Guide to the Sacramento Opera Guild records

Amanda Graham

Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library

828 I Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 264-2976

Fax: (916) 264-2884

Email: sacroom@saclibrary.org

URL: http://www.saclibrary.org

Guide to the Sacramento Opera Guild records

Collection number: MC 21

Sacramento Public Library

Sacramento Room

Sacramento, California

Processed by:: Amanda Graham
Date Completed:: 2012
Encoded by:: Amanda Graham

Descriptive Summary

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

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

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.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Sacramento Opera Guild Records, MC 21, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California.

Historical Note

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.

Scope and Content Note

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

Indexing Terms

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

Series 1. Administration 1947-1974

Physical Description: 1 folder

Box 1: 1

Incorporation documents (1947-1965) and audit reports (1973-1974)

Series 2. Minutes 1947-1975

Physical Description: 2 boxes

Box 1: 2

Minutes, October 1947 - January 1958 1947-1958

Box 1: 3

Minutes, March 1958 - January 1963 1958-1963

Box 1: 4

Minutes, January 1963 - January 1964 1963-1964

Box 1: 5

Minutes, January 1964 - January 1965 1964-1965

Box 1: 6

Minutes, February 1965 - December 1965 1965

Box 2: 1

Minutes, January 1966 - January 1967 1966-1967

Box 2: 2

Minutes, February 1967 - January 1968 1967-1968

Box 2: 3

Minutes, February 1968 - January 1969 1968-1969

Box 2: 4

Minutes, February 1969 - January 1970 1969-1970

Box 2: 5

Minutes, January 1971 - May 1972; June 1972 - May 1973 1971-1973

Box 2: 6

Minutes, June 1973 - May 1974; June 1974 - May 1975 1973-1975