Opera in the Park 2023
Saturday, July 22 at 8pm | Garner Park
Free
For over 20 years, Opera in the Park has been the epitome of Madison Opera’s place in our community. Garner Park comes alive with music and light sticks, as soloists share their favorite opera and musical theater numbers, along with the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Join us every summer as we celebrate the power of connection through beautiful performances, beautiful music, and a beautiful night.
Featuring music by Bernstein, Bologne, Gluck, Handel, Leoncavallo, Liverman, Mozart, Offenbach, Puccini, Rodgers, Sondheim, and Verdi. The full repertoire will be announced in spring 2023.
Opera in the Park
Saturday, July 22 at 8 PM
Rain date: Sunday, July 23 at 8 PM
Garner Park
FREE
The closest you can get to the stars under the night sky! Support Opera in the Park by joining us for a special Prelude Dinner in Garner Park on Saturday, July 22, 2023 (rain date of July 23). Attendees receive a dinner catered by Upstairs Downstairs Catering, wine and beer, VIP seating at the concert, glow sticks, and an invitation to an artist’s reception following the concert.
Beverage service for the evening will begin at 6 pm in the white tent next to the stage, with dinner served promptly at 6:30 pm.
Seats are $170 per person or $1,300 for a table of eight. All proceeds benefit the Opera in the Park Fund.
Every year we rely on over 100 volunteers to help make Opera in the Park a success. Opera in the Park 2023 will be held on July 22, 2023 in Garner Park, and we would love to have you join us! We have a wide variety of tasks available, including set-up, clean-up, helping with parking, selling light sticks, and handing out programs.
Should inclement weather occur, we will decide by 5pm on Saturday, July 22 if we need to postpone the concert to Sunday evening. Notifications will be posted on our website, via social media, and through patron emails. If a postponement is necessary, the concert will take place at 8 pm on Sunday, July 23.
For patrons with limited mobility, there is a drop-off point on Rosa Road at the Garner Park walking path. Ask the traffic officer at Rosa Road for access to the drop-off point, and they will let you through.
There is accessible parking on Rosa Road, Driftwood Ave., and South Hill Drive west of Rosa Road. Golf carts are available to transport patrons with limited mobility from their vehicles to the park before and after the performance. Ask an Opera in the Park volunteer for golf cart transport.
Cast
Katerina Burton
Soprano
Madison Opera Debut
Recently: Girlfriend 2, Blue; Micaëla, Carmen (Washington National Opera); Alice Ford, Falstaff (Aspen Music Festival); Verna/Young Lovely/Evelyn, Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis)
Emily Fons
Mezzo-soprano
Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2012
Recently at MO: Rosina, The Barber of Seville
Recently: Rosina, The Barber of Seville (Cincinnati Opera, Santa Fe Opera); Woman, Ghosts (San Diego Opera); Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro (Canadian Opera Company); Hansel, Hansel and Gretel (New Orleans Opera)
Martin Luther Clark
Tenor
Madison Opera Debut
Recently: CJ, The Factotum; First Armed Man, Die Zauberflöte (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Rapunzel’s Prince, Into the Woods (Tulsa Opera)
Weston Hurt
Baritone
Madison Opera Debut: Germont, La Traviata (2019)
Recently at MO: Digital Opera in the Park 2020
Recently: Scarpia, Tosca (Arizona Opera); Germont, La Traviata (Lyric Opera of Kansas City); Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Alabama Symphony); Nabucco, Nabucco (Seattle Opera)
John DeMain
Conductor
Madison Opera Debut: The Magic Flute (1995)
Recently at MO: Trouble in Tahiti, The Seven Deadly Sins, Salome, Opera in the Park 2022, Orpheus in the Underworld, She Loves Me, Fellow Travelers, La Traviata
Recently: Blue (Glimmerglass Festival); Candide (Gran Teatre de Liceu); Porgy and Bess (Seattle Opera); Lost in the Stars (Washington National Opera)
The History of Opera in the Park
Opera in the Park 2022
Sunday, July 24, 2022 – 8pm
Garner Park
Michael Adams – baritone
Vanessa Becerra – soprano
John DeMain – conductor
Margaret Gawryziak – mezzo-soprano
Limmie Pulliam- tenor
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2021
Saturday, July 24, 2021 – 8pm
Garner Park
Kyle Ketelsen – bass/baritone
Amanda Majeski – soprano
Stephanie Rhodes Russell – conductor
Andrew Stenson – tenor
Rehanna Thelwell – mezzo-soprano
Suzanne Beia – violin
Xavier Pleindoux – violin
Christopher Dozoryst – viola
Karl Lavine – cello
David Scholl – bass
Stephanie Jutt – flute
Marc Fink – oboe
JJ Koh – clarinet
Cynthia Cameron – bassoon
Linda Kimball – French horn
Ricardo Almeida – French horn
Nick Bonaccio – percussion
Johanna Weinholts – harp
Scott Gendel – keyboard
Anthony Cao – keyboard
Digital Opera in the Park 2020
Saturday, July 25, 2020 – 8pm
Available Online
Andres Acosta- tenor
