Palm Beach Opera celebrated opening night of “Madama Butterfly” on Jan. 20 at the Kravis Center’s Cohen Pavilion, toasting to the first mainstage opera of the company’s highly anticipated 2023 Season.
An elegant and exclusive experience, PBO’s Opening Night Dinner features a pre-performance dinner, drinks, and a unique introduction to the show by General & Artistic Director David Walker prior to opening night of each mainstage opera performance at the Kravis Center.
Palm Beach Opera’s first Opening Night Dinner of the season began with a warm welcome from Palm Beach Opera’s Board Chairman David Genser followed by an introduction by General & Artistic Director David Walker, who celebrated the company’s major supporters, growing audiences, and rising sales, and shared behind-the-scenes insights into “Madama Butterfly.” Walker also highlighted PBO’s work with a Japanese cultural consultant—a company first—and invited the opera’s director, Alison Moritz, to share additional details on the how the company produced the opera with a specific focus on cultural sensitivity.
In an effort to best present Puccini’s famed opera in today’s modern world, Palm Beach Opera collaborated with cultural consultant Satomi Hirano, who helped the PBO team work in thoughtful details in the set, costumes, and more.
“We are thrilled to open our 2023 Season – our first full post-pandemic season since 2019 – with Puccini’s iconic and spellbinding ‘Madama Butterfly.’ We are also immensely proud of our production, which was carefully designed to both honor operatic tradition and respect Japanese culture,” said General & Artistic Director David Walker. “Matched with ticket sales that rival pre-pandemic productions, and the incredible generosity from our board of directors and supporters, the 2023 Season is shaping up to be an unforgettable one,” said Walker.
Palm Beach Opera’s “Madama Butterfly” was celebrated as “affecting” and “richly sung” by South Florida Classical Review, and “marvelous” and “powerful” by Palm Beach Daily News.
PBO’s “Madama Butterfly” was generously underwritten by members of the company’s Co-Producer Society, including Production Underwriter The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, in loving memory of Cornelia T. Bailey; Producers Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ari Rifkin, and Toni and Martin Sosnoff; Triple Co-Producer Sanford Baklor, in memory of Arlene Kaufman; Double Co-Producer Lynn Streim; Co-Producers Delphine and Douglas Daft, Martha Ingram, and Marc Solomon; Associate Co-Producers Monica and Scott Laurans, and Sam Lehrman and Maureen Kelly; and Assistant Co-Producers Stanley and Roberta Bogen, and Peter Linden and Faith Golding.
Carole H. and Steve Acunto, Jeffrey and Lee Ann and Alderton, Meg and Robert Biscup, David Brodsky and Susan Byrd, Robert and Julie Desnick, Randell and Rebecca Doane, Sanford and Isanne Fisher, Ann and Robert Fromer, Joan and David Genser, Arlette Gordon, Merrill and Charles Gottesman, Judy and Jerry Kaufman, Scott and Monica Laurans, Sam Lehrman and Maureen Kelly, Jacqueline and Georges McCabe, Peter and Elaine McCombs, Anka Palitz, Nancy and Ellis J. Parker, Lois Pope, William Porter, Donna K. and John Raggio, Ari Rifkin, Marc Solomon and Cindy Levine, Toni and Martin Sosnoff, Roseanne and Dennis Williams, and Palm Beach Opera’s General & Artistic Director David Walker were all in attendance among others.
PBO’s 2023 Season continues with performances of “Così fan tutte” on Feb. 24-26 and “Falstaff” on March 24-26 at the Kravis Center. Opening Night Dinner takes place on Feb. 24 and March 24. Learn more and buy tickets at pbopera.org