Filmed Operetta Festival 2024 at the Wang Opera Center

Opera Naples Guild invites you to attend the Filmed Operetta Festival 2024 at the Wang Opera Center, with an introductory lecture by your host, Bill Edgerton. Come meet others who share your curiosity and interest in opera, while enjoying classic filmed operettas.

A ticket will be required for each event with a suggested donation of $20 per person per performance. All proceeds will benefit Opera Naples education programs.

La Belle Helene by Jacques Offenbach. French composers, led by Offenbach, made a huge contribution to the operetta genre. One of Offenbach's most well-known works, this is a satirical look at some inept Greek Gods versus outlandish kings on opposite sides of a planned seduction. Sung in French with English Subtitles.

Local operetta expert Bill Edgerton will summarizing key aspects of the plot and describing the differences between opera and operetta.

About your host: Bill has had a lifelong interest in vocal music, especially opera and operetta. His interest in opera brought him invitations to deliver three Metropolitan Opera Saturday afternoon radio broadcast features in the 1980s. His love for operetta inspired him to found New England Lyric Operetta, a resident company of the Stamford, Connecticut, Center for the Arts. As its Artistic Director, Edgerton oversaw nearly 100 performances of 40 productions in the 1980s and 1990s.