Central City Opera House Association PO Box 1212 Wheat Ridge, CO 80034 Central City Opera Box Office: 303.292.6700 centralcityopera.org
A PUBLICATION OF CENTRAL CITY OPERA GUILD - FALL 2020
2020 CCO GUILD FALL NEWSLETTER
2020 VIRTUAL HOME TOUR – “LE PETIT” L’ESPRIT DE NOËL
Coeditors Christy Darling and Priscilla Mead
KATIE GRASSBY AND KAREN RITZ, CO-CHAIRS
THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF THE YEAR! Vote for your 2021 Slate of Officers! Deadline for voting is October 22.
CENTRAL CITY OPERA GUILD BELLE AWARD The very first Belle Award was presented in 2000. The following monologue was delivered by 2000 Guild President, Sandy Wischmeyer. It is just as relevant twenty years later. Enjoy! Throughout its history Colorado owes a great deal to the women who have given of themselves to bring civilization to the rough and ready west. Of course, it has always been a woman’s job to civilize men. The “belles” of Central City have been no exception. From the Face on the Barroom Floor to Ann Evans, to Clara Brown, to Augusta Tabor and Baby Doe, Colorado and Central City’s history and legend is rich with the contributions of its women. The Central City Opera is a very special part of what
makes Colorado a wonderful place to live and it owes much to its belles. Through the years, many have given tirelessly of themselves to enable Central City and the Opera to grow and prosper. Many are unsung but not unnoticed. With creation of the Central City Belle Award we want to recognize a few of these special women who have not been recognized in other ways. Our criteria for selecting recipients for this award is to single out those Guild members who have given extraordinary time, energy, and support to the Guild and the Opera, but who have not been president nor been recognized in a major way. Without these special people Central City Opera would not be what it is today.
The 1896 William and Mary Fisher home will be featured in our unique “Le Petit L’Esprit de Noël Virtual Home Tour
CHECK YOUR EMAIL ON OCTOBER 8 for the Virtual Fall Membership eNewsletter! Featuring: • 2020 Bell Award Winners • Revised Build Bylaws • 2021 Slate of Officers • A special performance by Emily Pulley
CHRISTY DARLING AND PRISCILLA MEAD, YOU ARE HEREBY DECLARED CENTRAL CITY OPERA GUILD BELLES OF 2020...BRAVA! In this 21st year we have, for the first time, a DUET Belle Award! These two women donate generously of their time and experChristy Darling and Priscilla Mead tise, and they do so completely out of sight. One a Colorado native; the other a transplant from Grosse Pointe Farms,
Michigan. One an expert in the written word; the other in visual arts, they are the Perfect DUET to produce our quarterly Grapevine. Christy Darling and Priscilla Mead, we are BLESSED and GRATEFUL to have you in our Circle. We thank you for your many years of service and the beautiful presentation you provide. For more insight into our 2020 Belles, refer to the 2020 Spring Edition of the Grapevine in which they were featured.
VOTE IN THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF THE YEAR! Vote for your 2021 Slate of Officers! Deadline for voting is October 22.
The 2020 “Le Petit” L’Esprit de Noël Virtual Home Tour is coming together better than we could have imagined. Thanks to the collaboration and community of Central City Opera supporters, we have not only secured our historical Denver property for the virtual home tour, but also secured our designers and a presenting sponsor for the event! The Home: In 1896, William and Mary Fisher (of Daniels & Fisher Department Store fame) moved into a three-story Neoclassical Revival style mansion. The home was designed by renowned architect Frank Edbrooke, who also designed The Brown Palace. After the Fisher family moved out, the mansion served as a number of different businesses, before being purchased and restored to the beautiful property it is today in the late 1990s. We are so thrilled to be able to decorate and film this historic property for the tour. The Designers: Due to the sheer size of the Fisher Mansion, we have enlisted three floral designers and two table designers to decorate. Florists Bouquets and Plum Sage Flowers will pair with table designers The Lark and T is for Table to decorate the interior of the home, while Birdsall & Company will decorate the beautiful gardens. Presenting Sponsor: Longtime Central City Opera supporter Martin “Marty” Erzinger (husband of former Guild President/current L’Esprit committee member Suzie Erzinger) and his company, Sanctuary Wealth Advisors,
LLC, have generously stepped in as our top-level sponsor for the event. Sanctuary is a wealth management and investment services provider of which Marty is a founding member. The Process: In late October, our talented group of designers will have two days to set up their holiday visions in and around the home, with the video shoot occurring the following day. The video will be an immersive experience, narrated by Central City Opera’s own Michael Walker, and sprinkled with musical performances from some of Central City Opera’s talented artists. In addition to this year’s virtual home tour, we are also hosting a virtual “Twas the Night Before” party on November 19th. The party will feature a panel of designers and Q&A session moderated by CBS Denver’s Lauren Whitney, followed by the World Premiere of “Le Petit L’Esprit de Noël.” The video will be available to the general public the following day, November 20th, and will remain accessible through December 25th. Viewers are asked to donate what they can when they view the video. We are still soliciting additional sponsorships and advertisers, so please reach out to Katie Grassby, 2020 CoChair, if interested, at katie.grassby1@ gmail.com or 303.590.5723. Many thanks to all who have stepped up to support during this unusual year and ensure the tradition of L’Esprit continues, we are eternally grateful! For more information about this year’s tour and to view images of tours past, visit www.lesprithometour.com.
