Festival Opera Announces 31st Season Featuring Bellini's NORMA

Walnut Creek's newly revitalized Festival Opera announces its 31stseason of performances and special events, featuring an all-new production of Bellini's Norma, featuring acclaimed singer Shana Blake Hill in the title role, directed by Mark Foehringer and conducted by Bryan Nies, with the Festival Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Norma will have two performances on Friday, July 8 at 7:30pm and Sunday, July 10 at 2:00pm in the Hofmann Theatre at the Lesher Center for the Arts, located at 1601 Civic Drive in Walnut Creek.

The season will also include the return of the Artist Recital Series, with Tenor Alex Boyer at the Piedmont Center for the Arts on Sunday, March 20 at 5:00pm, and Mezzo-Soprano Lily Bogas and Countertenor Matheus Coura in They Sing! on Sunday, May 22, at 5:00pm. Online, The MIXTAPE Digital Stage series continues, with Episode 3 featuring Soprano Shana Blake Hill scheduled for April release, and Episode 4 with Tenor Taylor Thompson scheduled for release this June.

Festival Opera also welcomes the continuation of Opera in the Park at Orinda Community Park on June 16, Opera After Dark in Rudney Plaza at the Lesher Center for the Arts this August, and the annual Costume Ball/Gala at Lafayette Park Hotel on October 22.

Tickets for all Festival Opera events will go on sale February 14 at FestivalOpera.org or by phone at 925-943-7469.

Festival Opera General Director Zachary Gordin said, "Our 2022 season is inspired by the power of the human voice to move and unite us through storytelling and shared experience. Our multifaceted season will unfold in ways that meet our audience where they are, welcoming them into more intimate spaces and conversations with our artists, and will crescendo through more casual festivities to culminate in the grandest gestures opera has to offer."

"An all-new production of Bellini's Norma will bring a stunning display of vocal fireworks to the Lesher Center for the Arts, joined by the forces of our outstanding orchestra and chorus. I'm thrilled to present an incredible cast of principal artists from around the country, and to introduce our audience to emerging local artists on the path to major operatic careers. Join us for this thrilling and satisfying journey!"

"We will offer intimate chamber recitals and our MIXTAPE digital stage, highlighting individual artists' journeys and musical inspirations. Our Behind the Mask video interview series will continue to allow audiences a peek into the lives and stories of our collaborators. We'll take opera out of the theatre and into our community with Opera in the Park and Opera After Dark performances."

Led by General Director Zachary Gordin, Festival Opera is committed to community building through culturally rich and diverse programming, increased equity and access for underrepresented communities, and producing operatic and vocal masterworks with the highest artistic standards. The company believes in a world where the historic barriers of our theatre are broken down, a world in which they can provide the community with an invitation and a safe space for all people to gather and experience the power of music.