Sarasota Opera Guild To Host 38th Annual Poinsettia Luncheon

The Sarasota Opera Guild will host its 38th Annual Poinsettia Luncheon to be held Wednesday, December 7, 2022 at Michael's on East, 1212 S. East Avenue, Sarasota, starting at 11:30am. The doors will open at 11:00am.

This year's theme --- Passport to Opera - reflects the international scope of this season's Sarasota Operas, which are placed in Japan, Spain, Italy, and France. The highlight of the luncheon is a performance by Heather Johnson, mezzo soprano. Among her many credits, Ms. Johnson has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, the Boston Lyric Opera, and New York City Opera. At Sarasota Opera, she has appeared as Maddalena in Rigoletto, the title character in La Cenerentola, Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible, Hansel in Hansel und Gretel and Beppe in L'Amico Fritz. She will be accompanied by Jesse Martins on the piano,

The afternoon includes an opportunity to bid on an array of silent auction items and bountiful gift baskets. Proceeds from the annual fundraiser assist Sarasota Opera, Sarasota Youth Opera, and aspiring opera singers.

Sarasota Opera is entering its 64th Season of bringing world-class opera to Florida's Gulf Coast. The company was launched in 1960 in the historic 320-seat Asolo Theater on the grounds of Sarasota's Ringling Museum of Art. In 1984 the company moved into the former A.B. Edwards Theater-now the Sarasota Opera House. Since then, the company has gained an international reputation as one of the leading regional opera companies in the U.S. through initiatives such as the Masterworks Revival Series and the Verdi Cycle. The company's Sarasota Youth Opera is the most comprehensive Youth Program in the U.S. The Sarasota Opera House, which underwent a $20 million renovation and rehabilitation in 2007, has been called "one of America's finest venues for opera" by Musical America. Since 1983, the company has been under the artistic leadership of Victor DeRenzi and administrative leadership of General Director Richard Russell since 2012.

Sarasota Opera is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts. Programs are paid for in part by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax revenues.