The City Council pledged $50,000 Monday night to help bring an Italian Opera Festival – billed as the first such event of its kind in Southern California – to town next summer.

The council unanimously approved the amount for the inaugural festival, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 10-20 at Lantern Bay Park.

The 11-day festival is planned to be an immersion in Italian style with a series of cultural, culinary, and artistic experiences, the city says. Several professional opera performances will be included, each expected to draw up to 1,300 attendees.

City staff says that the festival would extend the peak tourism season, support the local economy, and bolster bed tax and sales tax revenues.

“This high profile event will enhance international awareness of Dana Point as a destination city and attract visitors throughout the year,” a city report says.

The release of the city’s pledged $50,000 would be contingent on success of the Italian American Opera Foundation’s fundraising and other production milestones as determined by the city manager, along with Mayor Lisa Bartlett and Councilman Scott Schoeffel, who will be acting in their capacities as ex-officio members of the Sister City Advisory Committee.

The city’s four major hotels – the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Laguna Cliffs Resort & Spa (owned by Marriott), Doubletree Doheny Beach and the St. Regis Monarch Beach – which form the Dana Point Tourism Business Improvement District, have proposed $200,000 in their 2010 budget to support the festival, the report says.

“The hoteliers view this as a great opportunity to generate a considerable number of hotel room bookings as the event matures,” the report says.

An Italian Village will be set up at the festival to share Italian fashion, art, food and culture.

During this past summer, Dana Point took another step toward making an Italian opera festival in town a reality, when the City Council unanimously approved the formation of a sister-city committee and set up a nonprofit organization to support sister-city activities.

Dana Point and Viterbo, an Italian city of 70,000 residents about 70 miles north of Rome, became sister cities May 31.

Backers believed then that the official handshake would help speed the return of opera to Orange County in 2010 along with cultural tourism. Santa Ana-based Opera Pacific, the county’s only opera company, shut down last November after 22-plus seasons.

The sister-city agreement, believed to be the second for an Orange County city with an Italian counterpart, helped set the stage for the Italian opera festival.

In March, council members directed staff to investigate the cost and feasibility of hosting Orange County’s first opera festival, as well as to look into creating the coastal city’s first sister-city partnership. The city had been approached by the newly created Italian American Opera Foundation as it searched for a festival venue.

The website will be the main and most updated  source of information regarding the Italian Opera Festival and all other IOAF’s productions.

On the website it will be possible to purchase the tickets for the Italian Opera Festival and all the events and fundraisers organized by the Foundation.

Among other information, the website will feature a special section dedicated to Orange County with a special directory of local dining and accommodation facilities.

Details on the sponsorship opportunities for the Italian Opera festival as well as Founding Members benefits will also be listed on the site.

This year among the high profile authorities and dignitaries that attended the Festival, Mayor Lisa Bartlett from Dana Point arrived to officially seal the Sister City agreement between Dana Point and Viterbo in light of the upcoming Italian Opera Festival in Lantern Bay Park.

During her visit to Italy Mayor Bartlett had the amazing opportunity to meet the Pope Benedetto XVI also visiting Viterbo at the same time.

The attention is now back to the upcoming Italian Opera Festival in Dana Point.

IOAF General Manager Claudio Ferri will arrive tomorrow in Dana Point for private meetings with major donors, the City Council as well as to discuss key partnerships and production progress.

ABOUT THE TUSCIA OPERAFESTIVAL

The Tuscia Operafestival was born from the experience of the organizers of the New Operafestival of Rome that for many years has served as a foundation to encourge and develop talented international young artists to gain a high level of artistry. The artists are given the opportunity of “an Italian” preparation and the possibility to play and to sing in the heart of the archaeological and monumental beauty of Rome.

Stefano Vignati, Artistic Director encourages and hones the talents of the young artists, placing them on the stage alongside world renowned performing artists. Through numerous national and international auditions more than 100 young people are selected personally by the Artistic Director. The International Lyric Academy brings together the young artists with the masters of absolute prestige including Fedora Barbieri, Giuseppe Taddei, Janet Perry, Alexander Malta, Carol Neblett, who prepare the students for their public performances.

DANA POINT The city has taken another step toward making an Italian opera festival in town next summer a reality.

The City Council on Monday unanimously approved the formation of a sister city committee and setting up a non-profit to support sister city activities, including a potential festival.

City staff will advertise and pick people interested to serve on the committee, forming the group in the next two to three months, said Christie Teague, the city’s economic development manager, who likely will serve as a liaison to the committee.

