Opera In The Park, Palm Springs Style

Palm Springs is too small a town to have an opera house and opera company, but we do have an active opera guild. The guild performs three services to the community.

First, it does outreach to high school students, introducing fourteen-thousand students per year to opera.

Second, they produce an annual vocal competition, which allows young singers to compete for scholarships.

The third function, and the one I personally take part in, is their renowned Opera In The Park put on each year at this time. I attended this event yesterday, and was thrilled and charmed by the music, the singers, and the appreciative crowd.

This was a major event, featuring three sopranos, three tenors, a baritone, and a bass-baritone, all connected to the L.A. opera company. They performed for four hours, singing old favorites written by Rossini, Gounod, Donizetti, Verdi, and Mozart. But they also sang some quite modern numbers as well, including arias from Sweeny Todd, The Mikado, and Nabucco.

This is one of my favorite events that Palm Springs offers. It is free to the public. People bring fine food and wine and blankets and folding chairs. It is a party atmosphere while enjoying talented, young singers and musicians.

I love you Palm Springs.