(Credit: Eric Joannes)

Florida Grand Opera has announced that Maria Todaro will serve as the company’s Interim General Director throughout the 2023-24 season.

Todaro commenced her professional life as a mezzo-soprano and entrepreneur. She founded the company Arteodor and took on a stage directing career where she worked with such organizations as Minnesota Opera, Atlanta Opera, and Hawai’i Opera Theater. She also co-founded the Hudson Valley International Festival of the Voice and became its General Director.

“I am truly humbled to have been entrusted with the responsibility of advancing Florida Grand Opera,” Todaro said in an official press statement issued by the company. “My primary goal is to wholeheartedly align with the vision of our esteemed board of directors and to build upon the remarkable achievements of my predecessors as we embark on an exciting new phase of growth, with the aim of increasing our influence and relevance within our community. In a world often marked by crises and despair, FGO’s role remains of paramount importance, introducing as many individuals as possible to the transformative and healing power of opera.”

Todaro was honored with the 2017 HealthAlliance Foundation Tulip Award as the Best Community Organization and the 2016 Community Award from Rotary International in Palermo, among others.