It was last June , when I got a Facebook message from Rochester Lyric Opera Director Sue Cotroneo, Along the lines of: “I’m giving tours of our new opera house tomorrow- want to come?”.

I was a bit stunned.

Rochester Lyric Opera had been a bit, well, shall we say “nomadic” for years. With Opera Bracelets still in its formative years, I wasn’t much in any position to be a major donor and showed my support mainly in sending perpetual articles to

Sue about events and ideas for performing in unorthodox locations and different kinds of opera community outreach. But unknown to me, Sue had reached the end of her tether with worrying more about fixing the light bulbs and fittings of inappropriate and often un-acoustic locations, than the performance and singing. Those kind of unusual performances are fun once in a while but to go forward Rochester Lyric Opera needed a real home. 

I came in the nondescript back door of the old Christian Scientist church... one of those huge old buildings that you drive by your whole life wondering about; I walked down a short passage and a whole new world of possibilities magically opened up. The majestic beauty of the ornate dome and medallion was more than I even expected to see. Sue had artists’ sketches of how the building would be transformed from a church into a theater and talked of the support of the church members who were looking to move into a smaller location.

But the most exciting thing of all was the astute sense of the plan, not for Rochester Lyric Opera alone but this beautiful building.

Many artists and even artists organizations are strong in creativity and not necessarily strong on the business or finance side. And, you hear it over and over again (or at the very least at every Met Opera Live in HD broadcast): “ticket sales account for less than 50% of costs”. What kind of business plan is that? How can anyone make that work? Where is money to come from to fill the gap and support arts companies and venues? Donations? Possibly… but risky… an unknown quantity.

How could Rochester Lyric Opera, on its few performances and events a year , possibly support or justify such a huge and opulent building?

But when I heard that while the Rochester Lyric Opera would own the building, they were partnering with the people who run the Rochester Jazz Festival- a very successful local organization – to manage the building and bring in all kinds of musical acts throughout the year, I began to think this was the smartest and most feasible project in the world. This wasn’t artistic pie in the sky at all:. it could work - it would work! Managed properly the building would in the end be able to support itself once it was up and running. A venue of this size is most definitely needed in our community . It opens up many possibilities for acts and artists that draw too small a crowd for our larger auditoriums and too many for a club venue.

Though she could barely walk from a knee injury, Sue took me all up into the secret nooks and rooms of the building. In its own way, it reminded me of the descriptions of the Palais Garnier in the novel Phantom of the Opera, where dressers costumers and seamstresses all make their abodes, living their whole lives in the theater. Though empty, tired and dark this building still held love and magic.

I spent the summer randomly driving by the building when I could... dreaming… hoping.

Later, I went on a second tour with the Opera Guild of Rochester. This time, we went into the basement bowels of the building, deep with possibility …it still had that Palais Garnier feel on a small scale.. and while we all mused about the possibility of LeRoux’s Opera Ghost poking around, we were well please to find it dry with no lake!

It was all so sparkling with excitement and potential, but I spent the fall and winter in nervous apprehension. I was afraid to ask“how is the project going” for fear of finding out that some unforeseen set back would diffuse the project.We were all pretty much sworn to secrecy until the public announcement but I worried it might never happen (well, that’s me I’m a worrier).

Then I got the call from Sue this week- the press conference is tomorrow!!

Tomorrow dawned dark, dank and drizzly but inside the new “Lyric Theater” was bright with joy. In a world so dire with troubles the smiles on the faces of all attending were spectacular! A jazz duo demonstrated how the alliance of opera and jazz in providing for the building was utterly feasible. The School of the Arts chorus showed how music both gentle and full could fill the space. Opera singers gave a hint of the future…There’s so much work to be done but it’s all real now!
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Thank you so much to Sue and her husband Tony and the many people who through their passion, dedication and vision have given and sacrificed for this project which will save a beautiful building and provide so much to the community and individual for years to come.