After some years without a professional opera presence in Little Rock, Opera in the Rock has been formed.  They host their first event tonight – “Opera on the Rocks.”

The event will feature an evening of food, drink, a silent auction, and a series of opera scenes, presented by some of the best local talents. The theme for this evening will focus on the many stages of love… even when love finds itself on the rocks…

The evening will begin at 6:30pm at Wildwood Park for the Arts.

The cast is Matt Newman, tenor; Ferris Allen, baritone; Stephanie Smittle, Arlene Biebesheimer, soprano; and Jennifer Boccarossa, soprano/mezzo-soprano.

Newman will sing “Una fortuna lagrima” from Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore; Boccarossa will sing the “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen; Allen and Biebesheimer will sing the “Papageno-Papagena” duet from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. The program will also include the quartet from Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, and the chorus from Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land.