Known for presenting full opera productions, Opera in Williamsburg offers a different kind of performance on Jan. 26: an evening of opera at its barest and most accessible. No costumes, no stage. Just singing.
“It’s high-level opera singing, but it’s also informal. Not at all stuffy,” said Naama Zahavi-Ely, artistic director of the company.
At this free event, baritone Suchan Kim and soprano Kinneret Ely will fill the Williamsburg Art Gallery with a selection of opera favorites, both duets and arias, as well as musical theater pieces. They will also perform songs from Korea and Israel.
“It’ll be a very nice mix of things for the audience to enjoy,” said Ely, who grew up in Williamsburg and is now based in New York. This is Ely’s first performance in Williamsburg since 2013.
Audiences may recognize Kim from the lead role of Opera in Williamsburg’s “Don Giovanni” production in October. He will again appear in the company’s spring production of Rossini’s “La Cenerentola.”
The event is informal. Audience members can come and go as they please. Kim and Ely will also mingle with the audience.
Zahavi-Ely hopes the event provides people “another opportunity, before April, to encounter our singers,” she said. “Hear them, enjoy them, and if they like it, hopefully they will come to the opera.”
Singing will be accompanied by a Yamaha electric piano, donated to Opera in Williamsburg by the E.K. Sloane Fund of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. Zahavi-Ely said the keyboard will especially be helpful for outreach events, particularly in venues that might not have a piano available.
“We will be very happy to share this keyboard with other organizations,” Zahavi-Ely said.
Bridges can be reached by phone at 757-275-4934.
Want to go?
When: 5:30-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 26
Where: Williamsburg Art Gallery, 440A W. Duke of Gloucester St.
Info: operainwilliamsburg.org or 757-565-9680
