A weekend of opera in Milford

What could be better than one opera in Milford? How about two operas! The New York City Opera gave a fundraiser performance at the Milford Theater on Saturday evening, August 24 to benefit Opera! Pike! Park! (OPP), which performed its fifth annual opera in Ann Street Park on Sunday, August 25. Javier Morales, founder and artistic director of OPP, said, “We are grateful for [NYC Opera’s] support to help us keep our annual concert free to all.”

Michael Capasso, general director for the New York City Opera, was equally enthusiastic. “It was a wonderful [weekend] for Milford and for Opera Pike. I’m glad to be here and I hope we will be here next year. The enthusiasm of the audience was the most important thing for me,” he said.

The New York City Opera

The New York City Opera’s performance included soprano Inna Dukach, tenor Gregory Turay, and pianist Dmitriy Glivinskiy. They sang about 14 pieces, from classical composers like Puccini, Verdi, Gian Carlo Menetti, as well as more contemporary works from Rogers and Hammerstein and Jerome Kern. The sophisticated audience showed their appreciation by shouting “bravo,” “brava” or “bravi” for almost every piece. Many in the audience remarked at how the gestures and body language of Dukach easily conveyed the meaning of the language. Dukach agreed and said it was important to be expressive, especially when singing in a language most people don’t understand.

Opera! Pike! Park!

The Sunday afternoon performance in Ann Street Park was filled to capacity, and then some, with approximately 645 people attending, surpassing last year’s 575. The day was bright and beautiful, and the audience appeared familiar with the format of the concert from previous years. Jamie Harris was the master of ceremonies/host. As in years past, the artists were all from the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia (AVA). This year, the artists were soprano Ethel Trujillo, tenor Luke Norvall, bass-baritone Cumhur Görgun, and mezzo-soprano Julianna Smith.

Music director and pianist Luke Housner flawlessly kept the performance together. As in years past, the artists had one song that enabled the children in the audience to participate.

Last year it was “Do Re Mi,” which Emily Margevich introduced. This year, the children’s song was Aaron Copland’s “I bought me a cat,” led by Julianna Smith with about 12 children from the audience. This segment was so charming and successful that OPP will be incorporating it as part of the program in years to follow. It gives the kids a chance to learn to listen to music and perhaps be inspired to be future singers when they grow up.

The program consisted of arias and duets from Rossini, Bizet, Mozart, Verdi, as well as some popular songs like “The Impossible Dream,” “If I were a Rich Man,” and “I Dreamed a Dream.”

Amy Litzenburger summed up the feeling of the weekend: “How thrilling it was to have such top-notch talent in our little village.” Bob Levine added, “The weekend was filled with joy.”

There was a dinner at the Fauchère’s Del Monico Room after the performance to thank the major donors and sponsors of OPP. Milford Mayor Sean Strub paid tribute to Jim Pedranti (OPP board chair) and Rosann Kalish (board member), who were not able to be there because of COVID. The artists “sang for their supper,” and the evening was a total success. People are looking forward to future performances and especially to the new opera being commissioned by OPP.

Beth O’Neil, who was the catalyst for making the weekend a reality, said, “It was thrilling to see the Milford (OPP) and NYC operas come together in a beautiful representation of what the entire community can be supporting — opera!”