Opera Theatre of St. Louis Receives $40,000 Grant from Opera America

The Opera Theatre of St. Louis has received a major grant from the Opera America organization to continue its mission of involving the local community in the arts.

The $40,000 award was announced today by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As reported by Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Louis was one of a handful of national opera groups to receive the grant:

"Opera America, the national nonprofit service organization for opera companies, announced on Tuesday that it has awarded a total of $300,000 in grants to eight opera companies -- and Opera Theatre of St. Louis of one of them."

Since its founding in 1976, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis has produced many diverse seasons of opera, ballet and classical music presentations, much to the delight of the community's arts patrons. It has hosted 14 world premieres, including 1982's The Postman Always Rings Twice by Stephen Paulus, and Cary John Franklin's The Loss of Eden in 2002.

The funding assistance couldn't have come at a better time for the company. After the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown and subsequent riots following the lack of an indictment in nearby Ferguson, the city could certainly benefit from an infusion into its thriving arts community.

The grant is one of many issued yearly by Opera America, a service organization assisting the creation and presentation of opera since its 1970 inception. As described on its website, the Building Opera Audiences grant is for companies requiring cooperation in boosting their patronage:

"The Building Opera Audiences grant program assists the efforts of Professional Company Members to build audiences for opera through projects that lead to new and more frequent attendance at opera performances. Generously supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, these one-year grants offer assistance for new initiatives and existing programs that cultivate new attendees, retain current or lapsed audiences and foster deeper loyalty among existing patrons."

The Opera Theatre of St. Louis continues its 2016 season with its staging of Puccini's famous four-act opera, La Bohème, opening May 21 at 8 p.m. The Theatre's production of Macbeth premieres May 28.

Below, view a behind-the-scenes video of one of the company's presentations.