Nathan Granner, Jamie Chamberlin, Cathy Miller Gregg Baker, Join Opera On Park Summer Concert Series Online

Opera Orlando presents its annual Opera on Park Summer Concert Series featuring three concerts by world-class singers up-close and personal, although this season will be a bit different. The series goes online and is FREE, livestreamed directly to Opera Orlando fans weekly. Enjoy a diverse selection of songs, arias, and duets, and get to know and chat with the artists before you see them on the MainStage in the 2020-21 season.

"It just wouldn't be the same, starting the season without these concerts featuring some of the most exciting up-and-coming artists in opera, and we are pleased to be able to bring Opera on Park in this new format to our audiences," shares executive director Gabriel Preisser. "Our artists are pre-recording their arias and duets but will join me live from the comfort and safety of their homes as I host these concerts. We will get to talk about the music they selected, gain insight into their careers, and most important, field questions from the audience in real-time. I am looking forward to expanding the reach of this annual event online."

Sunday | August 23 at 2 p.m.

Nathan Granner, tenor, and Jamie Chamberlin, soprano, with Cathy Miller, piano

Metropolitan Opera National Council winner and founding member of the Sony Masterworks recording group, The American Tenors Nathan Granner, and Greek-American soprano and Delos recording artist Jamie Chamberlin, kick off the series from their home in California with Cathy Miller on piano. Orlando audiences are in for a spectacular afternoon of song as this operatic husband and wife team bring us a mixture of powerhouse opera arias and duets. Later this season, hear and see Mr. Granner live and in person when he makes his Opera Orlando debut as Don José in Carmen.

Sunday | August 30 at 2 p.m.

Gregg Baker, bass-baritone, and Robin Stamper, piano

Metropolitan Opera singer and Broadway veteran bass-baritone, Gregg Baker has a fantastic program in store for Orlando audiences showcasing his versatility and artistry as a performer, accompanied by Opera Orlando favorite Robin Stamper. Now a local Orlando resident, Mr. Baker has had a unique career, spanning decades on stages worldwide as well as on recordings and TV. He will be making his Opera Orlando MainStage debut this March as Zuniga in Carmen, as well as workshopping the role of Augustus, the father, in Opera Orlando's first commissioned work, The Secret River.

Sunday | September 6 at 2 p.m.

Carlos Enrique Santelli, tenor, and Ashley Dixon, mezzo-soprano,
with Clinton Smith, piano

The Opera on Park Summer Concert Series concludes with 2018 Metropolitan Opera National Council winners and husband and wife, tenor Carlos Enrique Santelli and mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon, closing the series with a program guaranteed to impress from their home in Atlanta. They are joined by pianist Clinton Smith, who was last seen with Opera Orlando as the conductor for the 2018 mash-up, Pagliacci/Pulcinella. Originally set to debut with the company as Tonio in last season's The Daughter of the Regiment, Orlando native Mr. Santelli will be returning to Opera Orlando this fall as Alfred in Die Fledermaus: The Revenge of the Bat.

Please consider making a donation to Opera Orlando in support of this and future programs. Suggested donation for a single concert is $30 and for the entire series, $75.

Donate $75 today and, as a perk, get exclusive access to Opera Orlando's virtual Fifth Anniversary Party on Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 2 p.m. Donations made through the United Arts 2020 Empower the Arts Campaign, a new fundraiser designed to help support small and midsize arts and cultural organizations in Orange County, will be eligible for a 15% match by United Arts, with all administrative fees waived. The campaign runs from July 15 to September 15, 2020 with a goal to collectively raise $162,000. Opera Orlando is honored to be a participating organization and is hoping to surpass its individual goal of raising $30,000. Gifts can be made online at the United Arts (https://unitedarts.cc/empowercampaign/).

Opera Orlando continues to connect with its audience through all of its fall virtual offerings. "Like" Opera Orlando's Facebook page for event schedules and updates, then subscribe to Opera Orlando's YouTube Channel for all archived episodes, concerts, and more.

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