It will be a busy late summer and autumn for the Annapolis Opera, one of the area's busiest, most enterprising performing arts ensembles.
Today at 8 p.m., the local company teams up with the Maryland Lyric Opera and the Charles Carroll House to present "A Summer's Evening of Musical Theatre: 1790-1990" on the grounds of the Carroll House, directly behind St. Mary's Church on Duke of Gloucester Street in Annapolis.
Tickets for this tuneful program of music from many theatrical genres are $16 for chairs or $14 for lawn seats. The price for senior citizens is $12.
In a pair of performances scheduled for Sept. 16, the Opera will present Mozart's charming one-act singspiel "Bastien and Bastienne" at the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre across from the City Dock.
Composed by Mozart when he was only 12 years old, the 45-minute piece is aimed at the younger opera buffs of our community and their parents. Show times are 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Annapolis Opera's Musicales have become extremely popular in recent years, and the organization has every intention of building on that popularity in the season to come.
At 3 p.m. Sept. 17, selections from John Gay's deliciously melodic "Beggar's Opera" -- Colonial America's most popular staged work -- will be performed at the Meridian Healthcare Center in Annapolis.
"Opera at the Movies," a favorite Musicale program, will be presented at the Church Hill Theatre on the Eastern Shore at 8 p.m. Oct. 7 and 3 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Florence Bain Senior Center in Columbia.
The season's centerpiece, a fully staged production of Donizetti's fizzy love story "L'elisir d'amore," plays at 8 p.m. Nov. 10 and 3 p.m. Nov. 12 at Maryland Hall.
The company has mounted exceedingly colorful productions in recent years and the bubbly story of the spoiled, rich Adina and her shy suitor, Nemorino, should bring out the best the local troupe has to offer.
Beethoven's 225th birthday will be celebrated in style at the Charles Carroll House at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Dec. 10. Though he won't officially gain another year until Dec. 16, Beethoven will, no doubt, be touched in spirit by these candlelight concerts presented in his honor.
The show will feature his Scottish and Irish songs for voice and piano trio.
The Annapolis Opera will usher in the new year in fine style Jan. 14 with "Opera From Moses to the Inquisition," a fascinating montage of biblically inspired arias from such works as Saint-Saens' "Samson and Delilah," Verdi's "Nabucco," and Halevy's "La Juive." This performance, to be presented at Kneseth Israel Synagogue in Annapolis, will be co-sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women.
The perennially popular finals of the Maryland Vocal Competition will be held at Francis Scott Key Auditorium on the campus of St. John's College at 3 p.m. Feb. 3. As always, the audience will have a say in how the prize money is awarded. In opera, you see, there are no couch potatoes. Everybody participates.
For information about tonight's performance and the Annapolis Opera's season, call 263-2710.
