Madison, Wis. – Madison Opera’s Opera in the Park marks its eleventh anniversary on Saturday, July 21 at 8 p.m. in Garner Park on Madison’s West Side. The annual free concert of opera and Broadway favorites closes the 2011/12 Season of Dreamers and provides a tantalizing preview of the 2012/13 Season of Temptation.

A Madison summer tradition that attracts nearly 14,000 people, Opera in the Park brings the best of opera and Broadway to the community for a magic evening of music under the stars. Opera in the Park 2012 will feature soprano Caitlin Lynch, mezzo-soprano Emily Fons, tenor Russell Thomas, and bass Matt Boehler in performance with the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gary Thor Wedow. Madison Opera’s General Director Kathryn Smith and WKOW TV’s “Call for Action” reporter and 27 News anchor John Beard team up once again to co-host the event.

“Last year’s Opera in the Park was only my second week on the job,” says Smith. “It was without question one of the most beautiful operatic evenings I’ve spent in my career. The incredible music, the gorgeous park, the sight of thousands of people conducting along with their light sticks – it all adds up to a truly extraordinary experience, one that I started looking forward to the day after last year’s concert.”

The program for Opera in the Park 2012 includes arias and ensembles from Verdi’s A Masked Ball (Un Ballo in Maschera), which opens the 2012/13 season in October, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni, which will be performed in April. Two of the Opera in the Park artists will sing leading roles in Don Giovanni when Madison Opera performs it in April: Caitlin Lynch will sing the role of Donna Elvira and Matt Boehler will sing the role of Leporello. The concert repertoire will also offer highlights from classic operas such as The Tales of Hoffman and Rigoletto; the Madison Opera Chorus has a chance to shine in the stunning “Hymn to the Sun” from Mascagni’s Iris. Broadway hits from She Loves Me, Show Boat, Brigadoon and more will round out a spectacular evening of music.

“I am excited to be coming to Madison. I grew up in the Midwest and have terrific memories of summer park concerts both as an audience member and as a performer,” says conductor Gary Thor Wedow. “I've admired Maestro John DeMain so much and have been fortunate enough to work with him and around him often, so coming to his home opera company and orchestra is a real privilege and pleasure. I'm planning on taking home a lot of terrific memories from Madison.”

Garner Park is located at 333 S. Rosa Road. Parking is available in the CUNA Mutual Group and University Research Park lots. Attendees are encouraged to bring picnics, blankets, and chairs. Alcohol is permitted but not sold in the park. On the day of the concert, Garner Park will open at 7 a.m. Audience members may not leave items in the park prior to this time. The rain date for Opera in the Park is Sunday, July 22 at 8 p.m.

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Prelude Dinner at Opera in the Park 2012 | July 21, 2012 | 6pm

This annual fundraiser to benefit the Opera in the Park Fund helps support Madison Opera’s free gift to the community. The event includes dinner catered by Upstairs Downstairs, VIP seating to the concert, complimentary glow sticks, and a Meet the Artists champagne reception following the performance. Tickets are $125 per person. More information is available at www.madisonopera.org

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Opera in the Park 2012 is generously sponsored by CUNA Mutual Group, Full Compass, An Anonymous Friend, University Research Park, MG&E, BMO Harris Bank, The Swiss Colony, American Family Insurance, Wisconsin Community Bank, Group Health Cooperative, Dane Arts, Hazelbaker & Associates S.C., The Ejuve Foundation Inc., Wisconsin Arts Board, Madison Arts Commission, and University of

Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Opera in the Park 2012 media sponsors are Capital Newspapers, The Isthmus, Wisconsin Public Radio, and WKOW-TV.