Toledo Opera and Toledo Opera Guild have received a major award from Opera Volunteers International.

The 2023 Project of Special Merit Award is presented to “groups who submit outstanding new and long-standing projects in support of opera. Eligible projects feature volunteers, and are designed to educate, build audience, and support the many facets of a company’s work.”

This year, the company presented “Opera on Wheels” with a performance of “Pizza and Pirates,” an adaptation of “Pirates of Penzance.”

“Opera Volunteers International designed the Project of Special Merit Award to promote innovative volunteer projects which are in service to their opera companies. Information about this great educational program will be shared with opera volunteers throughout the country. We are grateful that Celinda Niggemyer and Rachael Cammarn will join us in Pittsburgh at the Opera America Conference 2023 this week to present the project in detail at our educational session,” said President of Opera Volunteers International, Mary Svela, in an official press release.

The award will presented on May 19, 2023.