Inland Northwest Opera General Director Fights to Keep the Opera Gram Alive

Inland Northwest Opera general director Dawn Wolski has prioritized keeping Opera Gram alive amidst the health crisis, Spokesman reports.

Opera Gram is the company's performance-by-appointment program, and Wolski feared the worst for the program when new restrictions on in-person performances began in July.

Wolski consulted with lawyers, and she and her team reached out to the governor's office, to see if the new laws applied to Opera Gram. Nick Streuli, the executive director of external affairs, explained that Opera Grams could not proceed under this new law.

Wolski began asking questions, and giving examples, causing Streuli to reconsider some of the technicalities.

"He was extremely receptive, but I didn't know if it was going to make any change," Wolski said.

After some consideration, Streuli updated the memorandum to read, "All live entertainment is prohibited except performances outdoors for members of the same household where social distancing of a minimum of 10 feet is always maintained from the entertainer, and facial coverings are worn by all individuals." This allowed the Opera Grams to go on!

"I was pleasantly surprised," Wolski said. "At the end of the day, Opera Grams are not about financial gain for INO; they don't make us money. What they are doing is giving me an opportunity to hire our local artists, give them work and give them a place to be creative and an outlet for their art."

Read more on Spokesman.