OperaDelaware Hosts Spring Opera Festival, 5/8

WILMINGTON, Del. -

OperaDelaware Monday entered rehearsals for its spring opera festival, which begins May 8 and continues over two weekends through May 17. The festival highlights the best of French opera.

Lakmé opens the festival on May 8 at 7:30pm and is performed again on May 16 at 2pm. Both performances will be held at the Baby Grand in downtown Wilmington. Ticket prices range from $31 to $68. Patrons who purchase a package of all three festival operas can save 10%. Tickets for all shows are available at www.operade.org.

Leo Delibes' masterpiece tells the story of the innocent daughter of a Brahmin priest whose love for a British officer leads to a tragic outcome. Sharon Cheng stars as Lakmé along with the OperaDelaware chorus, prepared by Music Director Jeffrey Miller. This concert performance will be conducted by Maestro Anthony Barrese, with James Harp of the Lyric Opera Baltimore at the piano.

La Tragédie de Carmen opens on May 9 at 7:30 pm and also is performed on May 15 at 7:30 pm and at 2 pm on May 17. These shows will be held at the Laird Center for the Performing Arts at Tatnall School. Ticket prices range from $28 to $65, and can be purchased by visiting www.operade.org. This show also is eligible for the three-performance discount.

"Peter Brook adapted Bizet's Carmen for Broadway, and in doing so he transformed a timeless classic, injecting new life and passion," said Brendan Cooke, OperaDelaware's general director. "We have a top flight cast for this 90-minute, action-packed production, complete with astounding costumes and a chamber orchestra. Audrey Babcock's portrayal of Carmen is simply irresistible."

On May 14 and 16 at 7:30 pm, opera blends with the culinary world in Wine, Women & Food, featuring OperaDelaware favorite Sharin Apostoulou, Michael Mayes, and more exciting opera stars in a tribute to the sweet and savory of opera. The pièce de la résistance is Bon Appétit, a fun and amusing one-woman show starring Melissa Kornacki in the role of Julia Child. Kornacki will reprise the famous chocolate cake episode that today is fondly remembered with Child's work on television, and the show captures all the joie de vivre of the original chef. Wine, Women & Food will be performed at OperaDelaware Studios, 4 South Poplar Street, in Wilmington. Tickets for this show range between $28 and $65 and are eligible for the series discount.

Tickets and information about purchasing performance packages can be purchased online by visitingwww.operade.org, or by calling 302-442-7807.