Opera North's Summerfest to Launch with 35th Anniversary Celebration at Blow-Me-Down Farm

Summerfest 2017 will be Opera North's 35th season. To celebrate this anniversary, Opera North will hold a free event at the historic Blow-Me-Down Farm in Cornish, New Hampshire on Saturday, July 15th. The concert will take place on the lawn of this beautiful farm on the banks of the Connecticut River and will feature a performance by Opera North singers and musicians. The event is held in partnership with the National Park Service, who manages the property.

Gates will open at 3 pm with the Opera North concert starting at 4:30 pm. Opera North principal artists and members of the Opera North orchestra will perform selections from the 2017 productions - Madama Butterfly, La belle Hélène, and Kiss Me, Kate. In addition, there will be a live auction offering a variety of unique experiences, including a Broadway weekend in NYC, walk-on appearances in Opera North's 2017 productions, and more.

Visitors are invited to picnic and enjoy the grounds prior to the concert. "Poo Sprague and the Hoarsemen," a popular local band based in Enfield, will be providing entertainment and National Park Service staff will be on hand to provide background on the site and its historic buildings.

Blow-Me-Down Farm was owned by Charles Beaman, an attorney from New York City, who convinced Augustus Saint-Gaudens to summer in Cornish in 1885. Saint-Gaudens' arrival in Cornish sparked the beginning of the Cornish Art Colony. Blow-Me-Down Farm became the hub of the Cornish Colony's social activities. Blow-Me-Down Farm is currently owned by the Saint-Gaudens Memorial and managed by the National Park Service.

Summerfest 2017, the premier professional summer music festival of the Upper Valley, runs July 8 to August 13, 2017. The festival features concerts at historic sites around the region including The Fells Historic Estate & Gardens (Newbury, New Hampshire) on July 9, Blow-Me-Down Farm (Cornish, New Hampshire) on July 15, Sunapee Cruises (Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire) on July 20, and Highland Center for the Arts (Greensboro, Vermont) on July 23. Mainstage productions - Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Offenbach's La belle Hélène, and Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate - start July 29th at Lebanon Opera House.

Tickets start at $20, with the best seats going for $90. Purchase them online at www.operanorth.org or through the Box Office at (603) 448-0400.

Now in its 35th season, Opera North was founded in 1982 and is based in Lebanon, New Hampshire. It is the only full-time professional opera company serving the tri-state region of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. Each summer, Opera North produces three mainstage productions of operas and classic musical theatre, performed in repertory at Lebanon Opera House, as well as a series of concerts and special events at landmark locations in the Upper Valley.

Opera North's Resident Artist Program chooses a select number of distinguished young professionals to work with world-class directors, designers, and conductors to perform and cover appropriate roles in the mainstage productions. Opera North's Education & Outreach Program provides local elementary, middle, and high school students with educational programming through free performances of musical theatre. For more information, visit www.operanorth.org or call (603) 448-4141.