Happenings at Skylark - July 2022

Photo Credit: R. Carlson

Here’s to July and all of the summer days and evenings the month promises. There’s a lot to do and see in Minnesota—at our lakes, in our parks like the Pipestone National Monument pictured here, a national treasure in Pipestone, MN, and in your own backyard!

Be sure to check out all of the great summer entertainment opportunities available this month, too. Did you know that there are over 200 theater venues in Minnesota? There is a great performance at a venue near you and performers love to see the support.

Skylark also loves the support we have received from our donors and sponsors. Check them here.

See you at the Minnesota State Fair!

Come out and enjoy Skylark performances at the great Minnesota Get-Together! Our singers will present Arts A ‘Fair pop-up performances on August 25th, 26th and 27th. You can catch them at the North End of the Fair at 3:00, 3:45, 5:15, and 6:00pm. Stop and say hello and show your support for Skylark Opera Theatre.

On Senior Day, September 1st at, be sure to check out the Skylark performance, beginning at 10:45 a.m., on the Dan Patch Park stage, thanks to the generous support of UCare.

Announcing Support for Skylark for Seniors

Skylark Opera Theatre’s performers are entertaining senior audiences throughout the Twin Cities area. Our ever-popular Skylark for Seniors program, now in its third year, is made possible, in part, by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. We are also grateful for the past support of our sponsors, UCare and Hubbard Broadcasting Foundation, who made the program possible last fall.

Amahl and the Night Visitors Performance Dates Set

Skylark Opera Theatre will present nine performances of Amahl and the Night Visitors on the Andy Boss Thrust Stage at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, December 3&4; 10&11; and 17&18. Make Gian Carlo Menotti’s beloved story part of your holiday entertainment plans and see why last year’s audiences called it “restorative”, “breathtaking”, and “powerful.” Watch for an announcement of ticket sales beginning in September.

Skylark Connections

Join the Twin Cities Opera Guild Tuesday, July 12th at the Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville for their Party in Pink. Skylark Connections soprano Sienna Forest and tenor Brian Wallin, are the featured performers. You’ll find more information and tickets at the Guild’s website.

Enjoy two days of opera on the banks of the St. Croix River. St. Croix Valley Opera brings the outdoor opera events to Stillwater on July 30th and 31st. Skylark Connections Gary Briggle, Jennifer Eckes and Jennifer Gerth are part of the festivities. Learn more here.

Another Skylark Connection, Loki Graham, appears as Papageno in a reimagining of Mozart’s The Magic Flute with Mixed Precipitations’ Pickup Truck Opera traveling tour. The story is told with a cast of singers, puppeteers, and instrumentalists at fun outdoor locations throughout Minnesota beginning July 31st and continuing into September. Loki Graham appeared as the Page in Skylark’s production of Amahl and the Night Visitors in 2021. Find information about the locations, dates and times at their website.

Carson Rose Schneider, Skylark’s music director for Amahl and the Night Visitors, Eugene Onegin and Skylark for Seniors, will be the opera pianist for Lakes Area Music Festival's production of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, August 12th and 14th at the Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts in Brainerd, MN. Find more information about this operatic satire here.

Long-time Skylark Opera Connection Peter Halvorson has retired after 39 years on the music faculty of Concordia College in Moorhead. Peter was honored by the Moorhead City Council with a proclamation of “Peter Halvorson Day.” In his long career, Peter performed over 70 roles in opera, operetta, musical theater and oratorio, including as the baritone lead in numerous Skylark Opera productions. Along with another Skylark Connection, Norah Long, Peter also recorded a Skylark-sponsored CD, Sweethearts of Song, featuring operetta duets based on the songs of Jeannette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.