Birkenstocks and ball gowns

Selling ice to Eskimos is a cinch compared to what Carlos Vicente and Sam Lowry do: They sell the opera.

Beloved by millions, opera is foreign, literally and figuratively, to a large segment of the population. “Opera is an incredibly intimidating art form,” says Lowry, director of audience development at the Sarasota Opera. “It encompasses all the arts in one giant pot.”

Intimidation is just the beginning. While Sarasota is an arts-infused city, acknowledges Vicente, marketing director at the Sarasota Opera, that means people have a lot of options. And past ballets and orchestra, the opera also battles leisure budgets. “You compete with any type of entertainment that's in town,” Vicente says.