BY KAREN BOSSICK
Sun Valley Opera will kick off its 2018-19 Winter Festival on Friday night with its first-ever gala at the new Argyros Performing Arts Center.
Mezzo soprano Kate Aldrich will kick off the evening at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28, with a concert.
It will be followed by a buffet dinner and dancing to All Night Dinner. Aldrich has performed with the Metropolitan Opera and other operas, having risen to international fame in 2001 through her starring role in Zeffirelli’s “Aida.”
That’s just the warm-up act, though.
Jan. 12—The screening of the “King and I” starring Kelli O’Hara and Ken Wantanabe will take place at 7 p.m. at the Argyros.
Feb. 2—World renowned tenor Michael Fabiano, who has performed as Rodolfo at the New York Metropolitan Opera’s “La Boheme” and as Alfredo in the opera’s “La traviata,” will perform in concert. His concert at the Argyros will be preceded by a Diva Party at a private home.
Feb. 18—Irish-American baritone Emmett O’Hanlon, who parlayed his parents’ Irish roots into a gig with the hit Irish group Celtic thunder and opera companies and throughout the world, will star in a Cabaret Concert at the Argyros.
March 12—The Winter Festival ends with a Signature Salon Concert featuring American mezzo soprano Emily Fons in a private home. The intimate evening will include wine and appetizers. Fons has been hailed by Opera News as one of opera’s rising stars and one of the best singing actresses of her generation. She received a Grammy nomination for her work on Jennifer Higdon’s “Cold Mountain.”
All the shows will include popular and Broadway classics, in addition to opera numbers, making them of interest even to those who don’t consider themselves opera fans, said Frank Meyer, Sun Valley opera co-founder.
For more information, visit www.sunvalleyopera.com or call 208-726-0991.