Dear Supporters and Friends:

With your help, last season was a turning point for Empire State Lyric Theatre. The company achieved important milestones, forged rewarding on-going partnerships with area arts organizations and reached new audiences with diverse events and new outreach programs.

Our goal for 2010-2011 is to continue to grow our audience and expand our mission, and we sincerely hope you will join us for the ride.

Last spring, Empire State Lyric Theatre was certified as a 501C3, tax-exempt non-profit organization. This will enable ESLT to expand its fundraising capacity, as well as allow us to apply for foundation and governmental arts grants for our expanded outreach programs.

Our new season begins November 28 with "Die Fledermaus," the classic comic operetta of love lost, found, and lost again. ESLT's talented cast will be joined by the Rochester Oratorio Society's famed chamber ensemble Resonanz, and, for the first time, ESLT's new Children's Choir.

The season continues in March with "LILY, A Musical Portrait" –
music and libretto by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs. This tale of a turn-of-the-century socialite who decides to give up everything she knows to follow her heart, will be supported by ESLT in the final developmental stages with workshops and read-throughs in two cities, before being brought to life in concert.

Last June, ESLT partnered with the world-renowned Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in a gala performance of Donizetti's "L'elisir d'amore." The partnership continues this year with a performance in May 2011. Stay tuned for details on what promises to be an amazing evening!

In addition to the new children's choir which will perform with ESLT in concert and in other venues on its own, ESLT continues to expand its outreach programs to encourage tomorrow's talent to pursue their dreams. This summer, ESLT sponsored the first annual ESLT Vocal Performance and Musical Theater Workshop for high school students. A dozen students in grades 9-12 from around Rochester, including three who were given scholarships to attend, honed their technique and performance skills for a week under the tutelage of ESLT's seasoned professionals. The workshop will return next year. And in January 2011, ESLT will sponsor the first Jonathan Angelone Memorial High School Vocal Competition, awarding scholarships to the top finishers and, to the winner, a chance to perform with ESLT later in the year.

We could not have made this kind of progress without you. We offer a unique and world-class arts experience to Rochester-area residents, and add to the rich cultural fabric of the region. We hope you will choose to continue to support our growth.

With sincere gratitude,
Susan Cotroneo, Executive Director

ESLT PARTNERS WITH LOCAL COMPOSERS TO DEVELOP AND PREMIERE NEW WORK
In March 2011, Empire State Lyric Theatre will stage "LILY, A Musical Portrait" – music and libretto by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs. The opera, inspired by Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, is set in New York during the "Gilded Age" and chronicles the life of socialite Lily Bart as she struggles to maintain her privileged position in high society while fighting the impulses to follow her heart.

"LILY" will be the culmination of a project emblematic of Empire State Lyric Theatre's mission to recognize exceptional talent from its local community. "LILY" will be supported by ESLT in its final developmental stages, with salon readings and roundtable discussions between the audience, composers and performers first in Chicago, and in Rochester on March 23, 2011.

EMPIRE STATE LYRIC THEATRE PARTNERS WITH THE BEST IN REGIONAL MUSIC
It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Last spring Empire State Lyric Theatre collaborated with the world-renowned Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra on "L'Elisir d'Amore," continuing its mission to partner with the best in the region's cultural scene.

For the November 28th performance of "Die Fledermaus" at Hochstein, ESLT will embark on a new collaboration: this time with Rochester Oratorio Society's ensemble, "Resonanz." ROS director Eric Townell began "Resonanz" in an effort to reach a wider audience in select venues than is possible with the 300 strong chorus. The group brings together 40 of ROS' best voices. The glorious sound of "Resonanz" combined with ESLT's gifted soloists, as well as the performance debut of ESLT's new Children's Choir, will make "Die Fledermaus" a performance not to be missed!

The Summer Vocal Performance and Musical Theater Workshop for High School Students
A dozen talented high school students from the Rochester metropolitan area, as well as a trio of middle school apprentices, attended the first annual week-long ESLT Summer Vocal Performance and Musical Theater Workshop in July. The students gathered for three hours each day at Rochester's School of the Arts, and worked both in groups and on their own with instructors. Sue Cotroneo, Laura Jean Smillie-Diekmann and Jerry Gombatto helped the students hone their technique, presence and showmanship, as they prepared two songs each for performance at the final full-dress concert for parents and friends on Friday afternoon.

ESLT Children's Choir
ESLT continues to reach out to new audiences with the advent of the ESLT Children's Choir. Auditions are being held this fall, and rehearsals begin shortly, in anticipation of the choir's inaugural season. The children will perform both with the adult company as well as on their own several times throughout the year.

The Jonathan Angelone Memorial High School
Vocal Competition
In support of Empire State Lyric Theatre's mission to find and encourage emerging talent, ESLT will sponsor the first annual Jonathan Angelone Memorial High School Vocal Competition in January, 2011. Vocalists in grades 9-12 will compete for scholarship awards and the opportunity to perform with ESLT in a future program.

The competition honors the legacy of Jonathan Angelone, who died of cancer at the age of 19 in 2006. A stand-out athlete at Brighton High School, Angelone was part of the school's a capella group and performed in many school theater productions. Shortly before his death, Angelone established a foundation with the mission of raising awareness and encouraging early detection of cancer.