Opera in Tampa Bay

opera theatre in Prague

Tampa Bay opera lovers are so lucky to have great local opera companies in Tampa, Sarasota and St. Petersburg! Now we also have HD opera from the Met at some local theaters as well. (You can find out what operas are playing in local theaters on the right side of our website where it says Met Opera.) But some opera lovers say that the availability of HD Opera in local theaters will hurt local opera companies. What do you think?

I love both HD opera and local productions and I try to take in as many HD performances and local opera performances as possible during the season. For many years I lived in some areas where no opera was available to hear, so this is a great place to learn more about opera and enjoy it. But to me, HD Met performances are silver but locally produced opera by Opera Tampa, the Sarasota Opera and the St. Pete Opera Company are gold! Its local companies that help lay the groundwork by launching young singers who can get important experience by singing with them. Opera Tampa sometimes brings in some of the great singers that you hear at the Met for local live performances.

Something new this season with the St. Petersburg Opera Company is a series of intimate evenings with SPO singers and SPO Artistic Director Mark Sforzini. “Evenings with the Maestro” are short programs that feature a mixture of education, entertainment, humor, and personal reflections from SPO singers. And of course, the singing is spectacular with accompaniment on one of the Clearwater Music Gallery's excellent Steinways. Their next “Evening with the Maestro” features a look at the Spanish form of light opera, zarzuela. Its Thursday, November 5th, and features singer Kathleen Berger, who starred as the witch from SPO’s recent production of “Into the Woods.”. Kathy lives in Madrid and travels all over Spain doing zarzuela, so she will perform and Maestro Sforzini will talk about what to listen for and why the music is compelling. More information about and tickets for SPO’s “Evenings with the Maestro” can be purchased online at www.stpeteopera.org, or by calling their office 727-823-2040. Evenings with the Maestro are at 6 p.m. at the Music Gallery, 5990 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater.

Have you been to one of these programs yet? Do you think there should be more programs to educate people about classical music available in the community?