“Listening to the wonderful emerging talent at CLA gives me great hope and fills me with gratitude that such compelling music still has a place in our culture.”
Antonio Rutigliano & Josephine DeCaro
With the spring session of the 2025/26 CLA Vocal Academy in full swing, we reflect on the momentous generosity of our community of donors. Josephine DeCaro is one such inspirational supporter. Having grown up in Italy, Josephine has a personal connection to opera.
“I am always delightfully moved by each and every CLA performance. Growing up in Italy in the 50's, our home was always filled with Opera; when we came to the U.S. (hard to believe that opera was on TV every Sunday), our only opera came from the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, and of course on the records my father brought with him.” – Josephine DeCaro.
She and her husband, Antonio Rutigliano, have been part of the CLA community since 2019. Their support is evidenced in their sponsorship of a CLA artist each year through our Named Program Grant Initiative, their attendance at the annual Fall Benefit Gala and New York City concert series, and their passion for seeing the operatic art form endure.
Every year, Josephine and Antonio sponsor Named Program Grants for individual CLA Summer Artists. These grants directly support the cost of attending a CLA program for each artist, significantly reducing or removing the financial burden on their shoulders. Josephine and Antonio’s years of support have placed them in the CLA Benefactor tier, composed of donors who have a lifetime contribution of $10,000-$19,999.
Josephine DeCaro & Glenn Morton
“Listening to the wonderful emerging talent at CLA gives me great hope and fills me with gratitude that such compelling music still has a place in our culture.” – Josephine DeCaro.
In 2024, Josephine and Antonio sponsored mezzo-soprano Zoe Brooks in attending CLA France. A graduate of SUNY Purchase, Zoe recently made her professional debut as a 2025 Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, performing the role of Moth in Tim Albery’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. That same year, Zoe was awarded an Encouragement Award at the Opera Index Competition.
Zoe Brooks - Josephine DeCaro & Antonio Rutigliano Artist
“I wouldn't have been able to come to this amazing program without my Named Program Grant from Josephine DeCaro and Antonio Rutigliano. We are learning music, learning French in the beautiful French countryside, and it's the perfect setting to do what I love most, which is making music with other people who love it as much as I do. Thank you to Josephine and Antonio for their support.” – Zoe Brooks.
We are immensely grateful to Josephine and Antonio for their inspirational investment in the future of opera.
In 2025 alone, Classic Lyric Arts awarded $184,000 in Named Program Grants, directly supporting young artists across our four programs. Establishing a Named Program Grant, as Josephine and Antonio have done, is a meaningful and direct way to make a significant impact. Simply visit the Sponsor an Artist page on the CLA website to complete a short form and choose whether you would like to fund a full or partial sponsorship.
CLA artists find our donors’ generosity invaluable and deeply impactful, and we eagerly anticipate another year of advancing the careers of emergingyoung artists in the fields of opera and song.