Testimonials

Rev. Terence Blackburn

The first live opera seen by Reverend Blackburn was Don Giovanni with Cesare Siepi in the title role (pictured here).

Dear Metropolitan Opera, 

I grew up in Flint, Michigan and I'm not sure where I first learned about opera, but I am sure where my love of opera was nurtured – through the Saturday afternoon broadcasts. At the age of ten or eleven, a friend and I would go to the Flint Public Library and check out the libretto for the following Saturday's broadcast. We would get together at one or the other of our houses, our moms would make us lunch and we'd listen to the performances coming live from the stage of the Met. This continued through high school and, by then, I was hooked on opera.

I feel very fortunate to live just outside New York City, and so I am able to go to the opera frequently. In fact, I have two Saturday matinee subscriptions. No matter how many times I've been to the Met, I get a thrill when the house darkens and those beautiful Austrian crystal chandeliers rise to the ceiling. I usually hear a couple gasps around me at this wonderful sight, and I realize these are people who are experiencing the Met for the first time.

I am remembering the Met in my will because I always want there to be a "first time" for new opera lovers. It gives me great pleasure to think of the joy, the splendor and the sheer magnificence that await future generations, and I'm happy to do my small part to see that the Met goes on and on and on.

Sincerely,

If the Met has been part of your past, please join Reverend Blackburn in being part of its future. To learn how you can create your own legacy to the Metropolitan Opera, please write or call 212.870.7388.

The Encore Society
The Metopolitan Opera
Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023
212-870-7388
e-mail: encoresociety@mail.metopera.org.