Saturday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.—BRANDON—As a new exciting offering from the Compass Music and Arts Foundation, Barn Opera is ecstatic to announce its arrival and assimilation into the already incredibly rich cultural fabric of Vermont. Barn Opera will be making its debut by presenting Puccini’s timeless and tragically romantic “ Madama Butterfly ” in the intimate venue of Brandon Music, with professional singers and piano, on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. This performance and all subsequent performances of Barn Opera will be for the benefit of the Compass Music and Arts Foundation, and will seek to provide opportunities for local and regional talent to be featured, as well as raise funds to enable cost-free arts education to the families and residents of Vermont.
This initial event will feature a principal cast of all professional artists that all currently reside in Vermont, including: soprano Helen Lyons, who returns home from her professional operatic career throughout Germany; tenor Joshua Collier, who has recently relocated to Vermont from Boston, and has been seen locally with the Opera Company of Middlebury and Southern Vermont Lyric Theatre; baritone Cailin Marcel Manson, who sings throughout the region in opera and oratorio, and leads the Bennington Choral Society; mezzo-soprano Julie Olssen, who has been featured with Operaworks and regional companies throughout New England; Maestro Ken Olssen, who leads the ensemble from the piano, has been on music staff at Tri-Cities opera and others, and along with his wife Julie, are the founders of the Southern Vermont Lyric Theatre; tenor Cameron Steinmetz and soprano Allison Devery, who have been seen in soloists and in choral performances throughout the state including Opera Company of Middlebury and Burlington Choral Society.
The evening’s event will begin at 7 p.m. when guests will be invited to the cash bar where local beer and wine will be available. At 7:30 p.m. the evening’s performance will begin, with 10-minute intermissions in between act. At approximately 10 p.m. a complimentary glass of Prosecco will be offered to toast the performers, at which point the performers will be available to talk and greet the public. Brandon Music is located at 62 Country Club Road, Brandon.
Invitations to attend the performance will be delivered electronically to any person who makes a donation of $50 or more to the Foundation. There are no specific tickets available to the public and there is extremely limited seating available as only the first 50 donors of $50 will be able to attend. Donations to be invited can be made until Feb. 16, and can be made online via Paypal at goo.gl/C2YD2F or by calling 802-247-4295.
Net proceeds from this benefit event will be used to support the goal of the Compass Music and Arts Foundation’s to provide opportunities for the youth of Vermont to achieve artistic development without socio-economic division.
For more information, email barnopera@brandon-music.net call 802-247-4295.
Photo courtesy of Barn Opera
Puccini’s timeless and romantic tragedy “Madama Butterfly” will be performed by a new group, Barn Opera.
