Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958
Brenda Perez (212) 788-3256
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani this evening hosted a Gracie Mansion reception to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the New York Grand Opera Company. The company was honored for presenting more than 140 fully-staged professional performances to New Yorkers, free of charge. The Mayor also proclaimed today New York Grand Opera Company 25th Anniversary Day in New York City.
"New York City is known as the Cultural Capital of the World because we have more great cultural resources than any other city on the planet," Mayor Giuliani said. "What is truly remarkable about these institutions is not how impressive they are in and of themselves, but the way they make themselves open and accessible to New Yorkers.
"Throughout the world, opera, one of the most spectacular and transcendent art forms of our time, has often been reserved for the privileged. That hasn't been the case in New York City. For the past 200 years, our City has had a proud history of offering opera to the people. For the last 25 years, this heritage has been strengthened and advanced, thanks to the New York Grand Opera Company and its artistic director, Vincent La Selva. I join all New Yorkers in looking forward to another 25 spectacular years of New York Grand Opera performances," Mayor Giuliani concluded.
The Mayor was joined at the proclamation ceremony by Parks and Recreation Commissioner Henry Stern and Founder and Artistic Director of the New York Grand Opera Vincent La Selva.
The New York Grand Opera Company will kick off its 25th season on July 1st in Central Park with Giuseppe Verdi's 15th opera, Luisa Miller, beginning the second half of La Selva's Viva, Verdi!-Festival committed to performing all 28 of Verdi's works in the order in which they were written.
Vincent La Selva said, "This is a really wonderful evening for us, especially because we're in the midst of our historic Verdi cycle. It is a true honor for us to get recognition on our 25th anniversary from the greatest Mayor in the world in the greatest City in the world, New York's Mayor Giuliani."
Founded by Mr. La Selva in 1973, The New York Grand Opera Company performed its first opera, Puccini's La Boheme, on August 15, 1974 in Central Park. In its 25 years of operation, the company has performed 42 different operas in Central Park for more than 1.7 million people.