Jasmine Habersham – soprano
Weston Hurt – baritone
Karen Slack – soprano
Suzanne Beia – violin
John DeMain – piano
Scott Gendel – piano
Madison Opera Chorus
Anthony Cao – piano, chorusmaster
Guest Pianists: Rolando Salazar, Bethany Self, Laura Ward, Marika Yasuda
Opera in the Park 2019
Sunday, July 21, 2019 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
David Blalock- tenor
Ben Edquist – baritone
Jeni Houser – soprano
Michele Johnson – soprano
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2018
Saturday, July 21, 2018 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by Gary Thor Wedow
Elizabeth Caballero – soprano
Levi Hernandez – baritone
John Lindsey – tenor
Brenda Rae – soprano
with
Anthony Cao – baritone
Anna Parks – mezzo-soprano
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2017
Saturday, July 22, 2017 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by Joseph Mechavich
Will Liverman – baritone
Cecilia Violetta Lopez – soprano
David Walton – tenor
Adriana Zabala – mezzo-soprano
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2016
Sunday, July 24, 2016 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by Gary Thor Wedow
Emily Birsan – soprano
Angela Brown – soprano
Sidney Outlaw – baritone
Scott Quinn – tenor
with
Kelsey Parks – mezzo-soprano
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2015
Saturday, July 25, 2015 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Meredith Arwady – contralto
Eleni Calenos – soprano
Kyle Ketelsen – bass-baritone
Anna Laurenzo – mezzo-soprano
Harold Meers – tenor
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2014
Saturday, July 26, 2014 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Wallis Giunta – mezzo-soprano
Jamie-Rose Guarrine – soprano
Kelly Markgraf – baritone
Sean Panikkar – tenor
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2013
Saturday, July 13, 2013 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Caitlin Cisler – soprano
Nmon Ford – baritone
Brian Jagde – tenor
Alexandra LoBianco – soprano
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Youth Choirs
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by Gary Thor Wedow
Matt Boehler – bass
Emily Fons – mezzo-soprano
Caitlin Lynch – soprano
Russell Thomas – tenor
with
Caitlin Cisler – soprano
Alan Dunbar – baritone
Heath Rush – tenor
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2010 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Maria Kanyova – soprano
Daniela Mack – mezzo-soprano
Scott Ramsay – tenor
Hyung Yun – baritone
with
Gregory Brumfield – baritone
Saira Frank – soprano
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Roderick Dixon – tenor
Anya Matanovic – soprano
Barbara Shirvis – soprano
Stephen Powell – baritone
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Youth Choirs
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Lisa Daltrius – soprano
Adam Diegel – tenor
Jennifer Holloway – mezzo-soprano
Timothy Kuhn – baritone
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Kendall Gladen – mezzo-soprano
Bryan Hymel – tenor
Luis Ledesma – baritone
Melody Moore – soprano
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Elizabeth Caballero – soprano
Stephen Costello – tenor
Lester Lynch – baritone
Leah Partridge – soprano
with
Heath Rush – tenor
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2006
Saturday, July 22, 2006 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Kristin Chávez – mezzo-soprano
Eric Fennell – tenor
Dina Kuznetsova – soprano
Guido LeBron – baritone
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2005
Saturday, July 16, 2005 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Donnie Ray Albert – baritone
Elena Bocharova – mezzo-soprano
Kyle Ketelsen – bass-baritone
Ted Lee – tenor
Barbara Quintiliani – soprano
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2004
Saturday, July 17, 2004 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by Steven White
Elizabeth Futral – soprano
Kyle Ketelsen – bass-baritone
Malcolm MacKenzie – baritone
Scott Piper – tenor
Jennifer Rivera – mezzo-soprano
with
David Wallach – tenor
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2003
Saturday, July 19, 2003 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by Steven White
Thomas Barrett – baritone
Paula Delligatti – soprano
Angela Horn – mezzo-soprano
Andrew Richards – tenor
with
Bert Adams – bass
John Green – baritone
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2002
Saturday, July 20, 2002 – 8pm
Garner Park
Conducted by John DeMain
Robin Follman – soprano
Sari Gruber – soprano
Angela Horn – mezzo-soprano
Kyle Ketelsen – bass-baritone
Malcom MacKenzie – baritone
Andrew Richards – tenor
with
Madison Opera Chorus
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Opera in the Park 2023 Sponsors
PRESENTING SPONSOR
SPONSORS
Kato & David Pearlman
Carla & Fernando Alvarado
Patricia & Stephen Lucas
Vivian Ruth Brigham
Martha & Charles Casey
Anonymous Friend
MEDIA SPONSORS