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2 PRESIDENT’S LETTER
2021 CENTRAL CITY OPERA GUILD BOARD/ SLATE OF OFFICERS PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cindy Koch PRESIDENT ELECT. . . . . . . . . . . . . TBD COVPS MEMBERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . S usan Stiff and Louise Atkinson VP EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristin Bender
Dear Magnificent Guild Members, I hope this finds you and your families safe and healthy. Such an unusual year this is! Adaptations made by Central City Opera Staff and Guild have been blessedly fortuitous, thanks to the goodness and generosity of our ‘family’ members. We have banked Many Happy Memories! This issue of the Grapevine contains much exciting news, from the Fall Membership Party to an impressive update about accomplishments on Historic Properties, and the latest information on Le Petit L’Esprit de Noel. I’m especially excited about the Belle Award. Enjoy it all! Cindy Koch (pronounced ‘cook’) is your President Elect. She is a long-time member of the Guild. We have had several conversations this year and I know you’ll enjoy her piece in this issue. Cindy will bring fresh energy and ideas to our Guild. She is well-connected to the University of Denver Alumni Association, and has great knowledge and experience in nurturing organizations. VOTE online for the 2021 Slate of Officers AND to approve the revised Bylaws. Information is on the front page of this issue. Stay tuned to your email and your USPS for continuing news on L’Esprit 44! I am immensely grateful for the experience of the past 2 years. Thank you for your cheer and participation in all things Central City Opera Guild! “You Make Me Smile with My Heart” ♫ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♥ ♥ Karen Ritz, Central City Opera Guild President
VP HISTORIC PROPERTIES . . . . . Cathy Groene SECRETARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TBD Don’t Forget To Vote! Please vote for the slate of 2021 Officers listed above! You can cast your vote at the link below: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020Guild Deadline for voting is October 22. Please watch for your membership forms in the mail. There will be two – one for you and one for a friend.
LETTER FROM PRESIDENT ELECT CINDY KOCH Being considered for President of the Central City Opera Guild I have a really tough act to follow! Karen Ritz has been an amazing leader in her role as President of the Guild and I have been assured that she will be by my side next year to continue all of hers and the boards hard work. I am honored to be considered for President of the Guild for 2021. With the dedication of all the guild members and the board I hope the 2021 Season will be another huge success.
born and raised in Denver. My parents attended East High School and my father graduated from the University of Denver. I have lived in Maui, Hawaii and Bunbury, Australia. I am a multi-passionate entrepreneur who has built several businesses in the hospitality industry, real estate and now in the field of senior care. At this time I am the owner of Aging at 5280, an organization that helps elders navigate the healthcare system and assist seniors move into appropriate housing when living at home is no longer a viable option. I received my master’s degree from the University of Denver in Organizational Management and Leadership, writing my thesis on “Aging in Colorado”. With this as my guide I opened a non-medical home care agency to participate in the healthcare space and to be a change agent to help individuals age in a more secure and planned manner. I quickly learned that change does not come easily in the healthcare space and understand education is the tool to help us plan for aging. Aging at 5280 holds seminars for seniors and adult children to anticipate the next steps in care and helps them to create roadmaps for their journey in aging. I am married to my sweet husband Avery for 24 years; we have two grown (step) children Molly Koch Anderson and her husband Eric who live in Denver and Brendan Koch who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We are able to keep active with our spirited Blue Healer, Phred. Thank you to everyone who has given me this opportunity to be considered for President of the Guild. I look forward to this challenge and to seeing more of you all this year! Please reach out with any ideas and resources that will keep this wonderful Guild staying strong and vibrant. Your President Elect, Cindy Koch
This will be my 20th year as a guild member, not all of them active. The last few years I have been part of the Historic Properties committee and I was the Co-Chair of L’Espirit De Noel with the late Edna Chang. I am so thankful to Edna and Nancy Hemming for introducing me to Central City Opera so many years ago. I have served on many boards through the years but The Central City Opera and its Guild are very special to me. As I tell so many people interested in getting involved in volunteer work, The Central City Opera House Association and Guild are the nicest group of people I have worked with in the arts.
