NORFOLK, VA | August 28, 2015 – Virginia Opera, The Official Opera Company of the Commonwealth of Virginia, announces the 7th Annual Opera in the Park to take place at Town Point Park in Norfolk, VA on Saturday, September 12, 2015 at 7:30pm. This season’s Opera in the Park features accompaniment by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Virginia Opera Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Adam Turner.
Photo Credit | Virginia Opera
This annual event, produced in conjunction with Norfolk Festevents, is free and open to the public. Programmed with all ages in mind, Opera in the Park features a casual, picnic-style atmosphere. Town Point Park opens at 6:00pm and the concert begins at 7:30pm. Drawing a capacity crowd every season, audience members are encouraged to arrive early to secure the best seating. This year’s Opera in the Park will include music from some of the most popular operas, such as Don Giovanni and The Tales of Hoffman, as well as highlights from all four of this season’s Virginia Opera productions, Orpheus in the Underworld, La Bohème, Romeo and Juliet and The Flying Dutchman. As always, Broadway favorites are included as an exciting addition to the concert. This season, Broadway selections showcase such well known musicals as West Side Story, Into the Woods and Showboat. Hosted by Virginia Opera’s own engaging opera comedian “Doc Opera,” Dr. Glenn Winters, Virginia Opera celebrates the opening of the 2015-2016 with this free, family concert.
“By being free and open to the public, Opera in the Park annually exposes thousands of Hampton Roads area families to some of opera’s and Broadway’s most beloved selections in a casual and welcoming atmosphere for people of all ages,” said Russell Allen, Virginia Opera’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Opera in the Park also serves as an exciting launch of the new opera season which opens this year in September with Orpheus in the Underworld – an hilarious spoof of the art form – with some of opera’s very famous music that includes the Can-Can – all never before seen on the Virginia Opera stage.”
The concert will be conducted by audience favorite Adam Turner, Virginia Opera’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor. Maestro Turner conducts the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and features some of opera’s rising stars – including many participants of the Virginia Opera’s nationally recognized Herndon Foundation Emerging Artists Program. Audience members can look forward to Javier Abreu performing Ah! mes amis, the aria made famous for crowning Luciano Pavarotti as the “King of the High C’s;” showcasing both his opera and Broadway muscle, Troy Cook, international sensation and former Virginia Opera Emerging Artist, now an exceptional Verdi baritone, singing a famous aria never before heard by Virginia Opera audiences from Don Carlo, as well as a piece from Showboat; and two leading ladies, Meredith Lustig and Margaret Gawrysiak singing the fabulous duet from West Side Story – A boy like that/I have a love. The program also includes examples of Wagner orchestral music, the stormy and thrilling overture to The Flying Dutchman and the exciting Prelude from Act 3 of his Lohengrin. American composers showcased for the evening include Bernstein, Copland, Rodgers, Kern and Sondheim. Says Turner, “For me, these free concerts are a highlight of the season. Opera in the Park provides the opportunity to showcase opera’s and Broadway’s greatest hits performed by our spectacular singers alongside the Virginia Symphony. It’s the perfect celebration of this music, shared with the entire Hampton Roads community, underneath the glorious backdrop of Mother Nature. Raise a glass and do a little dance – Can-Can style!”
Virginia Opera is proud to partner with Co-Sponsors Wells Fargo Private Bank and Wynne Ford-Volvo in bringing this year’s Opera in the Park to the very center of the community. The Company would also like to thank Festevents, as well as media sponsors Sinclair Communications, WHRO and Virginia Living Magazine.
Attendees are welcome to bring lawn chairs, picnic supplies, and coolers with non-alcoholic beverages. Food and beverage will also be available for purchase at the concert. Virginia Opera will also be hosting free drawings for a large selection of prizes, including tickets to Virginia Opera performances and other local arts venues, and restaurant gift certificates. Special ticket pricing valid only that day will be available at the event for those who wish to purchase opera tickets on the spot! Parking for Opera in the Park is available within walking distance to the concert.
For more Virginia Opera information, contact Maggi George, Director of Marketing at 757.627.9545 ext. 3316, or via e-mail at Maggi.George@vaopera.org.
About Virginia Opera: Virginia Opera Association, Inc., currently in its 41st year of operation, is known and respected nationwide for the identification and presentation of the finest young artists, for the musical and dramatic integrity of its productions, and for the ingenuity and variety of its education and outreach programs. Mainstage performances in three markets across the Commonwealth reach nearly 50,000 attendees annually. In March of 1994, by unanimous vote of the Virginia General Assembly, Virginia Opera was named The Official Opera Company of the Commonwealth of Virginia in recognition of the organization’s contribution to the state as well as to the world of opera. For tickets and information visit vaopera.org or call 866.673.7282.