TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT

Last updated: August 12, 2026

These terms apply to hosting, advisory and related services provided by BIAGGI Opera Privé ("Opera Privé", "I", "me") to a client ("you"). They are written to be read, not to be endured. If anything here is unclear, ask me before we begin.

1. What I provide

I provide personal services: my presence, preparation, commentary and introductions in connection with opera performances and related events, and advisory services in connection with philanthropic giving.

My services are agreed individually with each client and confirmed in writing before an engagement begins — normally by email, setting out the date, the performance, what is included, and the fee.

2. What I do not provide

I am not a travel agent, tour operator, or organiser of package travel.

I do not sell, arrange, assemble or resell flights, accommodation, ground transport, travel insurance or holiday packages, and I do not act as an intermediary for those who do. Where an engagement involves travel, you or your own travel advisors arrange and pay for it directly with the relevant providers, and your contract for those services is with them and not with me.

Where tickets for a performance are involved, I will advise on and assist with obtaining appropriate seats. Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, tickets are purchased in your name and at your cost, and the contract of sale is between you and the venue or its authorised agent.

I do not provide legal, tax, accounting, investment or immigration advice. See clause 9.

3. Access, introductions and the limits of what can be promised

This clause matters more than any other, so I want to be direct about it.

A significant part of what I offer depends on the goodwill of third parties: opera houses, festivals, administrators, conductors and artists. Over twenty-five years I have built the relationships that make backstage visits, artist introductions and similar access possible, and I will use my professional judgement and best efforts to arrange them.

But I cannot guarantee any specific access, introduction, or meeting. A singer may be unwell, exhausted, or simply not in a state to receive visitors after a demanding performance. A house may change its policy, its security arrangements, or its staff on the day. These decisions are not mine and I will not press anyone to override them.

Where a specific element of access has been discussed, I will describe it as an expectation rather than a commitment, and I will tell you honestly how confident I am. If an expected element does not happen, that is not a failure of the engagement and does not give rise to a refund or reduction of my fee, provided I have made reasonable efforts. If a central element of an engagement becomes impossible in advance, I will tell you as soon as I know and we will either adjust the plan or agree a fair adjustment to the fee.

My relationships in this industry are the foundation of what I offer to every client. I will not risk them for any single engagement, and I ask you to understand that this protects your interests as well as mine.

4. Performances are not within my control

Casts change. Singers cancel, sometimes hours before curtain. Productions are altered, postponed or abandoned. Outdoor performances are affected by weather.

My fee covers my preparation, my presence and my services on the agreed date. It is not contingent on a particular artist appearing, on the performance meeting your expectations, or — where the venue cancels — on the performance taking place at all, provided I am present and available as agreed. Where a performance is cancelled by the venue, I will help you pursue a refund from them for your tickets, and I will do my best to make the evening worthwhile regardless.

If a substitution or cancellation is announced in advance and materially changes the reason for the engagement, tell me. I would rather move a date than deliver an evening neither of us wanted.

5. Fees and payment

Fees are quoted individually and in writing before an engagement, in US$, EURO, or CHF. Quoted fees are exclusive of any applicable value added or similar taxes, which will be added where required.

Unless otherwise agreed: fifty percent is payable on confirmation to reserve the date, and the balance no later than fourteen days before the engagement. For retainer arrangements, fees are payable in advance on the agreed schedule.

Costs incurred by me at your request and on your behalf — for example, a table booked in my name, or my travel where we have specifically agreed I should travel for you — are additional and will be invoiced at cost. I mark up nothing.

6. Changes and cancellation

If you cancel or postpone:

Third-party costs already committed on your behalf — tickets in particular, which are frequently non-refundable — remain payable by you regardless of notice.

If I cancel: if I am unable to attend for any reason other than force majeure, you may choose between a full refund of my fee, or a rescheduled date. Where possible I will propose a colleague of comparable standing, but you are under no obligation to accept.

