THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 31, 1997 TAG: 9701310017
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 45 lines
Tonight, just before the curtain rises on Handel's ``Julius Caesar,'' the Virginia Opera will present a $500,000 check to the city of Norfolk. It's the final payment on the $4.16 million debt shouldered by the opera as part of an $8 million renovation effort.
Individuals, foundations, corporations all chipped in to pledge more than $5.3 million in less than five years to make the glittering new Harrison Opera House a reality. Norfolk also ponied up millions. The renovation began in March 1992, and work was finished by January 1994.
Was the effort worth it? Opera enthusiasts think so. Hampton Roads became the only Virginia community with an opera house. The institution has a permanent home, and because of it does 296,000 students were introduced to opera last year through a variety of school programs.
And the Opera is not just a Norfolk success story, because subscribers are drawn from across the area - 36 percent from Norfolk and Portsmouth, 30 percent from Virginia Beach, 23 percent from the Peninsula and Eastern Shore. How's that for a regional attraction?
But the Opera House isn't just about opera. Hampton Roads citizens who couldn't tell ``Die Meistersinger'' from the macarena also have reason to rejoice. That's because dozens of other events take place at the Harrison every year. The symphony uses the hall for some concerts. First Baptist presented its holiday pageant there. The Grand Lobby space is a popular venue for civic organizations and wedding receptions.
During the long ``Phantom of the Opera'' run at Chrysler Hall, events that would normally have taken place there came to the Harrison. It may not be true of every civic project that if you build it, throngs will come. But the renovation of the Harrison Opera House has been a model of public-private cooperation and a vindication of the idea that well-planned entertainment venues can enrich the community life of an entire region.
Congratulations to the visionaries at both the Opera and the city of Norfolk who, a decade ago, gambled that a cast-off and decaying building in downtown Norfolk could become home to a thriving institution, that money could be raised, an audience found and a dream come true. They were right. And their success can serve as a model for those who believe this region can prosper through daring, cooperation and hard work.