New opera center receives funding and name; orchestra agrees to new contract

As a lead gift to The Atlanta Opera’s three-year, $110 million comprehensive campaign, the Blank Foundation grant designated $25 million to be used toward capital development. The remaining $2.5 million will be earmarked for the foundation’s continued sponsorship of the Molly Blank Discoveries Series, a program that features small-scale chamber works performed in alternate venues around Atlanta such as the Alliance Theatre, Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University, Rialto Center for the Arts, La Maison Rouge at Paris on Ponce, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre and Atlanta Botanical Garden. The series was launched in the 2014-15 season and was nominated for an International Opera Award in 2016.

Molly Blank, mother of Arthur Blank, the cofounder of The Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons, was known for her philanthropic spirit and dedication to the arts.

“My mother, an artist herself, believed in the power of the arts to bring joy and healing. As a sculptor and dancer, she loved attending concerts, theater, and opera in Atlanta and New York,” said Arthur Blank, in a press release. “My brother Michael and I are proud to carry on her passion for the arts, and we know she would be honored to see her name alongside one of the country’s top opera companies.”

Credit: The Atlanta Opera

Credit: The Atlanta Opera

Tomer Zvulun, general and artistic director of The Atlanta Opera, said Molly Blank, who died in 2015 at 99-years-old, will live on at The Atlanta Opera.

“Her legacy of courage, compassion, community service and much-loved sense of humor will inspire all we create and accomplish in the new facility,” he said.

Zvulun and the Atlanta Opera earned a national spotlight in October when The New York Times ran a feature about the opera’s growth and Zvulun’s leadership, which tripled the opera’s budget to roughly $15 million and made it one of largest operas in the country. According to The New York Times, only 10 in the country are larger. In 2023, the Atlanta Opera received a Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities for its 96-Hour Opera Festival. In 2018, the opera was featured in a 2018 Harvard Business School case study about successful organizational growth.

Given its growth, in June, when the Atlanta Opera orchestra musicians were due to renew their previous five-year contract, some musicians pushed for an increase in compensation. Social media posts, letters and flyers put out by members of the orchestra and the American Guild of Musical Artists aimed to garner public support for a pay increase in the new contract. The Atlanta Opera and the musicians, via the American Federation of Musicians which represented them, negotiated for five months and in November reached an agreement.

“Negotiations over the past five months have been challenging, but through dedicated and open dialogue, we have achieved a meaningful step forward,” read the orchestra’s statement. “This agreement reflects our collective commitment to honoring the vital role of the Atlanta Opera Orchestra within the company and to working toward compensation that aligns with our Tier One status.”

Zvulun echoed the sentiment.

“The Atlanta Opera’s orchestra musicians are essential to the art of opera, and we treasure the professional expertise they bring to our productions,” he said. “We thank the negotiating team for a candid exchange of ideas and concerns during this time of critical organizational growth.”

For more information on the Molly Blank Center for Opera visit AtlantaOpera.org.

This story was updated to clarify information about the orchestra’s negotiations with the Atlanta Opera and add a response from Tomer Zvulun.