Since I am the service, I carry insurance and I keep my commitments. But I am one person, and illness happens.

7. Conduct

Opera houses are workplaces, and the people in them — artists, crew, administrators — are at work.

I ask that guests treat everyone we encounter with courtesy, respect the boundaries set by artists and staff, follow all venue rules, and take no photographs or recordings backstage or in any private area without explicit permission from those present.

I reserve the right to end an engagement immediately, without refund, if a guest's conduct is abusive, discriminatory, or damaging to my professional relationships. This has never happened and I do not expect it to. It is here because the relationships in question took twenty-five years to build.

8. Confidentiality, both ways

My obligations to you. I treat your identity, your attendance, your circumstances and anything you tell me as confidential. I will not name you publicly, post about you, use your image, or confirm to anyone that you are a client, without your written permission. If you would prefer that I do not mention your engagement even privately to colleagues, tell me and I will not.

Your obligations regarding others. In the course of an engagement you may meet artists and staff, and you may learn things about them, their work, or their circumstances that are not public. I ask that you treat what you see and hear backstage as private, and that you do not publish, post or repeat it. Artists extend access to me on the understanding that discretion follows. This obligation continues after the engagement ends.

9. Philanthropic advisory — scope and limits

Where I provide philanthropic advisory services, I advise on the arts sector: which organisations are well run, what a gift is likely to achieve, how programmes are structured, and how to engage with institutions. Where agreed, I may act as your representative in dealings with an organisation's development staff.

I am a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy. I am not a lawyer, tax adviser, accountant, investment adviser, or a licensed financial professional in any jurisdiction, and nothing I provide constitutes legal, tax, regulatory or investment advice. Decisions on the structure, vehicle, jurisdiction and tax treatment of any gift must be taken with your own qualified professional advisors, and I will work alongside them rather than in place of them.

I do not accept commissions, finder's fees, or any form of payment from organisations to which my clients give. My only compensation is the fee you pay me. If a conflict of interest arises — including any organisation with which I have a personal, board or professional connection — I will disclose it to you in writing before we go further.

10. Liability

I will perform my services with the reasonable skill and care expected of a senior professional in my field.

I am not liable for the acts, omissions or performance of third parties, including venues, artists, hotels, restaurants, transport providers or travel advisors, nor for the artistic quality of any performance.

To the extent permitted by law, my total liability arising out of or in connection with any engagement is limited to the fees you have paid me for that engagement. I am not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including loss of enjoyment, loss of opportunity, or costs of travel and accommodation booked by you or on your behalf.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.

11. Your own arrangements

You are responsible for your travel documents, visas, health arrangements, and for holding adequate travel and medical insurance covering the events and travel involved. I strongly recommend insurance that covers cancellation, since third-party costs such as tickets are often non-refundable.

12. Force majeure

Neither of us is liable for failure to perform caused by events beyond reasonable control, including illness, strike, venue closure, extreme weather, transport failure, civil unrest, epidemic, or government restriction. Where such an event prevents an engagement, we will reschedule in good faith. Where rescheduling is impossible, my fee will be refunded less any costs I have irrecoverably committed on your behalf.

13. Relationship of the parties

I act as an independent professional. Nothing in these terms creates a partnership, employment, joint venture, or agency relationship, and I do not have authority to enter into commitments on your behalf except where expressly agreed in writing.

14. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of [JURISDICTION], and the courts of [JURISDICTION] have exclusive jurisdiction, save that if you are a consumer resident elsewhere, you retain any rights to bring proceedings in your place of residence that cannot be excluded by law.

15. Changes to these terms

The terms in force are those in effect on the date an engagement is confirmed in writing. Later changes to this page do not affect a confirmed engagement.

16. Contact

BIAGGI Opera Privé
c/o Biaggi Arts Consulting, LLC
418 Broadway, Albany, NY 12707
daniel@biaggioperaprive.com
+1.917.941.0399