Opera Lancaster Announces 2013-14 Season Featuring Opera Macabre, Hansel & Gretel & More!

If you are looking for family-­friendly entertainment and culture, look no further! This season, OperaLancaster presents four shows, ranging from the spine-­tingling Halloween fun to heart-­warming holiday wonder.

OperaLancaster's 62 nd season features Opera Macabre, Amahl and the Night Visitors and Hansel & Gretel. The company is also introducing its first opera for children only, Opera Tales: The Three Little Pigs.

Just in time for Halloween, OperaLancaster presents the ghoulish Opera Macabre (pronounced so it rhymes), an opera cabaret. Featuring ghosts, witches, magic and madness, OperaLancaster will bring classics from Mozart, Verdi, Bizet and Saint-­?Saens to the Ware Center stage-and there may even be a zombie sighting!

Feel free to bring the kids or come in costume! Show times are Friday, October 18, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 20, at 2 p.m. Each performance is at the Ware Center in beautiful downtown Lancaster. This holiday season, OperaLancaster presents the touching Amahl and the Night Visitors, the Gian Carlo Menotti classic about a young boy who meets the Magi on their journey to see the Christ Child.

The opera features Lancaster's top singers, chorus and dancers. The story of Amahl's incredible encounter makes a welcome addition to your family's holiday season. A Saturday evening performance is set for December 14, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. at the Ware Center. The opera will also be performed at Highland Presbyterian Church on Fruitville Pike on Wednesday, December 4; Grandview United Methodist Church on Saturday, December 7; and in Carlisle on Sunday, December 15.

For this year's main stage production, OperaLancaster takes on the Humperdinck classic Hansel & Gretel, based on the Grimm Brother's fairy tale. Full of colorful imagery, local and regional talent and delightful arias, Hansel & Gretel is perfect for opera aficionados, novices and the entire family. Hansel & Gretel will be performed on Thursday, March 6, 2014, and a matinee will follow on Saturday, March 8. Both Page 2 performances will be at the Winter Visual and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Millersville University.

Finally, OperaLancaster presents Opera Tales: The Three Little Pigs, an opera for school-­aged children with the moral "use your library." This one-­act opera uses the music of Mozart to teach children that if you are going to build a strong house, you need to do your research! A perfect introduction for kids to the world of opera, the 45-­?minute production will be at the brand new Trust Performing Arts Center in downtown Lancaster on select Saturday mornings in March and April 2014.

Founded in 1952 as Lancaster Opera Workshop, OperaLancaster has produced over 100 opera productions in the Lancaster community. It is one of the only companies in the state-outside of Philadelphia-to present fully staged productions of operas and musical dramas. In this professional organization, most volunteers, members and performers come from the local educational, business and arts communities. Anyone who is interested in opera and supporting the company can become a member. OperaLancaster provides development and career advancement opportunities for singers and musicians from local schools and colleges and for local music professionals who want to maintain and hone their artistic skills. Singers John Darrenkamp and Robert Brubaker had early opportunities with OperaLancaster and went on to international singing careers with the Metropolitan Opera and other companies.