Below are some of our featured upcoming special events throughout Virginia.
Check our calendar for even more events and opportunities to be involved with Virginia Opera!

Vissi d'arte – An Afternoon of Opera and Art

Sunday, September 14, 2008 (2 p.m.)
at The Chrysler Museum of Art
Presented with Virginia Opera

Join Virginia Opera at The Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 14 for "Vissi d'arte: An Afternoon of Opera and Art".

This perfect blending brings together music from two of the Opera's upcoming productions – Verdi's Il Trovatore and Donizetti's The Elixir of Love – with the most complementary works of art at the Chrysler Museum: Boucher's "Pastorale", Teniers's "The Surgeon", and Bourguereau's "Orestes Pursued by the Furies".

The program begins in the Kaufman Theatre of the Chrysler Museum, with brief introductions and discussions about the featured art and music by William Hennessey, Director of the Chrysler Museum, Peter Mark, Artistic Director of Virginia Opera, and others.

You will also enjoy live performances by the starring artists from Virginia Opera's season-opener, Il Trovatore, including soprano Eilana Lappalainen, tenor Gustavo López Manzitti, two-time Grammy Award winning baritone Nmon Ford, mezzo-soprano Jeniece Golbourne, and more. The audience will even be invited to take part in a sing-along of the famous "Anvil Chorus" from Verdi's masterpiece opera!

The true adventure begins immediately after as you embark on a special guided tour of galleries exhibiting the featured works, complete with entertaining and insightful commentary by the museum's top experts, along with additional performances by Virginia Opera artists of arias that will enhance and transform your experience of each related work of art.

To top off the afternoon, relax and mingle with fellow art lovers at a special reception hosted by the Virginia Opera Guild, featuring coffees by First Colony Coffee.

Admission is $7. RSVP with Jenny Kolin at 757.333.6298 or e-mail jkolin@chrysler.org.

Art & Music of Central Europe

Travel with the Metropolitan Museum of Art!

Our friends at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art invite Virginia Opera audiences to join them on the privately chartered M.V. Casanova for a celebration of the Art and Music of Central Europe. Limited cabins are available on two departures for this inclusive Salzburg plus Danube River cruise:

August 12-23, 2008: Highlights will include an enrichment series by Olivier Bernier, noted lecturer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Smith College Professor of Music Jane Bryden, as well as musical performances on board by flutist Christopher Krueger and talented musician, vocalist and Broadway performer Paul Lincoln. (Download Brochure)

September 19-29, 2008: Highlights include a lecture series by Princeton's Professor of Music Scott Burnham and Harvard's Senior Preceptor in Music, John Stewart, plus classical performances by Anita Burroughs-Price, principal harpist with the North Carolina Symphony.

Per-person costs from $5,795, plus air travel. Contact Joan Miller for more information at 757.624.3534 or joanbmiller1@aol.com.