zambello on skylight: "there is no other theatre company like it in the world."

francesca zambello, the internationally recognized director of opera and musical theater, and former artistic director of milwaukee's skylight opera theatre, speaks at the sky is not falling, the october 5th nyc benefit concert for the skylight. the concert grossed over $8500 in ticket sales and donations. a full-length dvd of the event is in the works, with a holiday release anticipated.

"The Skylight is unique. There is no other theatre company like it in the world.

People may come from all over the United States to work there, but there is also an amazing troupe of what are called local artists – which sometimes people go 'oh, local' – actually, that's the greatest thing about it. The fact that there is this tradition there of people who are performers: music theatre performers, opera singers, backstage workers, musicians, all in that community – which is not a great big city, remember. And they're all there and they make this family. That's why we all work in the theatre, right? Because there's that sense of family that we wanna be connected to. And that's what the Skylight has.

To lose that, and not hold firm to those principles, is something that is very, very sad.

So I really salute and applaud everyone who went to an incredible kind of internet campaign – led by people from Milwaukee – to say 'No, art is important. And local art is important.' Because without that, most of us who are here living in New York wouldn't have had these careers.

Nor would Milwaukee be the kind of city it is without an important institution like the Skylight."