COT's 2010 Annual Gala Featuring Danielle de Niese

Contact:
Daniel Jackman
Marketing Associate
312.704.8420, x213
djackman@chicagooperatheater.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CHICAGO OPERA THEATER'S
2010 ANNUAL GALA
HONORING THE ELIZABETH MORSE CHARITABLE TRUST
AND FEATURING OPERA SUPERSTAR
DANIELLE DE NIESE

CHICAGO, IL (December 15, 2009)—On Saturday, March 13th, 2010, Chicago Opera Theater (COT) hosts its 2010 Annual Gala at The Mid-America Club located on the 80th floor of the Aon Center in Chicago. The 2010 Gala Committee, chaired by COT Board Trustee Gerald Bauman, is pleased to honor The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust for its generous support of Chicago Opera Theater. The annual event will feature a performance from opera superstar Danielle de Niese.

"We are so happy to be honoring the important work of The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust and all they have done for COT through the years," said COT General Director Brian Dickie.

The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, established in 1992, has been extremely generous to numerous organizations throughout Chicago. The Trust has supported Chicago Opera Theater since 1996 and also supports Lawrence Hall Youth Services, Chicago High School for the Arts, and Lyric Opera of Chicago to name a few. Most recently, The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust was the Lead Sponsor of COT's production of Mozart's La clemenza di Tito during the 2009 Spring Festival Season.

The highly sought after soprano Danielle de Niese, who made her Chicago debut with Chicago Opera Theater, returns to perform at the 2010 Gala. Opera News hailed her performance in the title role of COT's 2004 production of Monterverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea as "ravishing…her gleaming soprano coursed through the difficult melismatic writing with pyrotechnical flare and seductive ease." She returned the next season to sing Tytania in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Besides her performances with COT, Chicago audiences may also remember her from her role as Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2007. This spring she returns to the Lyric Opera to perform Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. In addition to her many stage performances, she is also a successful recording artist and recently released her second album The Mozart Album with Decca Records.

"We are honored to welcome Danielle de Niese back to Chicago Opera Theater to perform at our Annual Gala," said Brian Dickie. "Her performance at The Mid-America Club is something no Chicago opera fan will want to miss!"

COT Board Trustee Gerald Bauman, Managing Principal of
H & R Block Tax & Business Services, is the Chair of COT's 2010 Gala. The evening begins with hors d'oeuvres and cocktails during the silent auction. After cocktail hour, guests will enjoy dinner followed by a live auction and the performance by Danielle de Niese. The evening's festivities will conclude with guests dancing to live music surrounded by the breathtaking views of Chicago! 

CHICAGO OPERA THEATER'S
2010 ANNUAL GALA
In Honor of The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust
Featuring Danielle de Niese
Event Location and Reservation Information

Where:                 The Mid-America Club
                          200 East Randolph, 80th Floor
                          Chicago, Illinois

When:                 Saturday, March 13th, 2010, 6pm

Gala Tickets:        $375 for individual Gala tickets
                          Gala tables of ten are available starting at $5,000

For reservations contact Sally Preminger at 312.704.8420 x214 or spreminger@chicagooperatheater.org

CHICAGO OPERA THEATER
Founded in 1974 by Alan Stone, Chicago Opera Theater has carved a significant place for itself in the operatic life of Chicago and has reached an audience of hundreds of thousands through its main stage performances, outreach, education and young artist programs. Since Brian Dickie's appointment as General Director in 1999, COT has evolved as an opera company that is young, fresh, and colorful - an image well suited to its surroundings at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.

The 2010 Annual Gala is presented in anticipation and support of Chicago Opera Theater's 2010 Spring Festival Season. The season opens with Rossini's Mosè in Egitto (April 17-25), followed by the Chicago Premiere of Cavalli's Giasone (April 24-May 2), and closes with Heggie's Three Decembers featuring acclaimed mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade in her final Chicago opera performances before her retirement (May 8-16). On May 10th COT will also present "An Evening with Frederica von Stade and Jake Heggie." For more information on the 2010 Spring Festival Season, visit  ChicagoOperaTheater.org or call 312.704.8414.

THE ELIZABETH MORSE CHARIABLE TRUST
Established in 1992, The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust honors the memory of Elizabeth Morse Genius, the daughter of Charles Hosmer Morse, 19th century Chicago financier, industrialist, and land developer.  The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust supports arts, social service, health, housing, environmental, and educational organizations that: encourage self reliance; relieve human suffering; foster self-worth and dignity; develop physical health and spiritual well-being; and promote world peace and understanding through the improvement of means of travel.  Areas of support include capacity building, program development, research, technical assistance and general operations.
 
DANIELLE DE NIESE
The Australian-born American singer Danielle de Niese has sung at opera houses all over the world including Glyndebourne Festival, Netherlands Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, and Zurich Opera. She has an exclusive contract with Decca Records and her 2007 debut solo album Handel Arias with conductor William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, received many awards including: 2008 Echo Award's New Artist of the Year, the 2008 Orphee D'Or given by the Academie Du Disque Lyrique, and was nominated for the 2009 Classical Brit Award for female artist of the year. This fall she released her second album, The Mozart Album, a collaboration with conductor Sir Charles Mackerras and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

She was the youngest singer to enter Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Barbarina in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro in 1998. Her portrayal of Cleopatra in a David McVicar production of Handel's Giulio Cesare at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2005 made her an international star, the production was also released on DVD. Her upcoming performances include: a European tour with the period instrument group Il giardino armonico, Le nozze di Figaro with Lyric Opera of Chicago, L'incoronazione di Poppea with the Teatro Real and Handel's Semele with Théâtre des Champs Elysées.

THE MID-AMERICA CLUB
The 2010 Annual Gala will take place at The Mid-America Club. This private club located just north of Millennium Park atop the Aon Center was founded in 1958 and is renowned for their high level of service, world-class cuisine and spectacular amenities. Society members enjoy spectacular 360-degree panoramic views of Chicago. The club space includes a formal Dining Room, business casual Grill Room, seven private conference and dining rooms, a library and an 8,300 square-foot Ballroom.