Testimonials

Jack Walker

Photo of the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus in Carmen’ courtesy of OPERA NEWS Archives

Dear Metropolitan Opera, 

Little did I know when I began singing in the fifth grade that one day I would sing on the same stage with Risë Stevens. It was Tuesday evening, February 19, 1946, and Miss Stevens was performing in Carmen with the San Antonio Symphony and I was a 13-year-old member of the local children’s chorus. She was so wonderful, both as an artist and as a person. She talked with us as if she were an older sister.

After that, I could not get enough opera. I began listening to The Texaco-Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, a tradition that continues to this day. Our friends and family knew not to call during those precious hours. While in the Navy, I requested posting to the East Coast to be near the Met. Whenever I could get to New York, I would go to the Met for opera marathon weekends – three performances in two days.

My wife Mary was an opera neophyte when we met but over the years, good sport that she was, she accompanied me to hundreds of operas. In time she developed her own passion for this wonderful art form. She once, told me, “Whenever I hear beautiful music, I am eternally grateful to you for introducing me to opera.”

We named the Metropolitan Opera as the beneficiary of our Revocable Trust. By doing so we were able to join The Encore Society, an association we treasured. As Associates of The Encore Society, Mary and I had an opportunity to meet Miss Stevens. Would you believe that after all these years, she remembered that San Antonio performance?

Sincerely,

If the Met has been part of your past, please join the Walkers in being part of its future. There are so many ways to do so – by will, in a trust or annuity, among other choices. You can receive income, certain tax benefits and become an Associate of The Encore Society, too. The Met can help you find the plan that works best for you. To learn more, 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.