Toledo Opera’s Sapphire Ball Marks its 48th Year
Featuring Masks Designed by Local Artists

This year, Toledo Opera is fifty years old and its Sapphire Ball is forty-eight. The first of its kind in Toledo, the Sapphire Ball has been the model for many of the fundraising events that have taken place in Toledo over the past decades. The ball continues to set the standard as an elegant, entertaining event that provides major support for Toledo Opera. Proceeds from the event provide 10% of the funds needed to produce operas of the highest quality in Toledo. 

The 2008 Sapphire Ball will take place at Dana’s Door Street Campus on Saturday, November 1, 2008. A sumptuous Italian feast will entice, stars from the opera’s upcoming production of Rigoletto will beguile, the Toledo Jazz Orchestra will transport, and a live auction will tempt those attending the ball. Tickets begin at $250 per person. For more information call Toledo Opera: 419-255-7464.

The theme of this year’s ball is “Un Ballo in Maschera”, the name of an opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Masks have a long history and serve a number of purposes. They have been used in the theatre since Greek and Roman times. In 18th century Venice, people wore masks so they could move about the city anonymously. Masks are used in several operas as part of a festive ball scene. By concealing a character’s identity, they become a critical element of the story. For example, in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette, Juliette meets a masked Romeo, not realizing that he is part of the Montague family, and therefore an avowed enemy of her family.

A collaborative project between Toledo Opera and area artists ensures that those who attend “Un Ballo in Maschera” will have an extensive choice of masks to wear. In the past few weeks, over thirty artists, provided with a blank mask form, have been creating masks to be worn at the ball. Artists have approached the “opera mask project” with an enthusiasm similar to that generated by the call a few years ago to decorate frogs for downtown Toledo. The masks range from the simple and sleek to the fanciful and fantastic. They can be viewed on the Toledo Opera web site (www.toledoopera.org) or at the offices of Toledo Opera. Sales of the masks (ranging in price from $50 to $500) benefit the opera.

Interviews with artists can be arranged. Pictures of the masks are available by clicking on the link to the left.