Soprano Andrea Anelli
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Andrea Anelli at Opera in the Italian Cultural Garden in 2013

Gregory Polyak, VP of Northern Ohio Opera League (NOOL) said "Soprano Andrea Anelli was the founder and co-director of three different opera companies: Opera Per Tutti (2006), rebranded as Cleveland Opera Theater (2014), and ContempOpera/Cleveland (2016). Each opera company had a different goal and audience to satisfy. And satisfy Andrea did with each company.

She not only created, auditioned, selected music, costumes, sets, directed, produced, found venues to perform in, and raised funds she sang in most of the productions. I am tired thinking of all she did. Succeeding in each endeavor makes her a Cleveland legend.

Most today say her Cleveland Opera Theater is today's highest level and most diverse in NE Ohio. She took them from a "founder-driven" to a "board-driven" entity for growth. "I never dreamed it could become what it did," Anelli said. "It so far exceeded my expectations. It's been quite a journey."

We first saw Andrea perform at the Opera in the Italian Cultural Garden. She and her Opera Per Tutti (Opera for All) performed there for several years.

Here are a few example videos

She was a deserving recipient of the Italian American Heritage Award in 2015.

She sang the national anthem at the Cleveland International Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2017.

You can see Andrea sing in many Italian Garden Opera performances and other places in our YouTube videos. Just search for andrea anelli dan hanson youtube

What a voice. What a woman. What a loss.