NEW YORK—Opera News, started by the Metropolitan Opera Guild in 1936, has the largest circulation of any classical music magazine in the United States. The black tie-award dinner for distinguished achievement in opera is an annual event looked forward to by music lovers.
The 13th annual award presentation was held at the Grand Ballroom of New York’s Plaza Hotel. Before the award presentation, an auction was held with attendees bidding on such unique items as a singalong of old pop songs in the winner’s own home by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe accompanied by her ukulele, a week at a villa in Tuscany, and other unusual items. The bids were in the thousands of dollar range but the money went to a good cause: opera.