The council also picked Mayor Lisa Bartlett and Councilman Scott Schoeffel to serve as ex-officio representatives to the new committee.

“A big part of the focus will be to support festival activities and support relationships between the two cities,” Teague said. “This is all new for Dana Point.”

The size of the new committee will be determined by community interest.

Dana Point and Viterbo, an Italian city of 70,000 about 70 miles north of Rome, became sister cities on May 31, according to a city report.

Backers believe that the official handshake should help speed the return of opera to Orange County in 2010 along with cultural tourism. The Santa Ana-based Opera Pacific, the county’s only opera company, shut down shop for good in November after 22-plus seasons.

The sister city agreement, believed to be the second for an Orange County city with an Italian counterpart, helped set the stage for a potential three-week Italian opera festival in August and September of 2010 at Dana Point’s Lantern Bay Park, adjacent to the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa.

Teague said some members of the new committee will be on the non-profit entity that will help raise funds for sister city activities. The panel will also work on establishing communications protocol and contacts between Dana Point and Viterbo.

Several residents who want to include Viterbo in their travel plans to Italy have called the city asking what they should do when they get there, Teague said.

Dana Point has identified the visitor center in Viterbo and will work towards arrangements to greet and share materials about that city with locals who travel there. City officials will reciprocate the services for Italian visitors coming to Dana Point.

In March, council members directed staff to investigate the cost and feasibility of hosting Orange County’s first-ever opera festival, as well as to look into creating the coastal city’s first sister-city partnership. The city was approached by the newly-created Italian American Opera Foundation as it searched for a festival venue.

The council is expected to consider a sponsorship agreement with the foundation for the potential festival at a future date.

Italian conductor Stefano Vignati wants to reproduce a form of Viterbo’s popular Tuscia Operafestival in Dana Point, said Barbara Manconi, the spokeswoman for the foundation, in an earlier interview.

Details of the festival still have to be hammered out, but Manconi said then that part of the event will be recreating an Italian village at Lantern Bay Park.

“This agreement strengthen the ties between our two countries,” says Marini “bringing to our communities the best of both worlds.”

The two cities will have in common the Italian Opera Festival, scheduled to commence in August 2010 in Dana Point, already in its 3rd year in the City of Viterbo under the name of Tuscia Operafestival.

We are doing the reverse process of the Festival of the Two Worlds, that started in the US and arrived in Italy. The Italian American Opera Foundation will bring a very successful festival from Italy to the US.

The Festival of the Two Worlds  has brought tremendous opportunities to the city of Spoleto, Italy, that has been hosting it now for almost 52 years.

We are sure that the Italian Opera Festival will do the same for Dana Point and Orange County.

Dana Point and the Italian city of Viterbo will officially become sister cities tonight, marking the occasion on the 61st anniversary of the Italian republic.

The big deal: the official handshake should help speed the return of opera to Orange County in 2010 along with cultural tourism, backers say. The Santa Ana-based Opera Pacific went under in November after 23 years, finding that it couldn’t make ends meet and closed up shop, probably for good.

The sister city agreement, believed to be the second for an Orange County city with an Italian counterpart, will help set the stage for a three-week opera festival in August and September of 2010 at Dana Point’s Lantern Bay Park, adjacent to the Laguna Cliffs Resort & Spa.

“I look at this opportunity to create a culture bridge between Italy and the United States,” said Giulio Marini, mayor of Viterbo, a city of 70,000 about 70 miles north of Rome, “And I am looking forward to bringing to this beautiful city of Dana Point some of the history that we share in Viterbo.”

In March, Dana Point City Council members directed staff to investigate the cost and feasibility of hosting Orange County’s first-ever opera festival, as well as to look into creating the coastal city’s first sister-city partnership. The city was approached by the newly-created Italian American Opera Foundation as it searched for a festival venue.

Italian conductor Stefano Vignati wants to reproduce a form of Viterbo’s popular Tuscia Opera Festival in Dana Point, said Barbara Manconi, the spokeswoman for the foundation.

Details of the festival still have to be hammered out, but Manconi said part of the event will be recreating an Italian village at Lantern Bay Park, calling the support the festival is garnering from local hotels “truly refreshing” from a commercial standpoint in a down economy.

The foundation is seeking agreements with several Orange County malls and businesses to bring a flavor of Italy around the county during the festival, allowing Italian brands, crafts and food to be enjoyed at malls and museums, she said.

