Opera in the Park: A History
On July 20, 2002, Madison Opera held a free concert in Garner Park on Madison’s West Side. The brainchild of General Director Ann Stanke, Music Director John DeMain, and trustee Marian Bolz, the concert featured soloists, the Madison Opera Chorus, and the Madison Symphony Orchestra performing excerpts from opera and musical theater. Dozens of staff and volunteers worked hard to produce a concert that drew over 4,000 people and was a massive success.
In the years since, Opera in the Park has become a true Madison summer tradition, a free gift to the community from Madison Opera, as we share the joy of opera with over 10,000 people each summer.
As we celebrate 25 years of Opera in the Park, this page is dedicated to sharing its history: the singers, the repertoire, the stories from the hill and backstage. Read below to explore photos, playbills, and more.
The Artists
Over its history, Opera in the Park has featured the voices of over 100 soloists, who grace stages from the Metropolitan Opera to the Paris Opera and Vienna State Opera. Many of these artists sang at Opera in the Park early in their careers, giving Madison audiences the chance to catch a rising star.
Sopranos
Vanessa Becerra, 2022
Emily Birsan, 2016
Angela Brown, 2016
Katerina Burton, 2024
Elizabeth Caballero, 2007, 2018
Eleni Calenos, 2015
Caitlin Cisler, 2012, 2013
Lisa Daltrius, 2009
Paula Delligatti, 2003
Robin Follman, 2002
Saira Frank, 2011
Elizabeth Futral, 2004
Sari Gruber, 2002
Jamie-Rose Guarrine, 2014
Jasmine Habersham, 2020
Jeni Houser, 2019
Michelle Johnson, 2019
Maria Kanyova, 2011
Dina Kuznetsova, 2006
Alexandra LoBianco, 2013
Cecilia Violetta López, 2017
Caitlin Lynch, 2012
Amanda Majeski, 2021
Anya Matanovic, 2010
Melody Moore, 2008
Leah Partridge, 2007
Barbara Quintiliani, 2005
Brenda Rae, 2018
Renée Richardson, 2025
Barbara Shirvis, 2010
Karen Slack, 2020
Mezzos
Meredith Arwady, 2015
Elina Bocharova, 2005
Kirstin Chávez, 2006
Emily Fons, 2012, 2024
Margaret Gawrysiak, 2022
Wallis Giunta, 2014
Kendall Gladen, 2008
Jennifer Holloway, 2009
Angela Horn, 2002, 2003
Anna Laurenzo, 2015
Daniela Mack, 2011
Kelsey Parks, 2016
Anna Parks, 2018
Jennifer Rivera, 2004
Rehanna Thelwell, 2021
Emily Treigle, 2025
Adriana Zabala, 2017
Tenors
George Abbott III, 2025
Andres Acosta, 2020
Andrew Bidlack, 2020
David Blalock, 2019
Stephen Costello, 2007
Adam Diegel, 2009
Roderick Dixon, 2010
Eric Fennell, 2006
Brian Hymel, 2008
Brian Jagde, 2013
Ted Lee, 2005
John Lindsey, 2018
Harold Meers, 2015
Sean Panikkar, 2014
Scott Piper, 2004
Limmie Pulliam, 2022
Scott Quinn, 2016
Scott Ramsay, 2011
Andrew Richards, 2003
Heath Rush, 2003
Joshua Sanders, 2024
Andrew Stenson, 2021
Russell Thomas, 2012
David Wallach, 2004
David Walton, 2017
Baritones / Basses
Bert Adams, 2003
Michael Adams, 2022
Donnie Ray Albert, 2005
Thomas Barrett, 2003
Matt Boehler, 2012
Gregory Brumfield, 2011
Anthony Cao, 2018
Alan Dunbar, 2012
Ben Edquist, 2019
Nmon Ford, 2013
John Green, 2003
Levi Hernandez, 2018
Weston Hurt, 2020, 2024
Kyle Ketelsen, 2002, 2005, 2015, 2021
Timothy Kuhn, 2009
Guido Lebron, 2006
Luis Ledesma, 2008
Will Liverman, 2017
Lester Lynch, 2007
Malcolm MacKenzie, 2004
Kelly Markgraf, 2014
Sidney Outlaw, 2016
Stephen Powell, 2010
Douglas Swenson, 2019
Benjamin Taylor, 2025
Hyung Yun, 2011
The Repertoire
305 selections from 160 operas / musicals, composed by 86 composers, performed in 7 languages. Explore the repertoire of Opera in the Park below, sorted by composer.
