Presenting the Madison Opera Center
With the help of a generous supporter, Madison Opera has purchased the space for a new home. Located at 335 W. Mifflin Street, the completed Madison Opera Center will house the company’s administrative offices, a rehearsal hall, a costume shop, and more. It will be a cost-effective way to consolidate our operations, while meeting future artistic needs and reaffirming our commitment to participating in the development of downtown Madison and the thriving Madison arts community. 

The Opera Center will allow us to focus on the core of our mission: providing our entire community with great opera performances and engaging educational programs for decades to come.

Why We Need the Madison Opera Center
Financial Stability
Owning our own space allows us to control costs, rather than being subject to fluctuations in the rental market for offices and rehearsal space. When added to earned revenue streams, such as leasing our 88 parking stalls, this promises greater financial stability for Madison Opera. Conservative projections put us significantly ahead over the next 15 years, making this the strongest move we could make for the company’s long-term health, keeping us an important part of Madison for generations to come. 

Artistic Opportunity
Owning our own space will enable us to expand our artistic, educational, and outreach activities. Examples may include free lunch-time recitals with our new Studio Artists, a regular preview series, summertime programs for youth interested in opera, and open houses as part of National Opera Week.

Community Opportunity
The Opera Center is in the heart of Madison’s cultural center, as the arts are an integral part of downtown Madison. The Opera Center expands that artistic impact, with rehearsals literally at street level. Imagine walking down Mifflin Street to the Farmer’s Market or the new Central Library and pausing to peer into the Opera Center’s windows to see art being created! The rehearsal hall will allow us to share our resources with our community, as it will be used by several performing arts groups.

We Need Your Help
The Madison Opera Center is unfinished – we purchased it with a dirt floor and no mechanical systems. Over the next few months, we will be building it out, and we need your help. We have raised over $1.1 million of our $1.8 million campaign, which includes the initial building purchase, and hope you will join us in building this dream.

Any gift given between now and July 1, 2013, will be matched by the Challenge Grant for the Madison Opera Center, doubling its impact. Read more about the challenge here.

You can make a donation online here. For more information, or to discuss a multi-year pledge, please contact Beth Tolles at 608-238-8085 ortolles@madisonopera.org.
Performances
Opera in the Park 2013
July 13, 2013
Tosca
Nov. 1 & 3, 2013
The Daughter of the Regiment
Feb. 7 & 9, 2014
Dead Man Walking
April 25 & 27, 2014