Love Potion No. 9: a gala for Opera Las Vegas

Opera Las Vegas’ 2019 gala celebrates this year’s mainstage opera, The Elixir of Love with love “Love Potion No. 9” offers fine cuisine and libations, a broad spectrum of thrilling music, dazzling guests, auction steals, decadent sweets, sterling company, glamorous fun and an evening of love. As champagne is poured, partiers will have a chance to browse the extensive selection of Silent Auction items, including a week’s stay at a time share on a Greek beach. Saturday, Feb 2nd, 6pm La Sirena Ballroom at Green Valley Ranch

2300 Paseo Verde Pkwy, Henderson, NV, 89052

Tickets While dessert is savored, the runway is cleared for a heady mix of fast-paced popular and operatic delights. The celebrated musician Keith Thompson will bring together some of the Strip’s best en- tertainers to deliver show-stopping solos and ensemble numbers. Thompson is well known as the creator of the wildly popular series “Composers’ Showcase,” which performs to rave reviews every month at Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center. Thompson is also the brains behind the much heralded revue, “The Cocktail Cabaret,” which raises the roof at Cleopatra’s Barge Showroom at Caesar’s Palace, and formerly served as Music Director for the local long-running hit “Jersey Boys.” The uber-talented arrangerr-pianist has created a musical review that will provide the kick in an evening of high-spirited entertainment.

The Opera Las Vegas Youth Chorus will add its voice to with a special medley, raising its collective voices in songs that champion the power of love. Gala guests will also be treated to three out- standing “Rising Stars” from the OLV roster. Soprano Athena Mertes has starred in Opera on Wheels shows like Pinocchio and The Three Little Pigs, as in the major role of Zerlina in Don Gio- vanni. Soprano Rebecca Morris has charmed audeinces in The Pirates of Penzance, as well as in staged concerts like “Stars of David” and “Opera Meets Oktoberfest.” Bass-baritone Richard L. Hodges enlivened last season’s “Opera Legends in Black,” and plans a reprise of his Season Re- veal show-stealing rendition of “Love Potion No. 9.”

Adding to the evening’s musical sheen is special guest, Metropolitan Opera tenor Gregory Schmidt, who combines a ringing Italianate sound and warm lyric tone to conquer the high tessitura of the Bel Canto repertoire. Schmidt is well remembered for his thrilling, high-flying performance as Don Ramiro in the recent OLV staging of Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella). He has also graced regional stages at St. Petersburg Opera, Tacoma Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, St. Louis Win- ter Opera, and Madison Opera, to list but a few. The gala will also bestow the company’s first “Excellence in the Arts” award to Jerry Nadal, Senior Executive with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. Mr. Nadal has famously served numerous arts or- ganizations and projects throughout the Las Vegas Valley - and is known both nationally and in- ternationally for his stellar work with Cirque du Soleil. The enchanting La Sirena Ballroom at Green Valley Ranch provides the luxurious backdrop for a festive evening that promises to put a whole lot of “fun” in fundraising. The gala supports OLV’s Opera on Wheels outreach programming with free and low-cost programs in a variety of community venues and Opera With Class educational performances in Clark County Schools. This annual revelry is also a prelude to Opera Las Vegas’ June 7 and 9 production of Gaetano Donizetti’s beloved romantic comedy, L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love).

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