Little Women by Mark Adamo
“Things Change, Jo”
“For You There is No Song” by H. Leslie Adams
The Wizard of Oz by Harold Arlen
“Over the Rainbow”
Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven
Overture
“Ha, welch ein Augenblick”
“Jetzt, Schächten, jetzt sind wir allein”
“O welche lust”
I Puritani by Vincenzo Bellini
“Suoni la tromba, e intrepido”
La Sonnambula by Vincenzo Bellini
“Ah non credea… Ah non giunge”
Annie Get Your Gun by Irving Berlin
“Anything You Can Do”
Beatrice and Benedict by Hector Berlioz
“Nuit paisible et sereine”
Candide by Leonard Bernstein
“Glitter and Be Gay”
“I Am Easily Assimilated”
“Make Our Garden Grow”
Overture
On the Town by Leonard Bernstein
“Lucky to Be Me”
Trouble in Tahiti by Leonard Bernstein
“What a Movie”
West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein
“Maria”
“One Hand, One Heart”
“Something’s Coming”
“Tonight”
Wonderful Town by Leonard Bernstein
“100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man”
Carmen by Georges Bizet
Cigarette Chorus
Entr’acte
Flower Song
Habanera
“Je Dis”
“Les Tringles…”
Seguidilla
Act IV scene
Toreador Song
The Pearl Fishers by Georges Bizet
“Au fond du temple saint”
“Comme autrefois”
“Je crois entendre”
Act II finale
She Loves Me by Jerry Bock
“Ice Cream”
Mefistofele by Arrigo Boito
“Ecco il mondo”
“Su, riddiamo”
“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” arranged by Margaret Bonds
Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin
Polovestian Dances
The Toast of New Orleans by Nicholas Brodzky
“Be My Love”
La Wally by Alfredo Catalani
“Ebben? Ne andro lontana”
Florencia en el Amazonas by Daniel Catán
Opening
Interlude and Invocation
The Tender Land by Aaron Copland
Laurie’s Song
“The Promise of Living”
“Scandalize My Name” arranged by Johnnie Dean
“Torna a Surriento” by Ernesto DeCurtis
Lakmé by Leo Delibes
Flower Duet
Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti
“Che interminabile andirivieni”
“Quel guardo, il cavaliere”
The Elixir of Love by Gaetano Donizetti
“Come paride vezzoso”
“Obbligago, ah, si, obbligato”
“Prendi, per me sei libero”
“Una furtiva lagrima”
La Favorite by Gaetano Donizetti
“O Mon Fernand”
La Fille du Régiment by Gaetano Donizetti
“Ah mes amis”
“Chacun le sait”
Linda di Chamounix by Gaetano Donizetti
O luce di quest’anima
Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti
Chorus
“Cruda funesta smania”
“Fra poco a me ricovero”
“Regnava nel silencio”
Sextet
Rusalka by Antonin Dvořák
“Song to the Moon”
“Where Corals Lie” by Edward Elgar
Ragtime by Stephen Flaherty
“Make Them Hear You”
“Wheels of a Dream”
Susannah by Carlisle Floyd
“Ain’t It a Pretty Night”
Everlasting Faint by Scott Gendel
“That Devil Killed Her”
“Whisky Girl”
Delicious by George Gershwin
“Blah, Blah, Blah”
Girl Crazy by George Gershwin
“I Got Rhythm”
Let ‘Em Eat Cake by George Gershwin
“Tweedledee For President”
Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
“It Ain’t Necessarily So”
“My Man’s Gone Now”
“Summertime”
The Show is On by George Gershwin
“By Strauss”
El Barbero de Sevilla by Gerónimo Giménez
“Me llaman la primorosa”
La Boda de Luis Alonso by Gerónimo Gimenez
Overture
Andrea Chenier by Umberto Giordano
“Nemico della patria”
Ruslan and Lyudmila by Mikhail Glinka
Overture
Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck
“Addio o miei sospiri”
Faust by Charles Gounod
“Ainsi que le brise légère”
“Avant de quitter ces lieux”
“Il se fait tard, adieu”
