Showcasing the stars of “The Merry Widow”
Saturday, September 11, 2010
McCormick Cafe 8 PM
Tickets are $30.00 at the door or $25 in advance
Call 406-671-2214 for reservations
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Meet and mingle with the cast of "The Merry Widow" over select wines and sumptuous desserts. Bid for your choice of arias by your favorite artist, and enjoy a dazzling program of the winning selections.

Rimrock Opera Company will hold its annual Auction of Arias Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 8 PM at McCormick Café 2419 Montana Avenue in Billings. Entitled "Opera on the Avenue," the fundraiser gives guests the opportunity to dine at one of many fine restaurants on Montana Avenue - see http://www.montanaavenue.com/

After dinner, "Opera on the Avenue" guests can walk to McCormick Cafe where they can choose from a variety of desserts along with beverages including select wines. Auction of Arias is an exciting evening of glamorous voices, delicious wine, and gourmet desserts in the intimate setting of McCormick Café . Hear guest artists from The Merry Widow sing your favorite arias and duets during an evening of music you will not forget.

The highlight of “Opera on the Avenue” is the auction where guests bid on an opera aria, duet, ensemble or chorus from the "Menu of Arias." The winning bidders' choices are performed, comprising a diverse program of entertainment. During the evening, Artistic Director, Douglas Nagel will be our emcee. The auction menu involves a one-page listing of selections, the first selection being "a freebie," Nagel states. The auctioneer then starts the bidding for the next selection.

Opera is a labor-intensive art form and expensive to produce. Nagel considers opera "the ultimate art" because it combines other art forms: vocal, dramatic, visual and musical. Fundraisers such as Opera on the Avenue, will help offset production costs for the opera and is the Company's main fundraiser for fall 2010. The Rimrock Opera Board of Directors hopes this event will help generate more interest for the upcoming operas produced by Rimrock Opera.

Tickets for "Opera on the Avenue- Auction of Arias" are $25 per person in advance, $30 at the door and may be reserved by phoning Rimrock Opera at 406-671-2214

What Makes 'The Merry Widow' Merry?
Franz Lehar's sensual story, brilliantly reflected in its vibrant score, brings us the time-honored plot, "Boy Meets-Loses-Gets Girl" in the mythical kingdom of Pontevedro . The Girl: Hanna Glawari. The Boy: Count Danilo, chargé d'affaires at the Pontevedrian Embassy in Paris , where the story takes place. The two were once in love, but could not marry since she was a "commoner."

At an Embassy party, Hanna exposes the reason for her merriment,"For love seldom ignites so many hearts within an hour,
But just one frank look at my bankbook explains my mysterious power."

Widowhood has left her heiress to twenty million francs after a conveniently brief marriage to an aged banker.

Hungarian composer Lehar, born in 1870, was captivated by Slavic melodies he heard in his travels as conductor of military orchestras to faraway outposts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These melodies wind through the endless chain of wishes and passions, of kisses and embraces in The Merry Widow.

Carolyn Coefield’s coloratura soprano voice brings Hanna to life opposite Chris Johnson’s Danilo on September 25 and 26. Megan King, Gennard Lombardozzi, Robert Aaron Taylor, and Billings businessman Chris Montague complete the cast. Maestro Andy Anderson conducts the Rimrock Opera Orchestra and Dr. Chris Sheppard prepares the chorus. Choreography is by Krista Marshall. Douglas Nagel produces and directs.
 
Rimrock Opera's fall opera production of "The Merry Widow" will be performed Saturday, September 25, at 7:30 P.M and Sunday, September 26, at 3 P.M. at the Alberta Bair Theater. For more information about Rimrock Opera Company, call 671-2214