Festival Opera

12/31/2025

Ringing in the New Year with 2025 Highlights! Thanks to everyone who made this season possible: artists, sponsors, and audience. We can’t do this work without you!

Spring Soirée
Pagliacci in the Park
Segments on KRON 4
Salon Series: Baroque Queens, American Song Cycles, and Bel Canto Forever
La Traviata with Diablo Symphony

Looking ahead to a magical 2026 season! We can’t wait!

12/04/2025

FIRST FRIDAYS: Festival Opera at the Mac!
Join us December 5th from 6:30-8:30 pm in the restaurant or at the bar for a beautiful evening with live performances of opera hits with a dash of holiday classics. Featuring mezzo-soprano Leandra Ramm and tenor Adam Chase, with Zachary Gordin at the piano - reservations at Biancoverde recommended. No cover charge.

The historic Hotel Mac, located in beautiful Point Richmond, was a legendary venue for jazz and other live music in its heyday. After a long closure during the pandemic the Mac reopened with a fantastic new Italian restaurant. Biancoverde hosts Festival Opera at the Mac - a monthly musical residency curated by Festival Opera’s General Director, Zachary Gordin. The series will bring favorite opera artists from the Bay Area and beyond to the Mac, performing hits from opera, Broadway, and more!

Info and details on dates, artists, and reservations are online at www.festivalopera.org

11/02/2025

Celebrating a Resounding Ovation
for LA TRAVIATA - AUDIENCE REVIEW FROM LAST SUNDAY!

“Last night’s portrayal was not just a ‘performance,’ but an experience: luminous, heartbreaking, and beautiful. For anyone hoping to hear La Traviata delivered with both vocal polish and emotional truth, Jamie Chamberlin’s Violetta stands as a moving milestone. She inhabited the role fully: the fragile elegance of Act I, the defiant joy of Act II, the heartbreak of Act III—each phase flowed seamlessly from one to the next, revealing Violetta’s journey with clarity and depth. The staging, in a modern concert-format setting, allowed Chamberlin’s voice and dramatic presence to shine without distraction. The orchestra and chorus were at full force behind her, yet she remained the emotional centre of the evening. Paired on stage with Nathan Granner (as Alfredo), their real-life partnership added a subtle, extra layer of chemistry and mutual understanding. The connection between them translated into touching duets, poignant glances, and a believable intimacy. Indeed, they are billed together for the production in an “irresistible” collaboration. What a delight to witness such opera greatness!”

CAST & CREATIVE TEAM
Violetta Valéry: Jamie Chamberlin
Alfredo Germont: Nathan Granner
Giorgio Germont: Zachary Gordin
Flora Bervoix: Courtney Miller
Annina: Lilith Spivack
Gastone de Letorières: Taylor Thompson
Barone Douphol: Joseph Calzada
Marchese d’Obigny: Liam Daley
Dottore Grenvil: Chung-Wai Soong
Giuseppe: Michael Foreman
A Messenger: Alonso Melgoza
Director: Richard Harrell
Conductor: Matilda Hofman
With the Festival Opera Chorus &
Diablo Symphony Orchestra

10/09/2025

OPENING NIGHT DINNER! Join our group of opera fans at in downtown Walnut Creek for a fun pre-performance dinner, celebrating opening night of La Traviata!

Enjoy a three course menu, including a drink, starter, and dessert with your choice of:

Grilled Garlic Salmon - 6 oz pan seared salmon with garlic and herb Irish butter sauce on Irish boxty cakes garnished with a watercress salad.

Grilled Flat Iron Steak - 8 oz grilled steak served with Irish whiskey butter and crispy fries.

Shepherd’s Pie – (vegetarian option available) simmered ground angus beef with carrots, celery, onions and peas topped with mashed potatoes and parmesan gratin.

Cost is $100 per person. ($25 deductible portion)
Reserve your seat ASAP - Reservations close 10/23. Tickets available at: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/opening-night-dinner

10/02/2025

FIRST FRIDAYS: Festival Opera at the Mac!
Join us October 3rd from 6:30-8:30 pm in the restaurant or at the bar for a beautiful evening with live music. Featuring sopranos Lila Khazoum and Kristen Campbell, with Zachary Gordin at the piano - reservations at Biancoverde recommended. No cover charge.

The historic Hotel Mac, located in beautiful Point Richmond, was a legendary venue for jazz and other live music in its heyday. After a long closure during the pandemic the Mac reopened with a fantastic new Italian restaurant. Biancoverde hosts Festival Opera at the Mac - a monthly musical residency curated by Festival Opera’s General Director, Zachary Gordin. The series will bring favorite opera artists from the Bay Area and beyond to the Mac, performing hits from opera, Broadway, and more!

Info and details on dates, artists, and reservations are online at www.festivalopera.org

09/21/2025

Live as a courtesan in high-society Paris, or leave it all behind for a shot at true love? Real life is not that simple...

LA TRAVIATA - VERDI
October 24 & 26
Lesher Center for the Arts
Visit www.festivalopera.org or call 925-943-7469 for tickets.

