Throughout our history many local celebrities and politicians have graced our stage with cameo appearances. Today we note with sadness the passing of one such person who appeared briefly in our production of Rossini’s The Italian Girl in Algiers; Hartford’s Mayor Mike Peters.
I first met Mayor Mike when I was handling government and community relations for TCI Cablevision. The Mayor would go out with our production crew to tape “Mayor Mike’s Minutes.” These were short video spots created to give Mayor Mike a chance to do what he did so well, to promote Hartford as “a diverse collection of neighborhoods.” Mike truly loved Hartford and all it had to offer.
A few years later, after Mayor Mike became a well-known restaurateur in Hartford, Christen Eure, our former marketing director, asked Mike to make a cameo appearance as a pizza chef in The Italian Girl in Algiers. Although his schedule only allowed him to make one appearance, he readily accepted our invitation. On the night of his Connecticut Opera debut, Mayor Mike walked on to the stage at the Bushnell to an enthusiastic round of applause from our audience welcoming him to Connecticut Opera.
After that appearance, we began holding our annual Connecticut Opera Chorus & Super party at Mayor Mike’s restaurant. And Mayor Mike would join our party to celebrate the many people who help make Connecticut Opera an entertaining part of Hartford.
Thanks Mayor Mike for spending time with us at Connecticut Opera. We will miss you.
I first met Mayor Mike when I was handling government and community relations for TCI Cablevision. The Mayor would go out with our production crew to tape “Mayor Mike’s Minutes.” These were short video spots created to give Mayor Mike a chance to do what he did so well, to promote Hartford as “a diverse collection of neighborhoods.” Mike truly loved Hartford and all it had to offer.
A few years later, after Mayor Mike became a well-known restaurateur in Hartford, Christen Eure, our former marketing director, asked Mike to make a cameo appearance as a pizza chef in The Italian Girl in Algiers. Although his schedule only allowed him to make one appearance, he readily accepted our invitation. On the night of his Connecticut Opera debut, Mayor Mike walked on to the stage at the Bushnell to an enthusiastic round of applause from our audience welcoming him to Connecticut Opera.
After that appearance, we began holding our annual Connecticut Opera Chorus & Super party at Mayor Mike’s restaurant. And Mayor Mike would join our party to celebrate the many people who help make Connecticut Opera an entertaining part of Hartford.
Thanks Mayor Mike for spending time with us at Connecticut Opera. We will miss you.
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