Saskatoon Opera is Saskatoon’s professional opera company. Over 40 years ago, visionary founders, such as Dorothy Howard and Martha Blum, started a grassroots movement to bring opera to Saskatoon. Today, Saskatoon Opera continues to live by that philosophy, building an opera company whose vision is to be a star on the regional cultural landscape.
The Board of Directors of Saskatoon Opera recognizes the importance of financial stability for the long-term sustainability of the organization and the role endowments play. Thus, the directors, working with the Saskatoon Community Foundation, decided to set up the Saskatoon Opera Endowment Fund, a fund which can continue to grow by donations of support on an ongoing basis. The partnership with the Saskatoon Community Foundation provides the stability and the visiblity for the endowment fund that ensures its existence in perpetuity.
Saskatoon Opera is recognized as a regional opera company based in Saskatoon. Its performing season is focused on one full mainstage opera each year with several operatic productions to round out the year. Saskatoon Opera is proud to design and produce its own unique, original productions, working with Saskatoon’s professional arts community and with highly trained singers from across the country.
Lead donations by strong supporters of the arts in Saskatoon, Henry and Cheryl Kloppenberg and Theresa Skwara and Colin Macdonald, made this vision possible for the sustainable future of Saskatoon Opera. They see that an endowment is a way for the opera to thrive and grow in our community, providing a cultural experience like no other in the province. The two couples hope that this “kick start” to the endowment will spur growth to the fund through additional donations so that the proceeds can fund the founders’ dream of opera in Saskatoon.