Just read this:

SAN JOSE, CA—General Director Irene Dalis announced today that Opera San José will present a free performance of Puccini’s La bohème for targeted members of the San José community who have never or not recently attended an opera thanks to a $45,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The audience development project will provide a unique opportunity for individuals from low-income, ethnically diverse neighborhoods in San José to experience opera for the first time. The grant will support Opera San José’s mission of serving a broad-based spectrum of the community by presenting the finest opera performances and providing programs that both enrich the opera experience and
encourage future generations of artists and audiences.

“What is absolutely necessary for the future vitality of this art form is to bring new patrons to the theatre,” says General Director, Irene Dalis. “This important grant has provided us the resources to engage 1,000 San José residents who have not seen live opera, educate them about the art, and help build a new audience for Opera San José.”

“This effort is a great way to introduce people to the beauty of opera, especially with a classic like La bohème,” said Dennis Scholl, vice president for arts, Knight Foundation. The grant is part of the Knight Foundation’s efforts to fund artistic and cultural projects that foster community engagement in the cities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers.

For more information on Opera San José visit, www.operasj.org. For more information on the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation visit, www.knightfoundation.org.

About Opera San José
Opera San José, performing at the historic California Theatre in downtown San José, is a professional, regional opera company that is unique in the United States. Maintaining a resident company of principal artists, Opera San José specializes in showcasing the finest young professional
singers in the nation. In addition to mainstage performances, Opera San José maintains extensive educational programs in schools and in the community at large, and offers Preview lectures and Introduction to Opera talks for all mainstage productions.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote informed and engaged communities and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.