Maestro John DeMain and soprano Lisa Daltirus. (Photo by James Gill)
If you check out 77 Square today, you’ll see a big spread on Opera in the Park in the “Seen” column. Rob Thomas writes, “…thousands gathered on the park hill to enjoy a free evening of terrific music.” Nice pictures accompany the piece, though none of any singers!
Shifting gears for a moment, remember that little opera we did back in May? Well, the last review has finally come in for Faust. Opera News, the leading US opera magazine, has published their review of the Madison Opera production and the word is good. Or I should say, the words are good: “intelligent… stirring… excellent… terrific… rewarding.” Wow! We’re collectively blushing, but of course more than a little proud.
Check out the Opera in the Park post on Letter from Here, a great blog-stop for all things Madison (politics, nature, the arts), with posts usually accompanied by really incredible photography. The picture above is ample evidence (the full Opera in the Park slideshow by “Madison Guy” Peter Patau is on Flickr).
Wow! Opera in the Park was a huge success! Who to thank first? The weather gods? Our fantastic crew? Volunteers? Sponsors? The thousands who showed up? As a first-time Opera in the Park staffer, I am simply in awe of the forces that cooperated on Saturday to make such a wonderful show happen, for free, for such a large crowd. I’ll be posting more photos and accounts of the event over the next few days, but for now, a big thank you to everyone. Check out the reviews below, and if you have photos, videos, or comments, please send them along or post to our Facebook page.
77 Square: “Just about perfect…The performances: From beginning to end, of the highest quality.”
The Isthmus: “With the rain holding off virtually to program’s end, this year’s Opera in the Park benefited from beautifully mild weather, drawing another audience of enthusiastic thousands gathered at Garner Park…The four guest singers were all excellent vocalists…”
After an afternoon of storm tracking, we can now officially confirm that Opera in the Park is definitely on for tonight, Saturday, July 25 at 8 p.m. in Garner Park! And what a night it looks like we’ll have!
The threat of rain earlier in the day did not keep these hardcore fans from setting up their blankets at the crack of dawn (photos taken at 7 a.m.!):
This person asked not to labeled “crazy” for setting up her blanket under one of our load-in trucks: she knew it would roll on out of the way later in the day, leaving a great view for the concert! I was warned Opera in the Park fans were intense; the crack-of-dawn-blanket-throw-down certainly confirmed that.
Our crew is busy working to get Garner Park ready for Opera in the Park tomorrow night. Here are some time-lapse images of the stage going up yesterday (click to enlarge).
