Names of Note: Opera Modesto wins grant. Former Riverbank mayor watches over Delta
Opera Modesto has received $13,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts to help it stage two bilingual works next January.
The troupe will offer a double bill of “Dulcinea,” based on the 1605 novel “Don Quixote,” and “Bless Me Ultima,” based on Rudolfo Anaya’s novel about his 1940s boyhood in New Mexico.
The one-act operas will be performed in English and Spanish on Jan. 7 to 9 at the State Theatre. Free shows will be provided to school groups the following week. The plan assumes that COVID-19 limits on crowds will have eased.
This is the first NEA grant in the 38-year history of Opera Modesto, formerly Townsend Opera Players, said General Director Roy Stevens.
The shows will be the third installment of the four-year Story into Song Literacy Initiative. It started during the 2019-20 season with an opera based on Jane Austen’s “Mansfield Park.” It continues with a pandemic version of Aesop’s Fables that can be viewed online through April 30. The fourth season, 2022-23, will feature Edgar Allan Poe.
Madueño joins Delta council
Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed former Riverbank mayor Virginia Madueño to the Delta Stewardship Council. It oversees efforts to balance water delivery with fish and other concerns where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers meet.
Madueño served on the Riverbank City Council from 2005 to 2012 and was mayor from 2009 to 2012.
She is a managing partner at SanGuard LLC, which provides COVID-19 protective equipment; co-owner and director of marketing communications at World Tile Design and Showroom; and president and CEO at Imagen LLC, a public relations firm.
The seven-member council also includes Frank Damrell Jr., a retired federal judge whose law career started in Modesto. Members serve for four years and receive $50,497 annually.
And finally ...
Two registered nurses at Doctors Medical Center received the Tenet Hero award, named for the Modesto hospital’s parent company.
Susan Ybarra, shift manager in the Neuro Critical Care Unit, was recognized for introducing Honor Walks by the staff. They are conducted for loved ones of dying patients just before organ donation.
Ricky Villavicencio, clinical operations coordinator in the intensive care unit, was honored for leading the launch of ECMO in cardiac cases. It involves removing blood from the body to a heart-lung machine to restore oxygen. The full name is extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
The recipients throughout the Tenet Healthcare chain were nominated by co-workers for achievements in 2020.
Names of Note recognizes people and organizations for their contribution to their communities. Submit items to jholland@modbee.com.
