Membership
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Annual Opera Ball This major fundraiser of the Knoxville Opera Guild is an elegant black tie affair held in the fall each year at the Cherokee Country Club. A cocktail hour with silent auction precedes a gourmet meal that is accompanied by fine wines and spirits and soothing dinner music from a renowned band. As dinner concludes, a short but spirited live auction is held. Dancing to the music of our live band continues till midnight. The themes of many of our gala balls come from operas being performed by Knoxville Opera during that performance season.
Pre-Opera Dinners An excellent beginning to a delightful evening at the opera is the Guild’s pre opera dinner prior to the Friday evening opening performance of each new opera. The venue for these events is the beautiful dining room of Club LeConte atop the First Tennessee Bank Building. Cocktail hour begins at 5:15 p.m. so opera attendees may enjoy a cocktail while socializing with friends before partaking in a delicious dinner that follows. All is timed so all attendees have sufficient time to arrive at the theatre for the 8:00 p.m. curtain.
Annual Martini Party Since 1998, the Knoxville Opera Guild has held an annual martini party to break the winter doldrums. Originally associated with the annual Rossini Festival, the event featured the Rossini Funtini Martini. In recent years, special martinis have been developed to support different themes. For example, the 2007 Martini Party celebrated the Knoxville Opera production of Carmen with a Spanish decor and featured the El Matadore martini. In 2008, the Guild chose to celebrate a fine Irish tradition with a St. Paddy’s Martini Party featuring such special martinis as the Shamrock, the Blarney Stone and the Virgin Leprechaun. In addition to a variety of great martinis (and wines for those that prefer the softer spirits), this event consists of a heavy hors d'oeuvres buffet, a silent auction, and vocal performances by several UT Opera Studio artists.
Monday Night Opera Dinners Each year, the Guild has arranges a series of special Monday night dinners at some of Knoxville's finest restaurants. Opera lovers of all ages enjoy dinner and spirits together, have an opportunity to meet new friends or simply get to know each other better. Each dinner features opera vocal performances by UT Opera Studio students.
Croquet Tournament The Guild welcomes the arrival of the summer season along the banks of the Tennessee river with its annual croquet tournament. Guests are urged to dress in white either in sports attire or period costumes and to compete for best master and mistress of the mallet. Matches continue through the afternoon following a double elimination tournament format. Those eliminated cheer on the survivors while everyone partakes in a variety of food and beverage items. A special feature of this event is a civilized partaking of champagne, strawberries, and cream. Awards for best vintage female and male costumes are made along with recognition of the day's croquet champions.
The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions MONC is designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers. The auditions are held in 55 districts comprising 15 regions in the USA and Canada. Approximately 1500 singers audition annually, starting at the District level, with winners advancing to the Regional Auditions. Approximately 20-25 Regional winners are brought to New York as National Semi-Finalists for musical preparation under the guidance of the Metropolitan Opera artistic staff. Approximately 10 Semi-Finalists are advanced to the Grand Finals. Approximately 5 Finalists are selected as National Council winners, and awarded $15,000. About 100 former MONC Auditioners are on the Metropolitan Opera roster annually. |
