CENTER GETS GRANT FOR OPERA COSTS

The Orange County Performing Arts Center has received a $1.2-million grant from a local foundation to help defray the cost of bringing the New York City Opera to Costa Mesa in January, 1987.

The grant from the Harry and Grace Steele Foundation of Newport Beach will cover costs that the Center cannot meet from box-office revenues and other sources. According to Ria Carlson, the Center’s media coordinator, it is not yet known how much the opera company’s engagement will cost the Center.

It is the first gift the Center has received for a visiting performing arts group. Center officials are hoping it will set a precedent for corporate and foundation support for programming, Carlson said. The Center, which opened Sept. 29, faces an annual deficit beginning at $4.5 million.

The Steele Foundation, which has given to other cultural organizations in the county, including South Coast Repertory Theatre, the Pacific Chorale and public television station KOCE, is the fourth largest contributor to the Center, having made gifts and pledges of more than $4 million.

The opera company is offering three productions: Bizet’s “Carmen,” Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide.”

Carlson said tickets for the operas have sold well but there are still some available for all performances. “Carmen” will be presented Jan. 13, 15 and 17; “Madama Butterfly” on Jan. 14, 16 and 18, and “Candide” Jan. 20-25. Subscription sales have been concluded. Prices for single tickets range from $15 to $42 for weeknights and matinees, and from $15 to $47 for Friday and Saturday nights.