Jewel Song
“Le veau d’or”
“Salut! Demeure chaste et pure”
Soldier’s Chorus
“Vous qui faites l’endormie”
Romeo and Juliet by Charles Gounod
“Ah! Leve-toi soleil”
“Je veux vivre”
“Mab, la reine des mensonges”
“Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle”
“La Flor de la Canela” by Chabuca Granda
Shining Brow by Daron Hagan
Choruses
Ariodante by George Frideric Handel
“Volate, amori”
Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel
“Laschia ch’io pianga”
Semele by George Frideric Handel
“Iris, Hence Away”
Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie
He Will Gather Us Around
A Warm Night
Naughty Marietta by Victor Herbert
Italian Street Song
Hello, Dolly by Jerry Herman
“It Only Takes a Moment”
Hansel & Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck
Witch’s Ride
Chicago by John Kander
“When You’re Good to Mama”
Show Boat by Jerome Kern
“Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man”
“Why Do I Love You”
Die Tote Stadt by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Pierrot’s Tanzlied
“Granada” by AgustÃn Lara
MarÃa la OÂ by Ernesto Lecuona
“Romanza de MarÃa la O”
Das Land des Lächlens by Franz Léhar
“Dein ist mein ganzes Herz”
Giuditta by Franz Léhar
“Meine Lippen, sie Küssen so Heiss”
The Merry Widow by Franz Léhar
“I Find it at Maxim’s”
“Vilja”
Waltz
Man of La Mancha by Mitch Leigh
“I, Don Quixote”
“The Impossible Dream”
Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Bell Chorus
Nedda / Silvio duet
Prologue
“Vesti la giubba”
The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber
“All I Ask Of You”
“The Music of the Night”
Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
“Luck Be A Lady”
“Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat”
Brigadoon by Frederick Loewe
“Almost Like Being in Love”
Camelot by Frederick Loewe
“C’est Moi”
My Fair Lady by Frederick Loewe
“I Could Have Danced All Night”
El Nino Judio by Pablo Luna
“De Espana Vengo”
Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni
Easter Hymn
Intermezzo
Iris by Pietro Mascagni
“Hymn to the Sun”
Hérodiade by Jules Massenet
“Vision fugitive”
Thais by Jules Massenet
Meditation
Carnival by Bob Merrill
“Yes, My Heart”
The Ballad of Baby Doe by Douglas Moore
“Warm as the Autumn Night”
The Abduction from the Seraglio by W. A. Mozart
“Ich baue ganz”
Overture
“Wenn der Freude”
La Clemenza di Tito by W. A. Mozart
“Ah, perdona al primo affetto”
Così fan tutte by W. A. Mozart
“Ah, guarda sorella”
Overture
“Soave sia il vento”
“Un’aura amorosa”
Don Giovanni by W. A. Mozart
“Ah, fuggi il traditor
Catalogue Aria
“LÃ ci darem la mano”
“Mi tradi quell’alma ingrata”
“Non mi dir”
Idomeneo by W. A. Mozart
“Nettuno s’onori”
The Impresario by W. A. Mozart
Overture
The Magic Flute by W. A. Mozart
“Der vogelfänger bin ich ja”
Overture
“Papageno, Papagena”
The Marriage of Figaro By W. A. Mozart
“Deh vieni, non tardar”
“Hai già vinta la causa”
“Non più andrai”
Overture
“Sull’aria”
La Vie Parisienne by Jacques Offenbach
Overture
Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach
Act II Finale
Infernal Galop
Hymn to Bacchus
The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach
Antonia trio
Barcarolle
Ballad of Kleinzach
“Scintille, diamante”
Septet
“Vois sous l’archet frémissant”
MarÃa de Buenos Aires by Astor Piazzolla
“Yo Soy MarÃa”
Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter
“Brush Up Your Shakespeare”
“So In Love”
“Where is the Life that Late I Led?”
