More than 1,600 donors have pledged $1.14 million by last weekend of the $2 million required to give new life to the officially moribund company. ABC Channel 10 reports:
The opera's board of directors voted in March to cease its operations and sell its assets. But after employees and fans protested that decision, officials launched a $1 million fundraising campaign to keep the opera open past the proposed closing date, which had been pushed back to May 19.The fundraising target was later doubled, with more than $1.14 million raised as of this evening, according to the opera's website.
On Friday, officials with the opera announced that two board members and an investment group called the Sopranos had put up $500,000 in a matching gift challenge.
"We made this challenge because we love the San Diego Opera and we believe it belongs in our community," Sopranos member Joan Henkelmann said, adding that the gift, along with community support, could help the opera reach its goal.
Board President Carol Lazier thanked the donors, which had numbered more than 1,600 on Friday, and called them the "lifeblood of the company."