Festival Opera joins forces with Diablo Symphony Orchestra to present Verdi’s La Traviata in a striking modern concert staging. Experience the brilliance of soprano Jamie Chamberlin and tenor Nathan Granner—real-life partners who bring irresistible passion to the roles of Violetta and Alfredo. Under the direction of Richard Harrell and the baton of Matilda Hofman, Festival Opera’s celebrated soloists and chorus will blend with the full power of Diablo Symphony in an evening of unforgettable beauty, heartbreak, and soaring music.​

09/09/2025

UP NEXT: Festival Opera’s Salon Series concludes with a thrilling afternoon celebrating the vocal brilliance of the Bel Canto age. Sunday, September 28 at 4:00pm -
Piedmont Center for the Arts.

Performing the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Delibes; experience the magic of Shawnette Sulker and Sara Couden’s virtuosic voices as they bring to life the dazzling duets and soaring melodies that define the art of beautiful singing. This salon setting offers a rare opportunity to be up close with the artistry and vocal fireworks that make this repertoire unforgettable. Don’t miss this exquisite musical journey—where voices reign supreme: Bel Canto Forever!​

Tickets: $40 per person, available at the door or online at festivalopera.org

09/05/2025

Thanks to the East Bay Times and Georgia Rowe for the mention in this incredible line-up!

Here’s a look at some of the most-anticipated concerts of the season.

09/04/2025

FIRST FRIDAYS: Festival Opera at the Mac!
Join us September 5th from 6:30-8:30 pm in the restaurant or at the bar for a beautiful evening with live music. Featuring soprano Lila Khazoum and mezzo-soprano Leandra Ramm - reservations at Biancoverde recommended. No cover charge.

The historic Hotel Mac, located in beautiful Point Richmond, was a legendary venue for jazz and other live music in its heyday. After a long closure during the pandemic the Mac reopened with a fantastic new Italian restaurant. Biancoverde hosts Festival Opera at the Mac - a monthly musical residency curated by Festival Opera’s General Director, Zachary Gordin. The series will bring favorite opera artists from the Bay Area and beyond to the Mac, performing hits from opera, Broadway, and more!

Info and details on dates, artists, and reservations are online at www.festivalopera.org

08/27/2025

Many thanks to SF Classical Voice and Nicholas Jones for this wonderful review of last Sunday’s performance with and Daniel Lockert:

“Art song recitals are sometimes brushed off as “opera lite”— entertaining, yet not terribly meaty. But Festival Opera’s salon program of “American Song Cycles” featuring soprano Carrie Hennessey last weekend was the real thing. Festival Opera brought compelling music, powerfully and theatrically presented, but with a minimum of extraneous trappings. Not “lite” but “lithe” in the best sense of the word: flexible, vital, and in tune with the beating of the heart.

The recital on Sunday, Aug. 24, at the intimate hall of the Piedmont Center for the Arts, was the second of three offerings in Festival Opera’s summer “Salon Series.” Hennessey, a well-known performer in the Bay Area, has a wide range of tonal colors, stupendously clear diction, and impeccable vocal technique. Added to that is her extraordinary stage presence — richly emotional and grippingly dramatic — fully inhabiting the music. She sang the entire afternoon’s repertoire from memory — or, one might say, by heart.”

Full review on www.SFCV.org

08/23/2025

Thanks to Stephanie Lin and KRON 4 News for having us on this morning! Carrie Hennessey, Soprano previews her Salon Series concert happening at the Piedmont Center for the Arts on Sunday, joined in the studio by Zachary Gordin!

Watch the segment here: https://www.kron4.com/video/festival-operas-salon-series-continues-this-sunday/11010113/

Info & tickets for the concert: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/salon-series-encore

08/15/2025

CASTING CALL FOR PRINCIPAL ARTISTS
Festival Opera announces auditions for principal, comprimario, and cover roles for future seasons. Repertoire for the remainder of our 2025 season features Verdi’s LA TRAVIATA, and is cast; though all cover and bit roles are currently available. Other opportunities include future Mainstage, Salon Series, Opera in the Park, and Festival Opera at the Mac performances. Repertoire under consideration includes: ALCINA (Handel), SUOR ANGELICA (Puccini), ROMÉO ET JULIETTE (Gounod), RIGOLETTO (Verdi), THE CONSUL (Menotti), and others. We are primarily seeking Bay Area based artists, but will consider others who have local housing available for the production period.

Audition Date: Saturday, September 6, 2025 from 12:00-5:00 PM
Diablo Valley College - Music Building - Recital Hall
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

Artists should offer their best 4-6 arias (any language and period), and are welcome to bring their own pianist or work with our pianist, Chun Mei Wilson, who will be available for the duration of the auditions. Artists will be asked to submit PDFs of their scores for pianist when audition is confirmed.

Submission Deadline: Monday, September 1st, 2025.

No fees will be charged for these auditions. To apply, please submit any application materials (CV, bio, audition repertoire, website/video links) via email to [email protected]