Testimonials

Inge Rappaport

Igne as the Empress in Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame.

Dear Metropolitan Opera, 

As the daughter of a dramatic tenor, my introduction to opera came early. My father, Igo Gutman, performed in Verdi and Puccini operas all over Europe. My childhood was full of music, and opera stories served as my fairy tales. At the age of three, I was taken to my first opera, Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann in Berlin.

My devotion and commitment to the Metropolitan Opera are an important part of my life. I moved to West 66th Street when the Met moved to Lincoln Center. I became a volunteer at the Metropolitan Opera Guild and served as their director of volunteers for many years.

One day, as a joke and a dare, a friend suggested that I become a supernumerary. And so I auditioned. My first performance was in 1983 with Kiri Te Kanawa and Bernd Weikl in the Otto Schenk production of Richard Strauss’s Arabella. In all, before I retired after 18 years, I had appeared on stage numerous times in 18 different operas.

I have always felt that young artists should get a helping hand in their careers and also wanted to honor my wonderful parents. That is why I decided to include the Metropolitan Opera in my will, by endowing the Igo and Edith Frank Gutman Fund for young artists. Of course, whenever possible, I hope it will go to a tenor – I am my father’s daughter, after all.

Sincerely,

If the Met has been a part of your past, please join Inge in being a part of its future. To learn how you can create your own legacy to the Met, 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.