OPERA UNDER THE STARS

SEPTEMBER 15, 2007 at Irvine Bowl

to celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of Festival of the Arts

Pageant of the Masters

Opera Pacific, led by Artistic Director John DeMain and President and Executive Director Robert C. announce Opera Under the Stars, a summer performance to celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of the Festival the Arts Pageant of the Masters, Saturday, September 15 at 7:30 pm at Irvine Bowl. The concert is presented in partnership with the Festival of the Arts Pageant of the Masters.

The performance will use the operatic and American Songbook repertoire to resonate the 75^th Anniversary Pageant theme of “Young at Heart,” highlighting love and lovers in operatic arias and scenes.

“Opera Under the Stars: Young at Heart” will feature performances by baritone Troy Cook, soprano Luz del Alba (who will be the Queen of the Night in Opera Pacific’s upcoming The Magic Flute), tenor James Valenti, bass, Christian Van Horn, mezzo-soprano Zheng Cao, soprano Robin Follman, the Opera Pacific Ensemble of Repertory Artists^TM (O.P.E.R.A. ^TM), and the Opera Pacific Orchestra and Chorus conducted by John DeMain, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor.

In commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Festival of Arts, the theme of the 2007 Pageant of the Masters is “Young at Heart.” The “Opera Under the Stars” program will explore the myriad permutations of love. Audiences will be spellbound by unforgettable moments from the world's greatest composers. Bizet, Gounod, Leoncavello, Massanet, Mozart, Offenbach, Puccini, Rossini, Strauss, and Verdi will be represented with selections from The Barber of Seville, Carmen, Rigoletto, Romeo et Juliet, Madame Butterfly, and Die Fledermaus, to name a few. Even Stephen Sondheim will be featured, with the Opera Pacific Ensemble of Repertory Artists^TM performing the Prologue from A Little Night Music.

Opera Pacific’s 2007-2008 season, performed at the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s opera house Segerstrom Hall, opens with Puccini’s La Bohème in the New York City Opera production designed by Allan Moyer (sets) and James Schuette (costumes). The opera will be performed October 24-November 3rd, 2007. Mozart’s The Magic Flute with stunning Zandra Rhodes costumes and sets by Michael Hampe and Alberto Andreis from San Diego Opera runs from January 23-February 2, 2008. Floyd’s Susannah, in the Chicago Lyric Opera production directed by Harry Silerstein designed
by Michael Yeargan, features a heartland-vibrant design recalling the muscular America of Thomas Hart Benton paintings, performs May 14-24, 2008.

Artistic Director John DeMain said, “Our production of Puccini’s La Bohème promises to be unforgettable with American soprano Kelly Kaduce as Mimi and Mexican tenor Arturo Chacon-Cruz, who we announcing now, replacing Yu Qiang Dai. I am thrilled to be conducting Mozart’s beloved The Magic Flute, and the Zandra Rhodes costumes highlight this colorful production, which will be a fantastical eye-popping delight. Audiences will be taken in quite a different, but equally powerful direction with Floyd’s American folk opera Susannah, which will end our season on a note of raw, emotional power.”

For tickets and information, please call 1-800-34-OPERA (1-800-346-7372) or visit www.operapacific.org. For groups please call 714-830-6361.

About Opera Pacific

Opera Pacific has established itself as one of the finest professional opera companies in the nation. Opera Pacific's mainstage productions, extensive community outreach programs, and energetic Guild Alliance combine to create a cultural resource for all of Southern California. More than 670,000 people have enjoyed Opera Pacific's productions at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, while over 575,000 young people have discovered the world of opera through the company's in-school presentations, Student Previews, and nationally recognized Opera Camps.