Monday, November 2, 2015

Press Release: Exclusive Offer for Hialeah Residents



Free Shuttle Service, Exclusive Ticket Offer for Hialeah Residents
Florida Grand Opera extends exclusive ticket offers and free shuttle service to Adrienne Arsht Center to all Hialeah residents



MIAMI – November 2, 2015 – Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is pleased to announce an exclusive promotional ticket offer for Hialeah residents and complimentary round-trip shuttle transportation from the Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment in Hialeah to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami for FGO’s first production of its 2015–16 Season. This exclusive offer is sponsored, in part, by an OPERA America Building Audiences grant, supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation.

Hialeah residents interested in enjoying Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (Sunday, November 15 at 2pm performance only) can now take advantage of one of two exclusive ticket offers:

·         $25 anywhere in Tier 2/Mezzanine (Regular Price up to $99)
·         $50 anywhere in orchestra-level seating (Regular Price up to $175)

Those who take advantage of this offer will also have the option to reserve passes for a complimentary shuttle service from the Milander Center in Hialeah, where they can park their cars for free onsite and travel down to downtown Miami in comfort. Milander Center security and FGO volunteers will be on site to assist patrons in both locations. Transportation will be operated by Academy Buses.

This service is complimentary but reservations are required.

Additional details and reservation information can be found by visiting: http://www.fgo.org/HialeahOffer/2015-16_HialeahOffer.shtml


ABOUT “OPERA IN HIALEAH”

In the summer of 2014, FGO and the City of Hialeah began their joint efforts to program free and engaging community events throughout “The City of Progress.” The culmination of these efforts has resulted in the “Opera in Hialeah” (or “La ópera en Hialeah”) festival: a series of Florida Grand Opera concerts and community outreach events programmed exclusively for Hialeah residents.

This partnership was initiated by members of the City of Hialeah’s Department of Education and Community Services in early 2014. Within the first few weeks of discussion, it was identified that over the past decade FGO had actively expanded its offerings to Miami-Dade’s Spanish-speaking community: projecting supertitles in both Spanish and English, publishing bilingual program books, and advertising its productions in Spanish-language media. In addition, for the past several years FGO’s Education and Community Outreach programs have been regularly engaging students from Hialeah’s most underserved schools through FGO’s Opera Lab and Read Along, Sing a Song programs. It was this already-established connection between FGO and the Hialeah community that served as the groundwork for this new, long-term cultural alliance.

The cultural alliance officially began on July 4, 2014, when Florida Grand Opera tenor Martin Nusspaumer performed the National Anthem at the City of Hialeah’s Independence Day fireworks show.

Below are a number of the free events that Hialeah residents can look forward to throughout FGO’s 2015-16 Season:


Concerts at the Milander

On Friday, October 23, 2015, members of Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist Program performed ¡Ópera Viva, Viva Ópera!, a concert consisting of musical selections from FGO’s upcoming 2015-16 Season. Audiences had the chance to hear their favorite pieces from The Barber of Seville, Norma, The Passenger, and Don Pasquale. This concert took place at Hialeah’s Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment..

On Friday, February 12, 2015, FGO’s Young Artists will return to the Milander Center to perform Opera Amore, a concert composed of Spanish- and English-language love songs. This concert will be ticketed. More details regarding this event will be announced at a later date.


Random Acts of Opera

To increase community awareness of Florida Grand Opera, members of FGO’s Young Artist Program will perform Random Acts of Opera at specific “landmarks” in Hialeah, including the Hialeah Racetrack, Westland Mall, and the John F. Kennedy Library. Random Acts of Opera are “pop-up operas” in everyday locations—such as shopping centers, airports, or restaurants—to provide surprise bursts of entertainment. Dates for Random Acts of Opera are TBD.


Opera Lab

Opera Lab, a “laboratory of learning through opera,” is a 10 month in-school residency program that demonstrates the application of academic subjects through a creative, arts-based medium. Through their demonstrations at various high schools throughout Hialeah and Miami-Dade County, Director of Education and Community Engagement Rebekah Diaz-Fandrei and Director of Production Kevin Mynatt stress the importance of basic academic subjects—such as math, history, and science—as they build scenery and props for the stage. Above all, FGO encourages students to pursue their passions and explore the many career opportunities available to them. Occurs continuously throughout 2015-16 Season.


Read Along, Sing a Song

This season-long program serves 14 community libraries in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Read Along, Sing a Song engages children and families with interactive sessions that combine reading with playing instruments, dancing, and singing at important parts of children’s storybooks, making reading even more fun!

Read Along, Sing a Song is open to all elementary students. Sessions are free, but space is limited to 25 children per session. Read Along, Sing a Song dates and book selections are TBD.


Family Day

FGO Family Day brings the grand world of opera into South Florida community venues. To be held at Hialeah’s Milander Park, this free public program allows children to explore many different aspects of opera production at hands-on activity stations. Past activities have included an Instrument Petting Zoo, face painting, and craft projects led by members of FGO’s costume and wig shop.

Participants receive an activity sheet with questions based on information learned during each station, along with a survey. Completed sheets can be turned in to FGO staff in exchange for a Young Patronesses of the Opera Funtime Book to remember their day. Children of all ages are welcome.

This season, Family Day in Hialeah will take place on Saturday, March 5 at 11:30am. The day will conclude with a performance of a condensed, family-friendly version of Don Pasquale (affectionately titled “Don Pasqualito”) at 2:30pm..



About tHE CITY OF HIALEAH
The City of Hialeah, incorporated in 1925, is the sixth largest municipality in Florida, serving over 233,000 residents living in approximately 20 square miles. Hialeah, located in Northwest Miami-Dade County, has a Hispanic population of over 94%. As a working class community, Hialeah is viewed as an industrial city that continues to grow. “The City of Progress,” as it is known to many, is home to many Cuban exiles. The City of Hialeah is a full-service city offering quality and affordable services to residents of all ages and abilities. Hialeah is a vibrant, family-oriented community marked by cultural heritage and traditions, and is known for its myriad of “mom-and-pop” stores which productively compete against national retail and restaurant chains and franchises.


About Florida Grand Opera

Florida Grand Opera (FGO), the oldest performing arts organization in Florida, celebrates its 75th year of continuously producing grand opera during the 2015-16 Season. The mainstage operas of the season include: Giachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, November 14-December 5, 2015; Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma, January 23-February 13, 2016; Mieczysław Weinberg’s The Passenger, April 2-9, 2016; and Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, May 7-14, 2016.

Throughout the fall of 2014, Florida Grand Opera (FGO) announced the launch of “Say YES! to Opera, South Florida,” a $17.5 million comprehensive campaign to fund the future of the company. FGO is now asking all those who enjoy and support grand opera in South Florida to make their gifts or pledge today. For more information, or to make a pledge please contact our development team at 305.403.3309 or giving@fgo.org.   

Founded in 1941 as Greater Miami Opera and later merging with The Opera Guild Inc. in 1994, FGO presents a mixture of standard repertoire and contemporary works as well as commissions and new productions – all featuring projected translations in English and Spanish. FGO is recognized for funding by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding is also provided, in part, by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners and the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council. Program support is provided by the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, and the Cultural Arts Council. Florida Grand Opera is a Resident Company of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and a member company of OPERA America. Intercontinental Miami is the Official Hotel and Steinway & Sons is the Official Piano of Florida Grand Opera.
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