of promising artists, and continuing to develop the company's acclaimed education and outreach programs.

New York City Opera’s 2009-2010 season reaffirms the company’s historic mission to present innovative productions, to champion contemporary works, to rediscover early and lesser-known operas, and to promote American artists. The season will open with Hugo Weisgall’s masterpiece Esther (opening Saturday, November 7, 2009), which is being revived for the first time since New York City Opera presented the opera’s world premiere in 1993. And as a pièce d'occasion for the company’s return to the stage of the David H. Koch Theater, George Steel has commissioned a new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni (opening Sunday, November 8) — part comedy, part melodrama, part supernatural morality play — from director Christopher Alden. The company’s spring season of revivals will begin with City Opera’s sparkling production of Chabrier’s rarely performed L’Étoile (opening with a gala performance on March 18, 2010). This will be followed by the company’s Emmy Award-winning production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (opening Friday, March 19, 2010) and Handel’s romantic comedy Partenope (opening Saturday, April 3).

New York City Opera and New York City Ballet recently unveiled the results of the renovation of their shared home, the David H. Koch Theater. The $107 million renovation, which began in July 2008, was undertaken through a joint initiative of the Ballet and the Opera to refurbish and modernize their historic home—the former New York State Theater—enhancing both the artistic and visitor experience. The project is funded through a $200 million joint capital campaign undertaken by the Ballet, the Opera and City Center of Music and Drama. The theater was officially renamed in honor of the $100 million lead gift from

David H. Koch. The capital campaign has also received major contributions in the amount of $26.9 million provided by the City of New York through the Department of Cultural Affairs, with support from the City Council and the Manhattan Borough President. The project is administered by the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

###

Press Contacts

Pascal Nadon/Shara Seigel

212-870-5632

operapress@nycopera.com

Lisa Lori Communications at 203-228-5090