“Wunderbar”
La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini
“Mi chiamano Mimì”
Act III Quartet
“Che gelida manina”
“O Mimì, tu più non torni”
“O soave fanciulla”
“Quando m’en vo”
Edgar by Giacomo Puccini
“Questo amor”
Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini
“Firenze e come un abero fiorito”
“O mio babbino caro”
Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini
Act I Duet
Flower Duet
“Quale smanie vi prende”
“Un bel dì vedremo”
La Rondine by Giacomo Puccini
“Chi il bel sogno di Doretto”
Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
“E lucevan le stelle”
“Recondita armonia”
Te Deum
“Vissi d’arte”
Turandot by Giacomo Puccini
“In questa reggia”
“Nessun dorma”
“Signore, ascolta”
Donna Diana by Emil von Reznicek
Overture
The Boys from Syracuse by Richard Rodgers
“Sing For Your Supper”
Carousel by Richard Rodgers
“Mister Snow”
“When the Children Are Asleep”
“You’ll Never Walk Alone”
The King and I by Richard Rodgers
“Something Wonderful”
Oklahoma by Richard Rodgers
“O What a Beautiful Mornin'”
“Oklahoma”
“People Will Say We’re in Love”
The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers
“Climb Every Mountain”
“Do Re Mi”
“Edelweiss”
“My Favorite Things”
South Pacific by Richard Rodgers
“A Wonderful Guy”
“Some Enchanted Evening”
“This Nearly Was Mine”
State Fair by Richard Rodgers
“It’s A Grand Night for Singing”
The Desert Song by Sigmund Romberg
“One Alone”
The Student Prince by Sigmund Romberg
“Drink, Drink, Drink”
The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini
“Dunque io son”
“Ecco ridente in calma”
“Largo al factotum”
Overture
“Una voce poco fa”
La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini
“Non più mesta”
Overture
Il Viaggio a Reims by Gioachino Rossini
Overture
William Tell by Gioachino Rossini
“Asile hereditaire”
Overture
Samson & Dalila by Camille Saint-Saëns
“Amour viens aider”
Bacchanal
“Mon coeur s’oeuvre a ta voix”
“Printemps qui commence”
Charlie Parker’s Yardbird by Daniel Schnyder
“My Boy is King”
Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg
“Stars”
Octet in F Major, 3rd Movement by Franz Schubert
A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim
“The Miller’s Son”
“Send in the Clowns”
“A Weekend in the Country”
Anyone Can Whistle by Stephen Sondheim
“Everybody Says Don’t”
Company by Stephen Sondheim
“Being Alive”
Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim
“Agony”
“Giants in the Sky”
“No One is Alone”
Sunday in the Park with George by Stephen Sondheim
“Sunday”
Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim
“The Ballad of Sweeney Todd”
“Not While I’m Around”
La Tabernera del Puerto by Pablo Sorozábal
“No puede ser”
El Capitan by John Philip Sousa
El Capitan March
La del Soto de Parral by Reveriano Soutullo and Juan Vert
“Ya mis horas felices”
Fellow Travelers by Gregory Spears
“Our Very Own Home”
Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II
“Bruderlein”
“Czardas”
Watch duet
Arabella by Richard Strauss
“Aber der Richtige”
Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss
“Sein wir wieder gut”
Do Re Mi by Jule Styne
“Make Someone Happy”
Funny Girl by Jule Styne
“Don’t Rain on My Parade”
The Pirates of Penzance by Arthur Sullivan
“I Am a Pirate King”
“I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General”
Eugene Onegin by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Final duet
Lensky’s Aria
Waltz Scene
Jeanne d’Arc by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky
“Adieu, fôrets”
Iolanta by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Robert’s Aria
Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas
“O vin, dissipe la tristesse”
Chess by Björn Ulvaeus
Anthem
Aida by Giuseppe Verdi
“O patria mia”
“Ritorna vincitor”
Triumphal Scene
A Masked Ball by Giuseppe Verdi
“Ma se me forza perderti”
“Volta la terrea… Signori, oggi d’Ulrica”
Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi
“Dio, che nell’ alma infondere”
“Per me giunto…Â O Carlo, ascolta”
Ernani by Giuseppe Verdi
“Ernani, involami”
La Forza del Destino by Giuseppe Verdi
Overture
“Pace, pace, mio Dio”
I Vespri Siciliani by Giuseppe Verdi
Overture
Luisa Miller by Giuseppe Verdi
“Quando le sere al placido”
Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi
“Ah, la paterna mano”
Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi
Overture
“Va, pensiero”
Otello by Giuseppe Verdi
“Fuoco di gioia”
Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi
“Bella figlia dell’amore”
“Cortigiani, vil razza dannata”
“La donna è mobile”
“Pari siamo”
La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi
“Ah, fors’è lui… Sempre libera”
Brindisi
“Di Provenza”
“Noi siamo zingarelle”
‘Di Madride noi siam mattadori”
“Un di, felice, eterea”
Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi
“Ah si, ben mio… Di quella pira”
Anvil Chorus
“Il balen del suo sorriso”
Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber
“Schweig! Schweig!”
Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
The Ride of the Valkyries
The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner
Act III Chorus
Overture
Senta’s Ballad
Tannhäuser by Richard Wagner
“Dich, teure Halle”
“America the Beautiful” arranged by Samuel A. Ward
Lady in the Dark by Kurt Weill
“One Life to Live”
“The Saga of Jenny”
Symphonic Nocturne
Street Scene by Kurt Weill
“Lonely House”
The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill
“Mack the Knife”
The Music Man by Meredith Wilson
“‘Til There Was You”
The Playbills
Take a deep dive into Opera in the Park’s history by reading through each year’s playbill! Stay tuned as we add the older playbills in the weeks to come.
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2025
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2024
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2023
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2022
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2021
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2020
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2019
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2018
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2017
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2016
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2015
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2014
Madison Opera in the Park Playbill 2013
