The UK’s Opera Rara has opened online bidding for items in their unique collection of opera memorabilia.

A collection of 16 rare vinyl LPs starring Joan Sutherland – and signed by the Dame herself – is just one of the treasures going under the hammer in Opera Rara’s auction of opera memorabilia.

Online bidding has opened for the Sutherland collection – which includes complete recordings of La Stupenda’s performances in Rigoletto, La Traviata, Siegfried and more – as part of the boutique British opera recording company’s Opera Rara Appeal. Posters signed by Sutherland are also available.

^{Lot 4: Joan Sutherland LPs – Signed}

These rarities are just some of the items under auction, part of a collection assembled over the years by Patric Schmid and Don White, who founded Opera Rara to bring back and record forgotten opera repertoire – particularly the Italian bel canto. In total 26 lots will be auctioned online, with six more to be made available on February 7 at a gala dinner at London’s Caledonian Club marking the final night of the auction.

^{Lot 3: Opera poster from 1910 advertising the first Paris production of Massenet’s Don Quichotte at the Théâtre Lyrique Municipal (Gaîté)} 

Items that may pique the interest of passionate opera lovers and collectors include rare Maria Callas recordings as well as framed prints and lithographs plus a selection of 19th-century opera posters hand-picked from Opera Rara’s internationally reknowned archive.

Several of Opera Rara’s stars are also getting involved in the fundraiser. A special evening of dinner and conversation with American tenor Michael Spyres is up for auction, as is a double pass to hear (and meet) Lebanese-Canadian Soprano Joyce El-Khoury at Glyndebourne. A double pass to see Albanian opera star Ermonela Jaho (who sings Violetta for Opera Australia next month) in the Royal Opera House’s production of Madama Butterfly – with the opportunity to dine with the soprano after the show – is also on the cards.

Online bidding has opened for the silent auction in aid of the Opera Rara Appeal. Bidding will close with the Gala dinner at London’s Caledonian Club on February 7.

Online Auction