“We’re going to bring traffic and cultural tourism to Orange County and Dana Point in particular,” she said.

Dana Point Mayor Lisa Bartlett, reached this afternoon as she was on her way to UCLA’s Royce Hall for an Italian republic anniversary celebration at which she was to also sign the sister city agreement, said the partnership is a good thing for both cities.

“It allows us to promote our cultural ties and business opportunities for our two cities, and allows us also to promote the Italian American Opera Festival,” she said.

Bartlett believes purists won’t be disappointed with outdoor opera.

“Of course, it’s a different environment,” she said. “I think if you set it up right with staging and sound system, you’d have a very high quality environment for an outdoor opera.”

Hundreds of guests attended the by-invitation-only exclusive event at the St Regis hotel on May 30th and they all pledged their support for what is shaping up as the event of the year.

“This Festival will strengthen the relationships between Italy and the US,” says Consul General Nicola Faganello, that attended the gala together with many other important Italian dignitaries, including Gaddi Vasquez, former Ambassador of the UN in Rome.

Maestro Vignati, Founder and Artistic Director of the Italian American Opera Foundation, that will bring the Italian Opera Festival to Orange County is very pleased with the outcome and the warmth of the hospitality received.

“This is the future of Opera for Orange County,” says S. Paul Musco, Patron of the night, known philantropist and Opera lover.

Mr. Musco, recently nominated Vice- Chair of the LA Opera Board, addressed the invitees asking for the support of the community for this ambitious project that will put Orange County on the map of major international Opera sites.

Mayor Marini will be invited at an official dinner at the Laguna Cliffs Marriot Resort, where representatives of the Italian American Opera Foundation, representatives of the City of Dana Point, the General Managers of the four major hotels of the City will join Mayor Lisa Bartlett will welcome the Italian dignitaries to the City of Dana Point.

The Official Sister-City Agreement between Dana Point and Viterbo will be officially signed on June 2nd, at UCLA Royce Hall, during the celebrations for the Italian Republic, hosted by Consul General Nicola Faganello. This sistership will be the very first city-to-city agreement for the City of Dana Point.

“In our 20 year history as a city this is the first time we have taken the steps to establish a formal sister city partnership,” says Lisa Bartlett,  “we believe this program will strengthen international and cultural ties and presents a unique and timely opportunity that will be mutually beneficial for both cities.”

It looks as if 2010 is shaping up as Southern California’s Year of Opera Festivals.

Barbara Manconi – chief executive of Vert Brands, which is marketing the festival — says that it’s pure coincidence that the festival will fall in the same year as the Wagnerama.  Instead, the new fest was precipitated by the effective shutdown of Orange County’s financially strapped Opera Pacific late last year.

As Manconi describes it, Vignati, who is involved in the Tuscia Opera Festival, was brought in to advise Opera Pacific on solving its financial woes. While he was unable to come up with a quick fix for that company, Vignati suggested developing the new festival, naming Dana Point a sister city to Viterbo and thus leveraging the power of two countries and cultural tourism to build support.

Not that we’re interested in provoking a festival war, but the announcement of the OC venture could not help but remind Culture Monster that most newcomers to opera tend to be more attracted to Italian opera — that is, pretty Puccini and voluptuous Verdi — than the intellectual rigors of German composer Wagner. When asked about this, Manconi acknowledged that much Italian opera is easier listening than “heavy” Wagner. “The music is so compelling — even if they don’t understand the language, they are beautiful love stories,” she says.

– Diane Haithman

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/05/oc-opera.html

The Italian Opera Festival scheduled for August 22 – September 15 2010, will be the first event of its kind. Focusing on the masterpieces of the Italian Opera, the three-week festival will celebrate Italian style through a series of cultural, artistic and culinary experiences, all at an impeccable level of luxury and service.

The City of Dana Point is working with the Italian American Opera Foundation to finalize an agreement to become the official location of the Italian Opera Festival.

In addition to elevating Orange County as a major international opera site, the Italian American Opera Foundation is also dedicated to developing the Sunrise Emerging Artists Program that will provide an opportunity for young artists to train and prepare for their professional careers alongside internationally renowned artists.

The Italian American Opera Foundation was formed with the aspiration to create a cultural bridge between Italy and the US.

The partnerships with internationally recognized Italian brands and artists will create an added value to the Opera experience attracting a broader audience to the Festival and to Orange County.