How a Committed Group of Citizens Has Helped the Opera Grow

From left: Alfred Kennedy Jr., Barbara Prickett, G. Kimbrough Taylor, Bob Edge, Murray Wood, Ronald Hartley, and Anne Hayes

We might say Atlanta’s love affair with opera began in New York in 1901 when The Metropolitan Opera added southern stops to its national tour. A journey of massive proportions, the Met Tour traveled by train, transporting orchestra, chorus, soloists, scenery, and costumes from coast to coast.

The first performance in Atlanta took place on Oct. 28, 1901, with Lohengrin. The next day saw a matinee of Romeo and Juliette and an evening performance of The Barber of Seville. Atlanta was hooked.

United by their love of the thrilling voices and social excitement that the Met brought to town each year, a group of committed citizens took it upon themselves to ensure the stability and vitality of the Met’s stop in Atlanta and established the Atlanta Music Festival Association (AMFA) in 1910. The group’s mission was to provide the structure, leadership, and financial support to ensure that the tour continued.

Countless volunteers participated in the success of the Met Tour. Patrons hosted extravagant events earning Atlanta’s reputation as the most fun week of the tour. The Junior League handled ticket operations in exchange for the opportunity to produce the program book and sell ads. Members of the AMFA established an “elevated membership” fundraising program that provided donors with access to the highly coveted tickets.

A talented pianist since he began lessons in the seventh grade, Robert “Bob” Edge continued making music throughout his studies at Yale Law School and his successful career at Alston & Bird. For decades, Bob shared his musicianship and entertaining personality through lectures and performances with opera singers, first called “The Opera Sampler” and later “Opera With an Edge.” Since he was elected president of AMFA in 1972, Bob has led the organization with a passion for the art form and a thoughtful approach to the business.

“Thanks to the strong leadership of AMFA President Alfred Kennedy Sr., who preceded me as president, and the successful years that followed, we were able to develop a reserve fund of about $1.8 million by the time the Met quit touring. Most of that fund has been dedicated to The Atlanta Opera for the last 35 years and those of us associated with the AMFA have taken great pleasure in providing this support,” Bob says.

Atlanta’s fiscal reliability and warm hospitality kept it as a stop on the Met tour until 1986, the final year of the touring program. With cash still in hand, the AMFA board transferred their remaining funds to The Community Foundation, releasing a portion of its funds to organizations they believed would honor AMFA’s original mission, including its favored local company, The Atlanta Opera.

Thanks to effective stewardship of its funds, the AMFA has faithfully supported The Atlanta Opera with an annual contribution of $70,000 or more for decades. The AMFA’s cumulative contributions to the Opera exceed $2.6 million.

Thanks to the AMFA, the legacy of cultural quality and artistic excellence from the Met’s tour to Atlanta continues today on the stage of The Atlanta Opera. Generous support from AMFA’s endowment is helping the Opera to grow into an internationally acclaimed company, bringing dazzling productions and world-class singers to Atlanta for generations to come.

To learn how you can support The Atlanta Opera through an annuity or another planned gift, contact Jonathan Blalock at 336-512-6832 or jblalock@atlantaopera.org.