CENTRAL CITY OPERA 

Central City 

News: There’s always something to celebrate at the Central City Opera’s signature fundraiser, the Theatre of Dreams Gala, and this year the agenda was packed. 

For starters, guests at this April 10 dinner and entertainment extravaganza were encouraged to incorporate gold and silver in their wardrobe choices to pay tribute to Colorado’s Gilded Age, the period between 1870 and 1900 when major gold and silver discoveries transformed the state into a hub of wealth, elegance and urbanization. 

A nod also was given to Colorado’s 150^th anniversary, America’s 250^th anniversary, and the upcoming start of Central City Opera’s 94^th Summer Festival, which will include performances of Douglas Moore and John Latouche’s “The Ballad of Baby Doe.” Seventy years ago, “The Ballad of Baby Doe” had its world premiere on the Central City Opera stage. 

Last but certainly not least, tribute was paid to longtime supporters Sonny and Pam Wiegand.  

 Sonny Wiegand’s commitment to the Central City Opera is “Not measured in words, but in action,” said Scott Finlay, who became the company’s president and chief executive officer in 2023 after having put in over a decade as its artistic director. “What you see is what you get.” 

Finlay added that when he stepped into his present job, “We needed to raise a half-million dollars, in addition to all of our other financial obligations. Sonny stepped right up and offered a $100,000 challenge to the board, and what happened next told me everything I needed to know about him. He is deeply committed.” 

However, Finlay said, “None of this could happen without Pam. She’s the one who opened the door to Sonny’s deeper engagement.” 

Erin Nichols and Johnny Cannon chaired the Theatre of Dreams Gala, with help from a committee made up of Amy Berglund, Emily Cannon, Kathy Eichenberger, Suzie Erzinger, Nancy Hemming, Susan Stiff and Patricia Villegas. 

It began with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the Denver Art Museum’s Sie Welcome Center. Dinner, entertainment by soprano Kaileigh Riess, tenors Javier Abreu and Michael Hoffman, baritone Andrew Garland and bass-baritone Andrew Simpson and pianist Jeremy Reger followed in the Sturm Grand Pavilion. 

“We make great opera, tell good stories and you literally climb a mountain to get there,” Finlay said of the Central City Opera, adding that when the company was founded in 1932 it was in the heart of the Great Depression, but its founders “Chose to build, they chose courage over retreat and generation after generation, people like you have chosen to keep something special happening there.” 

Anne McGonagle, a past president of the Central City Opera Guild and member of the company’s Voice Your Dreams board, introduced the paddle-raise by pointing out that “Survival no longer is our goal. We’re building strategically and purposefully. We have a clear plan for … a stronger, more sustainable future. And we’re on track to have our best ticket sales since 2014.” 

What she said resonated because with a match from the Max and Erin Nichols Family Foundation, the paddle-raise led by auctioneer Simone Ross generated $155,200.  

Ross also called the live auction where items like Fete de Fat, a Louisiana-style feast prepared by Scott Finlay and held at Kristin and Jim Bender’s Castle Rock home, and a Greek Isles escape brought in a total of $34,000. 

Opera Colorado’s general director and chief executive officer, Barbara Lynne Jamison, and board chair Richard Koseff were among the guests. Others were former state legislator Penfield Tate and his wife, Paulette; Andrea Albo, executive director of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District; Carlos Martinez, president/CEO of the Latino Community Foundation of Colorado; Steve Edmonds, president of the Central City Opera Guild; Silver Sponsor Beverlee Henry Fullerton and Jim Wilkins; Marilyn Coors; Dawn and Willis Wood; Gold Sponsor Sharon Martin; and Historic Denver president John Deffenbaugh. 

About the organization: The Central City Opera was founded in 1932 and is the fifth-oldest professional opera company in the United States. Its annual Summer Festival takes place in the 550-seat historic Opera House in Central City. The 2026 Summer Festival runs from June 27 to Aug. 2 and features Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” Douglas Moore and John Latouche’s “The Ballad of Baby Doe” and Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning “Master Class.” 

Website: centralcityopera.org 

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