Despite the challenges that COVID-19 has presented this year, opera educational outreach and programs have remained active and strong. Beginning in June, Central City Opera hosted a number of Al Fresco concerts with performances by artists from the Central City Opera Main Stage. If you were unable to make it to Central City for these performances, you can view them on Central City Opera’s website.
A little bit about myself, I am a native of Colorado,
Another interesting educational program has been
OPERA EDUCATION REMAINS ACTIVE & STRONG
Opera Central, an interview series with artists and staff discussing all aspects of opera and the performing arts in general. Audio-only versions of these interviews are also available on the Central City Opera Pod cast. Additionally, Opera Up Close is an online course that introduces the viewer to opera and the people that make opera happen both on stage and off. Finally, teachers were able to participate in a virtual week-long workshop titled, Music! Words! Opera! They wrote and composed a musical about the pandemic. Emily Murdoch, Director of Education, and Meg Ozaki Graves, Education Coordinator, have done an outstanding job bringing these programs and opportunities to so many. A grateful ‘cheers’ to all!
THEATRE OF DREAMS GALA CANCELED Every spring we gather together for Central City Opera’s Theatre of Dreams Gala, our signature event of the year, and a beloved tradition for our opera family and friends. Unfortunately due to the City of Denver’s directives and restrictions around the concerns regarding COVID-19, we had no choice but to cancel the Theatre of Dreams Gala altogether this year. We are disappointed to make this difficult decision and once again reschedule the Gala from September 18, 2020, to April 23, 2021. Central City Opera will continue to work with our vendors and partners in preparation for the return of the Theatre of Dreams Gala next year, which will feature a four-course gourmet meal, fine wines, and blockbuster entertainment. If you have already purchased tickets, we ask that you please consider transferring your tickets to next year’s Gala date or donate the value of your tickets back to Central City Opera. You may visit centralcityopera. org/2020GalaResponse to respond online or call Michael Walker at 720.693.8065 with your option. More information at centralcityoperagala.com. Thank you in advance for your continued support of Central City Opera. It is our hope that you can join us when we can all safely gather again to celebrate Central City Opera, and Lanny and Sharon Martin.
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4 MEET LONG-TIME MOTHER & DAUGHTER GUILD MEMBERS: DIANE & KATIE Katie Grassby, the 2020 co-chair of the first-of-its-kind virtual “Le Petit” L’Esprit de Noël, comes by her interest in Central City naturally. Her mother, Diane Sweat, and grandmother, Mildred Nicholson, were founding members of the Guild. Katie has been hard at work helping committee members pull various pieces of the virtual puzzle together during the pandemic. The result – this year L’Esprit will occupy only one house, entirely on-line. But what a house it is! The home that housed the Fisher family of Daniels and Fisher fame. Before Katie was born, Diane accompanied three other ladies to Central City to form the beginning of what eventually became the Historic Properties Committee. The group was tasked with the first inventory under the auspices of the new Guild. Diane continued her 35 years of volunteer leadership as President of the PTA at her daughters’ elementary school. That year it received the award as the most outstanding PTA in Jefferson County. Diane moved onto the county and state PTAs to broaden her areas of leadership. As a board member of the Central City Opera Guild, Diane became more involved with Guild projects, including L’Esprit de Noel, public relations for the guild, and chairing the Planting Days Committee. In 2019, she served as Guild Secretary. Other volunteer pursuits included the boards of the Denver Ballet Guild, Le Bal de Ballet, President of Symphony Debs, President of the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, and chairman of the Brass Ring Luncheon. Katie holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of Arizona, her M.B.A. in Marketing Management from the University of Saint Mary, and currently works as a freelance marketing strategist and brand management professional. She has been volunteering for L’Esprit for several years, and is responsible for the new, clean look of the L’Esprit website. Katie’s other volunteer pursuits include chairing Run for the Ring for the past four years for the Children’s
Diabetes Foundation. She and her mother were supposed to be the Membership Chairs for 2020-21 for the Denver Center Alliance until the pandemic hit, and their jobs were postponed for a year. Katie and her sister, Kristen, were both Flower Girls in the ‘90s, and both were Kappa Alpha Thetas at the U. of A. Kristen got her J.D. from D.U. and her Masters of Tax Law (LLM) at Boston University. Katie is married to Taylor Grassby and they live in West Washington Park with their two adopted fur babies, Roxy and Monte Carlo. Kristen and her husband, Joe, live on the northwest side of town with their two children and dog, Mowgli. Diane and Buzz Sweat, of course, have Katie and Kristen, and look forward to a pandemicfree festival in 2021.
