Support

An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down.

It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house.

 – Maria Callas

 

The process of creating and listening to opera is an exciting investment of time with profound rewards.  PONY was launched in 2009 for just this reason, and is rapidly becoming known for progressive staging of works featuring emerging and established New York opera artists.  During our first season, we caught the attention of Opera, the most widely-read opera journal in the world.  Critic David Shengold described our boutique company as “feisty” and our work as “riveting.”

 

New York City is an amazing hub of accomplished, creative individuals and iconic arts institutions, and we’re ready to stake our claim among them.  But to keep moving forward we need support, and so we invite you to join us as we transform from a small creative enterprise into a fully-professional and vibrant company.  

 

The 2010-2011 Season is focused and ambitious and will require substantial support beyond ticket sales, which only account for a portion of operating costs.  To give you a sense of our new financial challenges, here is a window into some exciting changes we are implementing this year:

 

  • New Performance Spaces in Manhattan
    • We’re dramatically raising our profile by working in conveniently located, beautiful spaces in Manhattan.  We will present our fall show in the intimate Bechstein Piano Centre in Midtown and our spring production at the sleek and technically-equipped Atlantic Stage 2 in Chelsea.      
    • Cost: $6000
  • New Rehearsal Space
    • Rehearsals have already begun at the Atlantic Studios in Chelsea, and we plan to continue rehearsing here throughout the season. Being able to rehearse in these wonderful, state-of-the-art facilities has helped to create a professional and safe working environment for our artists.
    • Cost: $1500
  • Technical Staff
    • Creating rehearsals and performances that flow properly requires bringing on well-trained technical support staff with opera experience.                      
    • Cost: $500 and up
  • Professional Musicians
    • Our production of Händel’s Alcina requires a professional band, experienced with Early Music playing.  In Baroque opera there is a special symbiotic and improvisatory relationship between instrumentalists and vocalists.  It’s critical for core players to be at as many staging rehearsals as possible in order to create a genuinely collaborative result, one that is unique to Baroque opera.
    • Cost: $4000 and up


 

These costs may seem small for some individuals or corporations, but enormous for others who would still like to support our work.  Even small contributions can help: just $25 could reserve an extra hour of rehearsal time at the Atlantic Studio.   

 

Your donation will go far, whether it goes towards hiring a choreographer to set a dance for a particular opera, or pays for a single roll of spike-tape to mark our rehearsal room floor.

 

Where do I give?

 

Please make a quick and easy donation on the link below with credit card:

 

Pocket Opera of New York is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.  Contributions on behalf of Pocket Opera of New York may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent of the law.