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Guide to the Sacramento Opera Guild records
MC 21
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Title: Sacramento Opera Guild records
Dates: 1947-1975
Collection number: MC 21
Creator:
Sacramento Opera Guild
Collection Size:
1 linear ft.
(2 archival boxes)
Repository:
Sacramento Public Library. Sacramento Room
Sacramento, California 95814
Abstract: Founded in 1947, the Sacramento Opera Guild was established by Sacramento women to cultivate a wider public interest in operatic
arts and to sponsor local performances and educational programs. The records of the guild include administrative records and
meeting minutes (1947-1975).
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please contact the Sacramento Room.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research.
Use of the described materials may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. Permission for publication is given
on behalf of the Sacramento Public Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], Sacramento Opera Guild Records, MC 21, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California.
The Sacramento Opera Guild was founded as a not-for-profit corporation in October 1947 and began with 50 charter members,
its governing board and membership initially comprised almost entirely of local women interested in supporting the operatic
arts in Sacramento. Its purpose was, "to develop and cultivate a wider public interest in opera and its allied arts, and
to contribute to their support; to further musical education and appreciation; and to sponsor and give assistance to operatic,
musical and cultural programs and activities of an educational character."
Mabel Hazelton, Mary Richardson and Carolyn E. Ware served as the guild's first governing group and Mrs. H. J. McClatchy as
its first president. The Sacramento Opera Guild board met in the Directors Room at the California-Western States Life Insurance
building and later in the homes of board members, where tea was regularly served. The guild's first act was to buy $50 worth
of tickets for music students to attend concerts by Patrice Munsel and Florence Quartararo. Over the following decades, the
Opera Guild would continue to purchase student tickets, fund numerous operalogues and opera performances, and host other special
events and educational programs in Sacramento. Membership expanded to over 100 by the early 1950s and nearly 300 in the early
1970s.
The Opera Guild also formed a number of important partnerships over its many decades of service. In 1952, the guild began
working in partnership with the Sacramento Saturday Club to bring annual performances of the San Francisco Opera to Sacramento.
And since the Sacramento Opera Association began to produce local opera in 1981, the Sacramento Opera Guild has supported
the company's performances.
The records of the Sacramento Opera Guild contain one folder of administrative records, which includes the club's incorporation
documents (1947, 1963) and audit reports (1973-1974); bound meeting minutes, which comprise the bulk of the collection (1947-1975),
include discussion of club activities, financial reports, committee reports, board nominations and election results, and membership
statistics.
This collection is organized into two series:
- Series 1. Administration
- Series 2. Minutes
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Sacramento Opera Guild -- History
Opera
Women -- California -- Sacramento -- Societies and clubs -- History