2020 CENTRAL CITY OPERA GUILD CALENDAR OCT 8. . . . . F all Membership Coffee Virtual Event via email with embedded videos, to include: Election of Officers, Approval of Revised Bylaws and Belle Award NOV 5. . . . . CCO Guild Board Meeting 9:30 AM via Zoom NOV 19. . . . L’Esprit de Noël 44 Patron Party 6:00 PM Virtual Live Stream Event NOV 20 . . . Le Petit L’Esprit de Noël 44 Holiday Home Video Tour DEC 25. . . . Virtual Home Tour ends DEC 10. . . . CCO Guild Board Holiday Luncheon Plans are pending and fluid JAN 14 . . . . Annual Meeting and Installation of Officers Plans are pending and fluid
3RD ANNUAL PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL CELEBRATES AUTUMN ON THE HILL Although this year looked a bit different, Central City Opera was thrilled to be able to hold the 3rd Annual Plein Air Festival in Central City from September 27-29. Approximately 20 artists from around the country gathered safely in the historic mountain town for three days of painting, a Quick Draw Competition and Easel Sale, and special artist social gatherings. Masked and physically distanced, visitors were able to observe the artists from six feet away and experience the beauty of Central City in autumn. A Guildsponsored Kids Tent handed out art supplies to families, which included Opera House coloring pages. The fresh air and beauty on the Hill was something everyone could appreciate after a long and stifling summer! Soprano Ana Christie (2021 Festival performer in Carousel) treated attendees to an intimate garden concert and the festival culminated in an outdoor Public Exhibition and Awards Reception, where the artists’ paintings from the weekend were on display and available for sale. If you were unable to attend the festival, the remaining art pieces will be available to purchase at centralcityopera.org. All proceeds benefit the Opera.
Another Silver Lining!
CCO STAFF UPDATES Farewell to Jenaveve! After three years at Central City Opera as Development Operations Manager and two and a half years as the Guild’s Treasurer, Jenaveve Linabary is moving on from her role at Central City Opera. We will miss her acute attention to all the details we’ve come to depend on her for, but wish her the very best in her new role as mother to her baby boy, James! Jenaveve will continue as Treasurer throughout 2020. “I have so enjoyed working with such a dedicated, fun, and passionate group of members to support this historic company!” Jenaveve says of her time with the Central City Opera and Guild family. Welcome Katie Nicholson As CCO’s New Director of Development! Congratulations to Katie Nicholson, who has been promoted to Director of Development at Central City Opera! Katie assumed the role of Interim Director in early 2020 and has steered the Opera’s fundraising initiatives through this strange time with enormous success. We look forward to working hand in hand with the entire Development Team to keep promoting the opera. Welcome Katie!
