Annapolis Opera

Italy -- the home of good wine, good food and good opera. The same could be said of Annapolis, as all three were also found there at the Annapolis Opera's Italian Wine Tasting Evening. Arias soared in the background as wine expert Griff Hamilton introduced each wine to the gathering at the Naval Academy's Officers Club. Between sips, guests discussed each selection and nibbled on cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto, stuffed eggplant, chicken rotolo and antipasto. Ah, la dolce vita. Among the 67 wine and song lovers: Melanie Teems, event chair; Anna Marie Darlington-Gilmour, Annapolis Opera board president; Victoria Waldner, board vice president; Sylvia Earl and Felix Rosario, board members; John Belcher, ARINC president; Bill Bol-dyga, retired Northrop Grumman engineer; Ardath Cade, Maryland State Arts Council past president; John Brooke Shehan, Legal Aid attorney; Anna Walker, Northeast High School teacher; Bruce Googins, AERA Inc. vice president; Linda Giuliani, Verizon central office technician; Jim Earl, retired University of Maryland professor; Dr. Jan Hegstrom, Anne Arundel Community College adjunct professor; Nancie Kennedy, Peabody Preparatory voice instructor; and Dr. Bill LeFevre, Prince George's County Schools regional executive director.

Annapolis Opera opened its 40th season with Giuseppe Verdi's 26th opera, "Aida," a performance that emphasized the music of this grand opera in an intimate setting that made a full staging impossible. Marking his 30th season as artistic director, Ronald J. Gretz chose to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Verdi's birth with the composer's monumental work in concert form. In contrast to the dazzling spectacle of a fully staged "Aida," we enjoyed the glorious music in the smaller Maryland Hall setting.

Annapolis Opera closed its season May 16 with its annual vocal competition. At Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, the audience heard eight vocalists selected from more than 80 applicants who vied for $10,000 in prize money plus a study trip to Italy's Amalfi Coast. The competition boasted an unusual preponderance of male singers — three baritones, one bass, one tenor and one countertenor, with one mezzo-soprano and only one soprano in what is usually a crowded category.

Annapolis Opera is on fire with excitement about its 40th-anniversary season. That much is evident from its season brochure — the company's best ever — on which a flaming "V" proclaims a celebration of the bicentennial of Giuseppe Verdi's birth. Italy's pre-eminent composer will be honored at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis Opera's productions of two masterworks — a concert version of "Aida" and a fully staged "Rigoletto. " This season also celebrates the 25th annual Vocal Competition, which introduces outstanding young singers from the Mid-Atlantic region who compete for more than $10,000 in total prizes.

Annapolis Opera opened its 40th season with Giuseppe Verdi's 26th opera, "Aida," a performance that emphasized the music of this grand opera in an intimate setting that made a full staging impossible. Marking his 30th season as artistic director, Ronald J. Gretz chose to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Verdi's birth with the composer's monumental work in concert form. In contrast to the dazzling spectacle of a fully staged "Aida," we enjoyed the glorious music in the smaller Maryland Hall setting.

Four superb singers took to the stage during the Annapolis Opera's "Concert of Stars," welcoming the crowd to the beginning of the company's 38th season. The stellar performer was Annapolis resident and Metropolitan Opera baritone Jason Stearns, who has recently returned from performing in Oslo, Norway. Opening this program, Stearns delivered a compelling rendition of Umberto Giordano's "Nemico della Patria?" from "Andrea Chenier. " Later, the two-season Met performer sang a riveting "Credo in un Dio crudel" from Giuseppe Verdi's "Otello.

Annapolis Opera is on fire with excitement about its 40th-anniversary season. That much is evident from its season brochure — the company's best ever — on which a flaming "V" proclaims a celebration of the bicentennial of Giuseppe Verdi's birth. Italy's pre-eminent composer will be honored at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis Opera's productions of two masterworks — a concert version of "Aida" and a fully staged "Rigoletto. " This season also celebrates the 25th annual Vocal Competition, which introduces outstanding young singers from the Mid-Atlantic region who compete for more than $10,000 in total prizes.

