Welcome to our 38^th season! The big news is that...

WE ARE BRINGING YOU AN OPERA!

We are bringing you an OPERA this summer along with our performances of some of the great chamber music. Opera and chamber music seem an unlikely pairing. One thinks of the Metropolitan Opera, Wagner and Verdi when opera comes to mind. However, smaller (chamber) operas have been written. We will present the most famous of them to you this summer. La Serva Padrona (“The Maid becomes the Wife”) by Giovanni Pergolesi will be our concert in the last week of this year's festival. It is a comic opera that has been performed all over the world.

La Serva Padrona will join a list of memorable performances we have presented over the past few years: a completely staged production of The Soldiers Tale by Stravinsky, Hexalogue by child-prodigy composer Jay Greenberg, Voice of the Whales by George Crumb, a chamber version of Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev, and many other fascinating and beautiful pieces that you might not otherwise have heard.

The slightly convoluted plot involves Serpina, a maid who wants to marry her master. Uberto the master does not want to marry Serpina. The opera's plot revolves around how she hopes to change her master's mind. With the help of the mute manservant Vespone, she plots to win the day. At one point Vespone even disquises himself as a Captain of the Army who comes as a suitor for Serpina's hand in marriage. This opera is light-hearted and full of humor. It is an opera for the whole family to enjoy. It will be sung in English and is a great introduction to opera for children.

Please refer to the schedule of performances for dates and venues.

THE HENDERSONVILLE SERIES RETURNS TO BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE!

Those of you who enjoy Patton Auditorium's superior acoustics, comfortable theatre seating, closeness to the performers, and unobtrusive air-conditioning will be happy to know that we are returning to Blue Ridge Community College this summer. It is really a perfect hall for Chamber Music Performances. Kevin Ayesh, the head of the College's Music Department contacted the Festival and expressed his desire that we return. He instituted conversations with Dean David Whitson, where scheduling and logistical problems were worked out.

This makes us very happy because we have performed there for over twenty years and considered it our home. Dean Whitson said, “We are a community college and wish to serve the people in the area with unique cultural programs such as this.”

The Festival is looking forward to fostering a closer working relationship with the College in the future.

We hope you can join us this summer!