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6 GUILD HISTORIC PROPERTIES ENJOYS A PRODUCTIVE SUMMER As unusual as this summer has been, it has also been a fun and productive season for Historic Properties! Having the entire summer to work on a house has been so enjoyable versus working in cold, sometimes snowy April and early May as we usually have! TLC FOR LOWER COE HOUSE Much has been accomplished at Lower Coe House in the kitchen and bath. Sue Janssen has put in a beautiful tile backsplash and has restored some of the original bead board, which had been covered in three layers of wallpaper. She has begun the process of replacing a damaged wall and will install new flooring later this fall. Jon Montague-Clouse has spent hours painting the bathroom and securing and painting a large section of exterior siding and window trim, as well as staining the front porch. Carla Masur kept busy for five full days clearing the overgrown back and side yards and assisted others in removing three layers of wallpaper in the kitchen where we will repaint. A gently used and donated stove and shower stall, along with Sue’s new flooring will finish off the project. Other volunteers included Christina Dinegar, Nancy Westman, Julie Hughes, and Vince Szafranko. We’ve had some wonderful lunches on the porch (sometimes serenaded by the performances from the Opera Balcony) and want to share the special times with anyone who would like to join us into the fall. Please contact Cathy Groene at cggroene@msn.com for dates if you are interested. We look forward to the Cherry Hills Garden Club joining us to help with yard clean up around the Opera’s properties and hope to have a couple of business volunteer groups as well. Lastly, we are very grateful to Guild members and friends who have donated cash or gift cards and furniture for use in the properties. Some of the donors include: Susan Fabion, Karen Ritz, Top: John and Carla at Susan Adams, Lisa Curtis, and the Coe house Judy Newman. Middle: N. Westman Below: Sue and Cathy
ON OUR WISH LIST: • Neutral color, grommet hung, blackout curtains for bedrooms in sizes 40”x 84” (8 panels), and 1 panel 40”x 63” (carried by WalMart, Tuesday Morning, Target, Costco, Bed Bath and Beyond) • 8 standard size fabric shower curtain liners (i.e. Walmart or Bed Bath and Beyond. • Shelving is needed for Coe’s updated bathroom and is available at Home Depot: Glacier Bay Shaker Style Space Saver in white. THE STORY OF PARISH HOUSE The story of Parish House, its owners and purpose is worthy of review in order to fully understand its place in Central City’s history. As with most buildings in Central city, there are varied accounts of its history. The beginnings of this story starts with Bishop Machbeuf and Father Burion who brought the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth to Central City to open the new St. Aloysius Select and Boarding School in 1873. St. Aloysius, which once had as many as 200 students taught by 7 nuns, was located 150 rickety wooden steps above St. Marys of the Assumption. The sisters and their students staged annual fund-raising performances in the Central City Opera House, using drapery and stage props borrowed from a local undertaker. In 1886, the Bishop built St. Mary’s Convent for the sisters. The convent (now known as the Parish House) is a 6 bedroom, 3 bath house built in the Second Empire style. The mansard roof, dormer and bay windows with pediments are distinct traits this architectural style which was quite popular during the 1880s. It’s located at 205 Pine Street next to St. Mary’s Church. Interestingly, the Pine Street neighbors to the south included sisters of a quite different order who staffed several brothels, including that of Central City’s most celebrated madam, Lou Bunch.
Julie (Mrs. Spencer) Penrose In the 1930s, Julie Penrose worked tirelessly with Anne Evans, Ida Kruse McFarlane, and others to fund and orchestrate the refurbishment of the Opera House. She also helped establish The Central City Opera House Association on whose board she sat and chaired. She was an avid patron of the Opera and supporter of its historic properties. (See The Grapevine Summer 2020 issue on the Penrose Complex.) Mr. and Mrs. Penrose’s foundation, El Pomar, has granted over $1.9 million Central City Opera in general operating funds. In 1940, Julie Penrose, recently widowed, bought the convent/rectory (we now call Parish House) and renovated the home to include a chimney and bay window on the main floor bedroom (the exterior improvements are all we can verify.) Mrs. Penrose spent the Opera season here, entertaining friends and many members of the productions. She was nicknamed ‘The First Lady of Opera West of the Mississippi” by Frank Ricketson, Jr., the president of the Central City Opera House Association at the time. She occasionally convinced him to select her favorite operas or performers for the festivals. There isn’t a clear record as to how Parish house came to be owned by
Central City Opera. It is believed Mrs. Penrose left the house to the Catholic Church and it may have found its way to the University of Denver and finally, perhaps, to The Coe Foundations to the Opera Association which donated it to the CCOHA. Documents show it was titled to the CCOHA in 1965. If anyone can add to the story it would be great to fill in more details. There is a story about an unnamed soprano who was so cold on the evening of an early June performance, she borrowed a space heater from the prop room of the Opera House. She took it to her room in Parish where she put it under her bed to heat her cold mattress. She went back to the Opera House to sing her role but when she returned to her bed and laid down, her bed collapsed – the heater had burned straight through the mattress! Above right: Julie seems to be quite taken with these two gentlemen. Perhaps one of them was more than a friend? Below left: This photo of the Parish House was taken after 1886, while the new St. Mary’s Catholic Church was being rebuilt. The great fire of 1874 destroyed the original church and its rectory. The church stands on one of the oldest Catholic gathering places in Colorado. St. Aloysius School can be seen at the top of the stairs with the Celtic cross which now marks a memorial to Ida McFarlane who attended the school and bought it after it closed to create a park for the city. Below: Parish House after the completion of the new St. Mary’s Catholic Church in 1892. St. Aloysius School can be seen at the top of the stairs with the cross which now marks a memorial to Ida MacFarlane. She was an alum and bought the property after its closing and demolition in 1936 to create a park for the city.