The folks at Annapolis Opera celebrated the end of tax-filing season and the arrival of spring last weekend with an "Opera Lite" concert featuring tuneful moments from comic operas and operettas. The program was created and conducted by Annapolis Opera artistic director Ronald J. Gretz. This final concert of the season was a nostalgic diversion and welcome antidote to the weekend news of volcanic eruptions Wall Street investigations. "Opera Lite" audience members were seduced by gorgeous melodies from the pens of Viennese composers Johann Strauss and Franz Lehar, and from Victor Herbert, who began his musical career in Vienna and came to the United States at age 27. Also on the program was the wit of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan and the melodic genius of opera composer Gioachino Rossini, who was so gifted that he was able to retire at age 37 after writing 30 operas and live comfortably for 40 more years without ever writing another opera.

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.

True to its mission of introducing rising young opera singers to its audience, Annapolis Opera opened its 36th season with its first concert at Maryland Hall on Sunday. Noting before the concert that "more expensive fundraisers began and ended our past seasons," president Gregory A. Stiverson said, "This season will open and close with these new, less-expensive opera concerts to bring more great music in more operatic arias sung by rising young singers." The audience heard many favorite arias performed well by six young singers accompanied by the Annapolis Opera Chamber Orchestra, which was conducted by musical director and conductor Ronald J. Gretz.

Annapolis Opera's fully staged production of Charles Gounod's "Romeo and Juliet" at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts last weekend proved a triumph to close the season. My only complaint when I attended Friday evening was the number of empty seats. Though the lower-than-usual attendance was perhaps the result of the move from the opera's usual March dates to May, the show itself was as satisfying as any this year. Based on Shakespeare's timeless tale of star-crossed lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, Gounod's opera — sung in French to a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carre — debuted at Theatre Lyrique in Paris in 1867 to mixed reviews, some critics pronouncing it tuneless.

Compass Rose Studio Theater is a new company that opened its first production in Eastport Shopping Center on Oct. 21. Running Thursdays to Sundays through Nov. 20 is the Pulitzer Prize-winning work "Lost in Yonkers. " A welcome addition to our area, this new theater is also the home of a recently established acting school founded and directed by Lucinda Merry-Browne, who left her artistic director position at Bay Theatre to start this new theater teaching company. Her new venture is already paying dividends in supplying several talented cast members to this enjoyable opening "Lost in Yonkers" production.

Annapolis Opera's fully staged production of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts was a success on all counts. There were very few empty seats on Sunday, and I'm told a near-capacity and equally enthusiastic audience enjoyed the Friday night performance. Based on a 1784 Beaumarchais play that debuted in Paris, Mozart's opera premiered in Vienna in 1786 with his brilliant score set to the Italian libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte to unify drama and music with themes of love, vengeance and forgiveness.

Annapolis Opera began its 38th season by hiring its first general manager, Jennifer Fletcher, who at 37 is nearly the same age as the company itself. Since Fletcher's arrival in September, the first full-time Annapolis Opera employee has been involved in helping the company grow. "We're excited with the new ideas [Fletcher's] bringing and look forward to the possibility of having two major productions instead of a single one in time for our 40th anniversary season — a goal that will depend on Jennifer's success at fundraising," said President Leah Solat.

Four superb singers took to the stage during the Annapolis Opera's "Concert of Stars," welcoming the crowd to the beginning of the company's 38th season. The stellar performer was Annapolis resident and Metropolitan Opera baritone Jason Stearns, who has recently returned from performing in Oslo, Norway. Opening this program, Stearns delivered a compelling rendition of Umberto Giordano's "Nemico della Patria?" from "Andrea Chenier. " Later, the two-season Met performer sang a riveting "Credo in un Dio crudel" from Giuseppe Verdi's "Otello.

Annapolis Opera closed its season May 16 with its annual vocal competition. At Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, the audience heard eight vocalists selected from more than 80 applicants who vied for $10,000 in prize money plus a study trip to Italy's Amalfi Coast. The competition boasted an unusual preponderance of male singers — three baritones, one bass, one tenor and one countertenor, with one mezzo-soprano and only one soprano in what is usually a crowded category.

Sunday, May 16 Poetry reading Sue Ellen Thompson reads from her newest book, "The Leaving: New & Selected Poems," at 3 p.m. at Adkins Arboretum, 12610 Eveland Road, Ridgely. $18, $15 for members. Information: 410-634-2847 or adkinsarboretum.org. Vocal competitions The Annapolis Opera's annual Vocal Competition Finals Concert will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 16, at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase St. Free. Information: 410-267-8135 or annapolisopera.