Livermore Valley Opera Invites You to Dinner With Carmen

By Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Music has been said to calm the savage beast but it can also serve to soothe the frayed nerves of the hard-working professional. If your musical tastes lean toward vocal performances, listening to the Livermore Valley Opera will provide a pleasant respite from your day-to day endeavors.

Each fall and spring, the Livermore Valley Opera presents a locally produced, fully staged opera with orchestra in the Livermore Performing Arts Theatre, located at Livermore High School. The Opera, now in its eleventh season, also puts on special concerts, events, and fundraisers. On January 25, 2003 at 6:30 pm, the Livermore Valley Opera will present a buffet dinner and evening of gala entertainment called Dinner with Carmen. As the name of the event suggests, the program will include selections from the Opera's recent production of Bizet's classic Carmen, as well as other performances. The fundraiser will be held at the Shriner's Event Center at 170 Lindberg Avenue in Livermore and will feature Mediterranean cuisine as well as drawings and a silent auction. Past silent auctions have included weekend get-aways to local resorts, theater and opera tickets, wines, fine dining packages, golf packages, autographed scores by famous conductors, and rare music memorabilia.

"It will be an elegant 'black tie optional' evening," says Delma Kline, a member of the Opera's board of directors and its ticket manager. "It's always a lot of fun." Tickets for the Livermore Valley Opera's Dinner with Carmen fundraiser will go on sale the first week of December and will be priced at $60. They can be purchased by calling the ticket office at (925) 960-9210.

Livermore Valley Opera combines the talents and expertise of professional music, stage, and chorus directors, principal singers, musicians, and designers with the dedication and practical abilities of a volunteer board, adult chorus, stage crew, props master, stitchers, and set builders. Founded in 1993, the Opera promotes local talent and attracts outstanding Bay Area singers, directors and conductors.

Other upcoming events on the Livermore Valley Opera's schedule include a performance of Charles Gounod's operatic interpretation of Goethe's epic poem Faust in March 2003 and its annual Opera in the Vineyard performance on June 16. Opera in the Vineyard, presented by the Livermore Valley Opera Guild to benefit the non-profit opera company, is one of the Opera's most popular events. The June 2002 outdoor event at the Cedar Mountain Winery was a sold out success. Contact the ticket office for details about attending Dinner with Carmen and other performances or visit the Opera's web site at www.livermorevalleyopera.com.

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