Opera Sunday returns to Southport

Friends of the Library Southport and Oak Island (FOLSOI) will sponsor Opera Sunday, 2-4 p.m. Sunday, March 1 at the Southport Community Building, 223 E. Bay St., Southport.

Back for the 18th consecutive year, this highly anticipated event is part of an opera outreach project developed by Nancy King at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, appropriately called UNC-WOOP!

This year’s performance will be selections from Purcell’s epic tragedy, “Dido and Aeneas,” a tale of love between the Queen of Carthage and a Trojan prince, and the sorceress who toys with their fates.

Professor King is an amazing woman with an impressive list of awards and credentials. She received a Master’s Degree in Voice Performance from Boston University, an Opera Diploma from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass., and completed her Doctoral Residency in Vocal Performance at the University of Minnesota. In addition to teaching at UNCW, she is the coordinator for Vocal Performance at the University, a popular guest lecturer, and an active performer in Canada, Europe and the United States.

King created UNC-WOOP! as a means to both provide her students with opportunities to hone their live performance skills and introduce the public to opera in a relaxed, lighthearted manner.

What’s great about Opera Sunday is that King starts off by giving the audience an in-depth, and often humorous, explanation of the story before the singing begins.

A reception that follows the performance gives the audience a chance to mingle with up-and-coming opera stars.

Donations to UNC-WOOP! are appreciated.

Diana Fotinatos is a resident of St. James and the president of Friends of the Library Southport and Oak Island.

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